ADA Standards of Care 2026, the Food Rules That Changed
Low carb and Mediterranean eating now have evidence for preventing type 2, says the American Diabetes Association. What's new and what stayed the same.
Low carb and Mediterranean eating now have evidence for preventing type 2, says the American Diabetes Association. What's new and what stayed the same.
🇺🇸 ADA Standards of Care 2026, the eating patterns for preventing type 2
December 8, 2025 · United States · ADA · Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association released its 2026 Standards of Care in Diabetes on 8 December 2025, as the supplement to the January 2026 issue of Diabetes Care.
New on the food side: more guidance on eating patterns with evidence for preventing type 2 diabetes, naming Mediterranean-style and low-carbohydrate patterns and adding handouts for patients. It also puts more weight on watching nutrition and physical activity during obesity treatment.
The Diabetes Plate method itself is unchanged; the 2025 "Plan Your Plate" materials remain current.
What it means: The ADA's yearly guidance now names Mediterranean-style and lower-carb eating as backed by evidence for preventing type 2, not only for managing it. See our Diabetes Plate pages.
Sources: ADA release (PR Newswire) (American Diabetes Association) · Diabetes Care 49(S1) (American Diabetes Association)
The full analysis
The Standards of Care in Diabetes are the American Diabetes Association's clinical guidelines, revised every year and used by clinicians, educators and health systems. The 2026 edition came out on 8 December 2025 as the supplement to the January 2026 issue of Diabetes Care (volume 49, Supplement 1). This page covers only the food side. The Standards also cover screening, technology and medication, which are outside what this site documents.
The notable nutrition change is more guidance on eating patterns with evidence for preventing type 2 diabetes, naming Mediterranean-style and low-carbohydrate patterns and adding handouts for patients. Prevention is the new part: these patterns have long appeared in guidance on managing diabetes, and the 2026 edition puts evidence behind them for preventing it.
The 2026 Standards also stress watching nutrition and physical activity during obesity treatment, which matters as GLP-1 medicines change how much people eat. Our GLP-1 protein calculator works out the published protein targets for holding onto muscle, with every source shown.
What did not change is the Diabetes Plate. The ADA's method is still a 9-inch plate: half non-starchy vegetables, a quarter lean protein, a quarter quality carbohydrates, and water or a zero-calorie drink, as published in the 2025 "Plan Your Plate" materials. Our Diabetes Plate pages document exactly that version, including the eating patterns the ADA says work with it (Mediterranean, DASH, low-carb, vegetarian).
This log tracks what the primary documents say. The full supplement is linked below, and treatment decisions belong with your care team.