Diwali means sweets in almost every home: a box from a neighbour, a plate offered at every visit, a tray on the table all evening. For most people that’s one of the joys of the festival. For people with diabetes or prediabetes, it’s also a few days when blood sugar can climb without anyone noticing. The good news is that you don’t have to skip the mithai. A few small habits make a real difference.
Why Festive Eating Needs a Plan in India
The numbers explain why this matters. The ICMR-INDIAB study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology in 2023, estimated that 101 million Indians live with diabetes and another 136 million have prediabetes. It covered more than 113,000 adults across the country. That means almost every family has someone who has to think about what’s on the plate.
Many people with prediabetes don’t know they have it, so this advice isn’t only for those with a diagnosis. If you’re over 30, have a family history of diabetes or carry extra weight around your waist, the same habits are a sensible choice.
What Sweets Do to Your Blood Sugar
Traditional sweets are concentrated sugar, often combined with refined flour, milk solids and ghee. Your body breaks the sugar down quickly, and blood glucose rises sharply, especially when sweets are eaten on an empty stomach or in large amounts. Fried snacks served alongside them can slow digestion, but they add calories and can make blood sugar harder to manage later, according to endocrinologist Dr Sudip Kumar Mukherjee of CMRI Kolkata.
The World Health Organization advises keeping free sugars below 10% of daily energy, and says going below 5% gives extra benefit. For an adult eating about 2,000 calories a day, 10% is roughly 50 grams, or about 12 teaspoons. That includes sugar added by a cook or manufacturer as well as honey, syrups and fruit juices. A couple of pieces of barfi or a few gulab jamuns can use up a big part of that budget.
Not Every “Healthier” Option Is a Free Pass
Some swaps help and others only sound healthier. Hospital dietitians commonly suggest lighter options such as lauki halwa, fruit-based desserts, flavoured Greek yoghurt with fruit, or laddoos made with nuts and seeds. These tend to have less sugar and more fibre or protein than a standard mithai.
Be careful with a few popular claims. Jaggery is a less refined form of sugar, and it still raises blood glucose. Honey is on the WHO’s list of free sugars. And “sugar-free” sweets can still contain large amounts of dried fruit, flour or ghee, so they aren’t automatically safe. Eating a lot of artificial sweeteners can also upset digestion. Read the label, and treat these as a smaller portion and not as unlimited treats.
Five Habits That Help
Keep portions small and plan them. One or two small pieces, shared if possible, are easier to manage than grazing from a tray all evening. Decide before you arrive at a gathering how much you’ll have.
Eat sweets after a meal, not before one. Dessert after a balanced meal causes a smaller rise than sweets on an empty stomach. Don’t skip lunch to “save room” for mithai, because that can lead to bigger spikes later.
Start with protein and vegetables. A small study published in Diabetes Care in 2015 had 11 people with type 2 diabetes eat the same meal twice, once with carbohydrates first and once with protein and vegetables first. Glucose was about 29% lower after 30 minutes and 37% lower after 60 minutes when protein and vegetables came first. It’s a small study, so treat it as a useful tip and not as proof, but it costs nothing to try. A bowl of salad, dal or paneer before the sweets is an easy start.
Take a short walk afterwards. A 2022 analysis of seven studies in Sports Medicine found that short bouts of light walking, about two to five minutes every 20 to 30 minutes, lowered blood sugar by around 17% on average compared with sitting. Standing helped less, at about 9.5%. After a festive meal, a slow walk around the block or even around the house helps, and it can be a pleasant family tradition. If you want to build more movement into your routine, see our guide to interval walking.
Drink water, not sweet drinks. Soft drinks, sweetened tea and milkshakes add a lot of sugar without making you feel full. Water, plain buttermilk or unsweetened tea are better options.
A Note for Hosts and Gift-Givers
If you’re hosting, you can make it easier for everyone. Put out a few lower-sugar choices next to the traditional sweets, such as roasted nuts, fruit or a seed laddoo, and keep portions small. If you’re giving gifts, a box of mixed nuts and dry fruit is a popular alternative to mithai, though anyone watching their weight or sugar should still be mindful of portion sizes, since dried fruit is also concentrated sugar. For more on how your body handles energy between meals, read our explainer on metabolic flexibility.
If You Have Diabetes or Prediabetes
Talk to your doctor before the festival, especially if you take insulin or tablets. Don’t change your medication on your own to make room for sweets. Checking your blood sugar before and after festive meals, more often than usual, shows how your own body responds to different foods, and that is more useful than any general rule. If you want a gentler approach to weight over the festive weeks, our guide to losing weight without a gym has simple ideas.
See a doctor if you notice high readings after meals that don’t settle, unusual thirst, frequent urination, constant tiredness, or dizziness and mood swings after eating sweets. Those signs are worth checking at any time of year, and the festive season is a good moment to notice them. Enjoy the sweets, keep the portions small, and walk it off together.