Nutrition is well-recognized as a necessary component of educational programs for physicians. This is to be valued in that of all factors affecting health in the United States, none is more important than nutrition. This can be argued from various perspectives, including health promotion, disease prevention, and therapeutic management. In all cases, serious consideration of nutrition related issues in the practice is seen to be one means to achieve cost-effective medical care. These modules were designed to provide more practical knowledge for health care providers, and in particular primary care physicians. Because diet is the cornerstone of diabetic treatment, this module is designed to help physicians to understand the basic principles of the diabetic diet and be able to plan with the patient a suitable diet which the patient can follow. Included are the learning goals and objectives, self-checks of achievement with regard to goals, and references for the physician and for the physician to give to the patient. The appendices include "Exchange Lists for Meal Planning," a supplementary exchange list, and a fast food exchange list. (CW)