Summary : There was a time when ice cream, cookies and other sweets were considered off-limits to people with diabetes. Advances, in food technology and in understanding the effects of different foods on blood sugar, have made sweet foods an acceptable part of the diabetes meal plan. In diabetes, the body does not produce sufficient amounts of the hormone insulin or cannot use the amount that is produced properly. Insulin helps the body use sugar or glucose in the blood that results from digestion of food, by allowing it to enter cells. Consistently, high blood glucose levels in diabetes can lead to heart disease, blindness, kidney failure and other health problems.