Carbs is carbs. Whether they come from sugars or starches, fresh fruit or candy, look at the carb content of food. An orange and french fries may have the same number of carbs and the same effect on your insulin reaction. Nutritionally though, you want to choose healthier carbs. Whole grain is better, but they're still loaded with carbs, so try the breads with high non soluable fiber that are lower carbs. Whole grain breads always have more sugars in them, so read labels. There are "white" type breads with high fiber and lower sugar and total carbs than whole grain "health" breads. Dreamfields pasta is a low glycemic index food and the carbs are released slower and it has fiber. And it tastes great. You can't tell a difference.
Fiber and slow releasing carbs keep you fuller longer. When the fiber content of a food is high, you can deduct about half of the total carbs, which is why you sometimes see "net carbs" listed on a label. Just check the label and do the math and the research yourself so you know for sure.
You have to start researching. You should start with a diabetes nutritionist and find out how many carbs your husband should have per meal. I have had diabetes for 14 years and am very insulin resistant, so I can only have ten to fifteen carbs per meal. Your husband may be allowed 25 or 30.
There's a lot to learn, especially about the glycemic index and complex carbs, but basically, eat healthy and cut way back on carbs, especially high processed carbs.
And try to incorporate vinegar into as many meals as you can, like vinegar and olive oil salad dressing. There are lots of supplements from cinnamon to garlic that are touted as having a glucose lowering effect, but most are not supported by research. Vinegar is, but it doesn't work miracles.
And yes, avoid the artificial sweeteners. It seems like the research is showing that they contribute to inflamation of the cells, which is part of the metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, which can be part of type 2 diabetes.