Diabetes

A healthy diet, tailored to individual needs is an essential part of managing diabetes. An Accredited Practising Dietitian will provide expert dietary advice to help manage diabetes and stay healthy.

Diabetes and Diet

A healthy diet is an essential part of diabetes management, helping to control blood glucose (sugar) levels and achieve a healthy weight. It is important that any dietary advice is tailored to individual needs. An Accredited Practising Dietitian will consider personal health and lifestyle and provide dietary advice and information that meets individual needs. They can also help to separate the facts from the myths surrounding diet and diabetes. Some common myths include eliminating all food containing carbohydrate, avoiding sugar completely or the need to eat mostly foods high in protein and fat.

Some dietary areas that may need to be modified include:

• Fat
  It is important that both the type and amount of dietary fat are appropriate, poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats are healthier choices than saturated fats. It may be important to reduce the total amount of fat or the amount of saturated fat in your diet.
• Fibre
  It may be helpful to increase the amount of fibre eaten. Fibre can make meals more filling and some types of fibre may help to control blood glucose levels. Try to choose high fibre breads and cereals, fruit and vegetables each day.
• Carbohydrate
  Foods containing carbohydrate include bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereal, potato, corn, legumes, fruit, milk and yoghurt. It is important to include some of these foods with each meal. Some people with diabetes use 'exchanges' to work out how much carbohydrate to eat and when to eat it. The carbohydrate containing foods that provide the best blood glucose level control are those that are slowly digested and absorbed into the blood stream. These are foods with a low glycaemic index (GI).
• Regular meals
  It is important to include regular meals each day. It is important not to skip meals as this may affect blood glucose levels and leave you feeling unwell.

Keep active

Regular physical activity is also important in managing diabetes. Try to be active each day.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes, actually called diabetes mellitus, is a condition in which the body has a reduced ability to control the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. The body produces a hormone called insulin that encourages the uptake of glucose from the blood, thereby helping to control blood glucose levels. In people with diabetes, there may be insufficient insulin to control blood glucose levels or alternatively, there may be enough insulin but it may not be working properly. Either way, without enough effective insulin, the level of glucose in the blood will rise above normal levels.

Good diabetes management can help reduce the risk of complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, eye problems and circulation problems.