Food is essential for life and also one of life’s pleasures. It gives us the nutrients we need to stay alive and live our lives. What food also does is raise our blood sugar, which is particularly important for people with diabetes.
So how you eat is an important part of how you manage your diabetes. To keep your blood sugar within your target range, your insulin dose should match the amount of food you eat and how much you exercise.
Is there an ideal diabetes diet? Not really, because the ideal diet for people with diabetes is pretty much like everyone else’s ideal diet. That means a diet that is:
A healthy diet achieves the right balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein. Try to ensure that more than half your total calories come from carbohydrates, less than one third from fat and about 15% from protein.
Carbohydrates are the body's main source of fuel. There are two main kinds of carbohydrates:
You may find it easier to control your blood sugar if you try to have regular times for most of your meals. Try to start by eating three full meals (bear in mind the frequency of food intake also depends on the type of insulin you use, e.g. if you use an older (human) insulin you may also need to have regular snacks).
Talk to your dietician for more personalised advice. This will help you develop eating habits that suit your own needs and lifestyle. You can develop a more flexible meal plan if you like. To do this, test your blood sugar often and learn to adjust your insulin according to your blood sugar readings.
Watch the amount of high-fat food you eat, especially milk products, meat and cheese. Fat has little effect on your blood sugar but a high-fat diet may lead to weight problems. This is not healthy for your heart. Be aware of food that is high in fat such as cheese and sausages. If you can see a lot of fat on meat or other foods, try trimming as much of the fat off before you cook or eat it.
Eat plenty of vegetables and grain products such as bread, cereals, rice and pasta. Eating many foods from the lower sections of the Food Pyramid is important. They are low in fat and high in carbohydrates. They are also important sources of minerals, vitamins and fibre.
By using as little fat as possible for cooking, dressings and sauces, you can effectively cut down on fat. Pure fats are high in calories and give you very few vitamins and minerals.
You can cut down on pure fat by reducing extras, such as salad dressings and butter on bread. Take special care to limit your intake of fats that are solid at room temperature (such as butter).
Only a small proportion of your calories should come from pure sugar or highly sweetened foods and drinks, such as sweets, biscuits and sugary drinks.
High-sugar foods provide very few or no vitamins, minerals or fibre. They drive your blood sugar up rapidly, which is why you should save them for occasional treats.
However, the one time when high-sugar foods are very useful is if you feel you have low blood sugar, and may be at risk of hypoglycaemia.
Water seems so ordinary that you may forget how vital it is to good health. In fact, it plays a role in nearly every major function of your body, so it’s an essential part of a healthy eating plan.
You should drink at least 6-8 glasses of fluid each day to meet your body's needs. The fluids can be water, milk, juice, tea or coffee. Bear in mind that, apart from water, all these liquids will contain some carbohydrates and calories.
Alcoholic drinks contain a lot of calories - almost as many as fats - and very few or no nutrients. Keep close tabs on how much you drink.
You don't have to become teetotal, but remember that alcohol lowers your blood sugar and masks the signs of hypoglycaemia (however alcohol can contain sugar as well so right after alcohol intake your blood sugar can actually go up).
Recommended guidelines for women are to drink no more than 1-2 units of alcohol a day. The guidelines for men are to drink no more than 2-3 units a day.
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Last updated: August 2009