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Diabetes is a serious illness that’s on the increase worldwide, and the UK is no exception. There are 2.6 million people in the UK who have been diagnosed with diabetes, and over 500,000 people living with the condition undiagnosed. Sometimes diabetes can be controlled by changes in diet alone, but often the best treatment for diabetes includes medication and a carefully planned diet. If you’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes, or you’d like to prevent being diagnosed with it in future, take a look at these diabetic diet tips.

The diabetes-diet connection

In diabetes, the body has a problem with the way it handles sugar. There are three types of diabetes (type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes), and all respond well to changes in diet, with type 2 diabetics seeing the biggest improvements if they watch what they eat. Because diabetes is linked with blood sugar, a diabetic diet will focus on foods that break down slowly in the body and don’t cause spikes in sugar levels. A good place to start is with low GI foods.

The low GI lowdown

The GI (glycaemic index) of a food measures how quickly your body breaks the food down into glucose, the sugar your body uses for fuel. Chocolate has a high GI, because your body turns it into glucose quickly, leading to a spike in blood sugar levels. Wholewheat bread, on the other hand, has a low GI – the body takes some time to break down the carbohydrates in whole grains, so your blood sugar levels stay stable. As a rule, diabetics should stick to low GI foods, for sustained energy and healthy blood sugar levels.

Eat little, often

To keep blood sugar stable, it’s recommended that you eat small meals, often, rather than three big meals a day. Your doctor will advise you on how often you should eat, but most diabetics do well eating five to six times a day, with three bigger ‘main’ meals and two to three smaller snacks, spread at even intervals throughout the day.

Pro protein

Most diabetics are used to eating more carbohydrates and fats than they should. It’s likely that your doctor will advise you to eat very few refined carbohydrates (these have a high GI), and to eat lean protein often. What protein does is further slow down the rate at which your body breaks food down into glucose, so combining protein with carbs when you snack is a very good idea.

Alongside taking any medication your doctor prescribes, a change in diet is an essential part of managing diabetes. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by all the information out there on diets for diabetics, visit a dietitian who will be able to help you come up with a meal plan that suits your individual needs. But be prepared to spend some at your cooker – nothing is as good for you as home cooked meals.

Tags: Diabetes, Healthy diet, low GI foods