Food Choices for People with Diabetes /
If you have diabetes, your body is unable to control the level of sugar in your blood. Over a long time, high blood sugars can cause damage to your eyes, nerves and kidneys. Eating carefully will help control your blood sugars and reduce the risk of damage. When you have diabetes you have increased risk of heart disease. You can reduce this risk by following a healthy lifestyle, such as taking exercise, eating a healthy diet, controlling blood pressure, and not smoking.
Spreading your food through the day, rather than eating only once or twice a day will help control your blood sugars. You are more likely to succeed by making step by step changes rather than by changing everything overnight.
Thirsty?
When your blood sugar is high you may be more thirsty. Drinks likely to increase your blood sugar and make you more thirsty include fruit juice, ordinary soft or fizzy drinks such as sugary squashes, cordial, mixers, Lucozade, Red Bull, and other glucose drinks. Even some ‘light ‘drinks such as Ribena Light may cause your blood sugar to go too high. See below for suitable alternatives.
Lowest in fat or saturated fator
increase blood sugar less / Medium fat
or
medium increase
in blood sugar / High in fat or sugar
or
increase blood sugar most
Sugar / Artificial sweeteners such as Canderel, Hermesetas, Sweetex, Splenda, or supermarket own brands. / Sugar, brown sugar, honey molasses, gur, jaggery.
fruit sugar /Fruisana (fructose), Halfspoon, Sucron.
Drinks / Water, tea, coffee or herbal drinks, without sugar, ‘no added sugar’ squash, diet, low calorie, slimline, fizzy drinks soda water. / Low calorie chocolate drinks such as ‘Highlights’ or ‘Options’. Cocoa made with milk and a sweetener. Low fat Horlicks. / Drinking chocolate, ordinary Horlicks. Sugary drinks including Red Bull, Lucozade, ordinary squash, cordials, sugary soda.
Breads / Breads, pasta, rice, chapattis (all types), couscous. / Nann bread. / Croissant, brioche.
Cereals / Porridge, muesli (no added sugar), Fruit n Fibre, All Bran, Shredded Wheat, Branflakes, Sultana Bran Weetabix. / Cheerios, Cornflakes, Rice Krispies, Special K. / Frosties, Sugar Puffs and sugary breakfast cereals.
Vegetables / All vegetables including
potatoes, sweet potato, plantain, yam. / Potato waffles, roast potatoes, chips, fried vegetables, crisps.
Fruit / Fruit, any type: fresh, dried, tinned in fruit juice. / Unsweetened fruit juice (small glass, i.e. 150ml). / Fruit, tinned in syrup, sweetened fruit juice.
Dairy / Skimmed, semi-skimmed milk. Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese eggs. / Hard (full fat) cheese such as Cheddar, Stilton in small portions. Medium fat cheese such as Brie, Edam, Mozzarella, Paneer. Full fat milk in small quantities. / Breakfast milk, Channel island milk, Evaporated and condensed milk, cream.
Yogurt / Virtually fat free, ‘diet’,healthy
eating yoghurts, fromage frais. / Low fat yoghurts and fromage frais. / Full fat yoghurt and fromage frais.
Date of publication: September 2011 Date for review: September 2013 © Bedford Hospital NHS Trust / Nutrition and Dietetics, Bedford Hospital NHS Trust, Kempston Road,
Bedford, MK42 9DJ. 01234 355 122
Lowest in fat or saturated fat
or
increase blood sugar less / Medium fat
or
medium increase
in blood sugar / High in fat or sugar
or
increase blood sugar most
Butter, margarine and oils / Margarine and oils rich in monounsaturates such as olive oil, rapeseed oil. / Margarine and oils rich in polyunsaturates such as corn and sunflower oil. / Butter, lard, ghee, palm oil, coconut oil, suet, vegetable suet.
Condiments and
dressings / Fat free salad dressing, brown sauces, ketchup, tomato based cook-in sauces. Herbs, spices, garlic, pepper, vinegar. / Reduced calorie mayonnaise, low calorie salad cream, pickles, chutney. / Salt at table, mayonnaise, coconut cream, cream based cook-in sauces.
Meat / Lean meat including beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey, venison, veal– not fried. / Corned beef, low fat beef burgers and low fat sausages, liver, pheasant. Ready meals less than 15g fat per portion. / Burgers, pork pies, sausage rolls, meat pies, sausages, salami, pate, luncheon meat, quiche. Ready meals over 15g fat per portion.
Fish / Fish, especially oily fish such as sardines, herrings, salmon, pilchards, trout. Grilled or poached white fish. / Low fat breaded fish, fish fingers prawns and shellfish. / Fried fish, fish roe,
taramasolata, breaded and battered fish.
Beans, nuts and
seeds / Beans, lentils, dahls and other pulses. Baked beans. Nuts as a meat substitute, Quorn, Tofu, TVP. / Cashews, Brazil nuts, peanuts. / Coconut, Bombay mix (chevda).
Desserts / No added sugar instant whips, reduced sugar and low fat custard, milk pudding. Sugar free jelly / Low fat milk puddings, low fat ice cream. Dessert made with less sugar and fat such as: crumbles, trifle. / Sweet dessert, puddings, gateaux, full fat ice cream, sorbet, halwa, gulab, jamen, burfi.
Cakes and buns / Currant bun, malt loaf, banana cake, homemade cake made with less sugar and fat. Crumpets with jam, no fat / Fruit cake. Fruit and plain scones, Swiss roll, Crumpets with margarine or butter / Cream cakes, sponge cakes, doughnuts, pies, Danish pastries and other sugary and fatty cakes.
Biscuits / Crispbread, rice cakes, water biscuits. / Garibaldi biscuits, fig rolls, rich tea, ginger nuts, Marie, digestives, shortcake, oatcake, other crackers. / HobNobs, shortbread, chocolate and cream biscuits.
Preservatives / Small helpings of ordinary jam and marmalade. Reduced sugar jam, marmalade. / Honey on bread, peanut butter, yeast or beef extract. Fish or meat paste. / Chocolate spread, large helpings of jam or marmalade.
Alcohol / Recommendations are to have no more than two drinks/units( for women) and three drinks/units (for men) a day, and best taken with food. One unit of alcohol is :
Half a pint of average strength lager, beer or cider A glass of wine (125ml)
A pub measure (25ml) of a spirit such as gin, vodka A small sherry or liqueur (50ml)
Chocolate / Diabetic and reduced sugar types are not advised. However, to eat small amounts of ordinary chocolate, especially on active days, is fine.
Special
occasions / Eating sweeter cakes, puddings, or high fat foods occasionally will not harm your health. There is no need to totally avoid all these foods.