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Carbohydrates and diabetes

Carbohydrates are the best source of energy for your body. Carbohydrates are digested in the body to form glucose in the blood. It is the amount of carbohydrate in your meal that has the greatest effect on blood glucose levels.

By eating regular meals and spreading your serves of carbohydrate foods out evenly throughout the day, you can maintain energy levels without causing large rises in blood glucose levels.

If you take insulin or diabetes medication, you may also need to eat snacks between meals. Check with your diabetes educator or dietitian for advice and information on how to get the right amount of carbohydrate in your meal plan.

Glycaemic index (GI) and diabetes

Some carbohydrate foods release glucose into the bloodstream more quickly than others. Foods that produce a slower rise in blood glucose levels are described as having a low glycaemic index (GI) and can be helpful in blood glucose management.

Healthy carbohydrate foods that have a low GI include most high-fibre breads and cereals (especially grainy bread and oats), pasta, basmati or low GI rice, quinoa, barley, most fruit, legumes and low-fat dairy products. Aim to include at least one ‘low GI’ food per meal. Taking care with portion sizes is still important when eating low GI foods, as even large servings of these foods can result in high blood glucose levels and weight gain.

Some low GI foods may be high in saturated fat, added sugar and energy – for example, ice cream and chocolate. Always check the list of ingredients and the energy (calorie or kilojoule) content of packaged foods.

The GI values of foods are only an average, and people will often react very differently to foods. People with diabetes are advised to test their blood glucose levels to determine the effect of various foods on their own blood glucose levels.

Sugar intake and diabetes

People with diabetes who follow a healthy eating plan can include a small amount of sugar in their diet. However, the sugar should be eaten as part of a nutritious meal. For example, add 1 teaspoon of honey to plain porridge, include tinned fruit in natural juice and some types of high fibre breakfast cereals with dried fruit, such as natural muesli.

Fat consumption and diabetes

All fats are high in energy. Eating too much fat can lead to weight gain, which may make it more difficult to manage your blood glucose levels and can increase blood fats (cholesterol and triglycerides). The type of fat you eat is also important. People with diabetes have a greater risk of developing heart disease, so try to eat less saturated fat.

Foods high in saturated fat include meat fat, full-fat dairy foods, cream, solid cooking fats (such as butter, lard, copha and ghee), oils such as palm and coconut, and products that contain these fats (for example, fried foods, some cakes and biscuits, and convenience foods).

When you do eat fats, choose mainly:

• polyunsaturated fats and oils – found in polyunsaturated margarines (check the label), sunflower, safflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed and sesame oils. Also found in oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardine, salmon and tuna, as well as nuts and seeds
• monounsaturated fats and oils – found in canola or olive oil margarines, canola and olive oil, and in avocados, nuts and seeds.

Protein consumption and diabetes

The body uses protein for growth and repair. Most people only require two-three small serves of meat or other protein foods each day. Most protein foods do not directly affect your blood glucose levels.

Protein foods include lean meat, skinless poultry, seafood, eggs, unsalted nuts, soy products such as tofu and legumes (dried beans and lentils, chickpeas, four-bean mix, kidney beans, etc.). Legumes also contain carbohydrate, so they may have an impact on your blood glucose levels.

Some sample serves of protein foods that are low in fat include:

• one cup of split peas, beans, lentils or other legumes
• 100 g of cooked fish or other seafood
• 65 g of cooked lean red meat
• 80 g of cooked poultry without the skin
• two eggs (try poached, scrambled with low-fat milk or boiled rather than fried).