Unpacking Diabetes: What It Means For You and Your Diet

Managing diabetes involves following a healthy diet tailored to your needs. For diabetics, a healthy diet means limiting certain food groups to better manage blood pressure, glucose levels, cholesterol, and weight.

Eating well not only helps manage diabetes but also improves overall wellbeing, allowing patients to lead a normal, energetic life. So, what would diabetes mean for you and your diet?

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when blood sugar (glucose) levels are too high. This happens when your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, or your body doesn’t respond well to the insulin produced. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body manage blood sugar levels, and without it, raised blood sugar levels can cause nerve and blood vessel damage over time if untreated.

There are different types of diabetes and it can affect people of all ages.

Type 1

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This leads to insufficient insulin production. Up to 10% of diabetics have type 1, and its causes are unknown.

Patients with type 1 diabetes need to administer insulin daily since their body doesn’t produce it at all.

Type 2

Type 2 diabetes is a lifestyle disease that affects how your body produces or responds to insulin which can lead to irregular blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes is often preventable and can be caused by unhealthy eating, being overweight, genetics, and not being physically active. More than 95% of diabetics have type 2, and early diagnosis is crucial to prevent severe long-term effects.

Type 1 and 2 are the most common. Gestational diabetes is another type that develops in some women during pregnancy. It’s diagnosed through prenatal screenings and not necessarily a patient’s symptoms. Women with gestational diabetes are at risk of experiencing complications during pregnancy and birth. They’re also at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes in future.

Symptoms

Symptoms of diabetes can appear suddenly. In patients with type 2 diabetes, symptoms are often mild and can take years to be noticed and diagnosed. Typical diabetes symptoms include:

• Unquenchable thirst
• Urinating more than usual
• Blurred vision
• Feeling tired
• Unintentional weight loss

Diabetics are at a higher risk of developing other health problems including heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. Due to blood vessel damage and poor blood flow, diabetes patients may experience damage to their heart, kidneys, eyes, feet, and other nerves.

Management and treatment

Diabetes is a complex condition, and treatment involves a combination of strategies tailored to each individual. Common management plans include:

• Medication: Oral medications help manage glucose levels for type 2 diabetes patients.
• Insulin: Type 1 diabetes patients, and sometimes type 2, require daily insulin. Insulin can be administered via injections or pumps, depending on what works best for the patient.
• Exercise: Physical activity is key to improving insulin sensitivity and reducing insulin resistance. It also helps to boost patients moods and make them feel more energised.
• Diet: Monitoring your food intake and calorie consumption is critical for diabetes management, especially when taking insulin.

In the end, the best way to determine how well your diabetes management plan is working for you is by observing your glucose levels. This should be done in collaboration with your healthcare provider so you can adjust your plan to your body’s needs.

Your diet and diabetes

For diabetics, managing diet can feel overwhelming, but small changes make a big difference. A healthy diet should include a variety of foods from all five food groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, and starchy foods. It’s essential to limit high-sugar, high-fat, and high-salt foods. The focus should be on monitoring carbohydrate intake, as this has the biggest impact on blood sugar levels.

Carbohydrates refer to the starch and sugar in our food. Starches include breads, pasta, rice and starchy vegetables including potatoes and butternut, while sugary foods include sweet treats, cakes, cold drinks, and other refined or sweetened products. Choosing whole grain options over refined products and focusing on portion control are crucial for maintaining stable glucose levels.

Type 1

Thanks to advancements in insulin regimens, patients with type 1 do not have to worry too much about completely cutting out certain foods from their diet anymore. If you are following a basal bolus insulin regimen, injecting several times, or have an insulin pump, you can be more flexible about your diet without compromising your blood glucose control.

Opt for eating healthy, nutritious meals daily. Stay away from fruit juices and sugary drinks as these can make your glucose levels spike, which is not good for your health. It’s also important to eat regularly to prevent your blood sugar levels from dropping. So ideally, diabetics should eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and avoid skipping meals.

Type 2

There’s no one-size-fits-all diet for type 2 diabetics but these patients should make healthier dietary choices as often as possible. They should minimise sugary treats that can make their blood sugar spike.

The best thing for type 2 patients to do is to make dietary tweaks that are realistic and sustainable. Setting goals with what you’re trying to achieve in mind, can also help. For example, maybe you’re trying to reach a healthy weight or you want to achieve your target blood sugar level.

Practical guidelines

Adapting to a diabetes-friendly diet doesn’t have to be daunting! Here are some practical tips:

• Eat at least three meals per day and make sure to include a variety of foods in your diet. Ideally, your mealtimes should be evenly distributed.
• Keeping to a good eating schedule will hep you manage medications better. If you are on insulin, it is important to stick to a diet plan developed by a dietician.
• Choose healthy cooking methods and use fresh ingredients where possible. When cooking, opt for grilling, boiling, braaiing, air fryer and steaming.
• Avoid using excessive salt. Instead, use natural flavouring options such as onion, garlic, herbs, lemon, and paprika. Choose one flavouring to season your food and strictly manage the amount that you use. Also take the serving size into account.
• Avoid snacks such as chips, nuts, salted biscuits, pickled foods, and sauces.
• Avoid food high in sugar and sugar-containing products such as sweets, chocolate, honey, syrup, canned fruit, cake, jelly, flavoured milk and fizzy drinks. Always check your food labels for other forms of sugar such as dextrose, maltodextrin, sucrose, and molasses.
• Avoid sweetened or refined foods and drinks as these can be harmful to your health.
• Prioritise fruits but take care to not eat more than two servings per day. When choosing your servings, choose fruits that are small to medium in size. This will be a tennis ball-size apple, pear or orange, for example. Give preference to fresh fruits and minimise your intake of dried or canned fruits and fruit juice.
• Include vegetables in every meal as they are rich in fibre and nutrients. Again, be mindful of the cooking method and seasoning you choose.
• Prepare home-cooked meals. This helps control the ingredients and portion sizes, making it easier to manage blood sugar levels.
• Stock your kitchen with healthy snacks and meals. A few go-to ideas include:
  • Fresh fruits (see recommendations above).
  • Low-GI carbohydrates.
  • Small tubs of full cream plain yoghurt.
  • Packets of 30g nuts.
• Choose high-fibre food items. These slow down digestion and allow you to be fuller for longer. They also help to manage your blood sugar levels. Some tips:
  • Use whole wheat products (but always remember portion control)
  • Choose an affordable alternative to increase your fibre intake, for example, adding lentils to your rice.
  • Include legumes in your diet.
  • Consume one cup of vegetables which are high in fibre per day. This can be green peas, broccoli or carrots.
• Include protein-rich foods in your diet, but prep them accordingly. Trim visible fats from your meat, choose lean meats, and eat fish, eggs, and legumes often. Ensure that you choose a healthy cooking method.
• Work closely with your dietician/healthcare professional to create a diet that suits your body’s unique needs.
• Stay hydrated and drink enough water every day.
• Don’t be too hard on yourself! Adapting to your new diet will take time.

Ultimately, everyone needs to follow a healthy diet but for diabetics, it’s that much more important as it can help them to manage their disease and improve their quality of life.

FAQs

• What is diabetes?

  Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when your glucose (blood sugar) levels are too high. This can happen when your pancreas is not producing enough insulin or your body doesn’t react to the insulin being produced. There are different types of diabetes and it can affect people of all ages.

• What are symptoms of diabetes?

  Typical diabetes symptoms include:

  • Unquenchable thirst
  • Urinating more than usual
  • Blurred vision
  • Feeling tired
  • Unintentional weight loss
• Is there a specific diet for people with diabetes?

  No, there’s no one-size-fits-all diet for people with diabetes. It depends on your unique diagnosis, so it’s best to work with your healthcare provider to develop a diet plan suited for your needs.

• How do I manage diabetes?

  Diabetes is a complex illness so different strategies are combined to manage each individual’s unique diagnosis. Typically, an effective management plan consists of medication, insulin, exercise, diet and monitoring glucose levels.