Healthy eating... Diabetes Australia

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Home > Living well with diabetes...

Healthy eating

Having diabetes doesn't mean that meal times have to be boring or bland - just check out these ideas in Recipe of the Week, and for members only, Dessert of the Month.

Healthy eating for diabetes includes selecting high fibre, lower Glycemic Index (GI) carbohydrate foods and reducing fat, especially saturated fat. Food intake should be balanced with exercise to maintain a healthy body weight.

An illustrated guide

The Diabetes: Making Healthy Food Choices colour pictorial guide covers the wide range of foods available for people with diabetes. It is available for download in PDF format (4.3MB).

It is also available in Italian (3.5MB), Chinese (3.8MB) and Arabic (4.3MB).

To view these PDF files, you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Guidelines and advice

The Dietary Guidelines for Australian Adults, produced by the National Health and Medical Research Council, is an excellent guide to help you eat healthy. In addition to following the Dietary Guidelines, there are a few extra considerations for people with diabetes:

• Eat regular meals and snacks spread evenly over the day

This provides your body with a regular supply of energy and can help to control blood glucose levels (BGLs). If you need to lose some weight eat nutritious lower energy snacks, like fruit or diet yoghurt, or limit how often you snack.

• Include carbohydrate foods at each meal and snack

Carbohydrate foods are the best source of energy for your body. Carbohydrate foods have a direct affect on your BGLs.

They include breads and cereals, pasta, rice, starchy vegetables (potato, sweet potato and corn), fruit, legumes and some dairy products (milk, yoghurt and dairy desserts). The type, as well as the amount, of carbohydrate eaten at a meal is important for people with diabetes. The amount of carbohydrate you need depends on many factors including your body weight and how active you are.

• The Glycemic Index

The Glycemic Index, or GI, is a ranking of carbohydrates in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels.

Foods with a low GI raise BGLs more slowly and steadily than foods with a high GI. People with diabetes can benefit from eating low GI foods throughout the day, ideally one at each meal.

Low GI foods include heavy grain breads & fruit loafs, rolled oats and muesli, pasta, corn, sweet potato, low fat milk, yoghurt and ice-cream as well as most fruits. For more information on the GI on food labels read about the GI Symbol Program.

• Choose foods lower in total fat and in particular low in saturated fats

Eating too much fat in general, and saturated fat in particular, can lead to weight gain, which may lead to increased blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Saturated fat is found mainly in animal foods, like meat, cheese, butter and full cream dairy products as well as in takeaway and many pre-packaged foods (e.g. biscuits and chips). To reduce your saturated fat intake try to choose low fat dairy foods, lean meats, skinless chicken, margarine instead of butter, and limit fried take away foods, processed meats, pies, pre-packaged biscuits, cakes and other high fat packaged foods.

• Include small amounts of the healthier fats

Some fat in the diet is important for good health. Using a variety of healthier fats will achieve a good balance. Healthier fats include poly and monounsaturated margarines and oils such as canola or olive, fish, avocado, nuts and seeds. All dietary fat in excess can contribute to weight gain, so consume an amount that is suitable for you.

• Choose high fibre foods

Fibre has many benefits for the body including keeping your bowels healthy, protecting against bowel cancer and lowering your BGLs and cholesterol levels. A high fibre meal also leaves you feeling fuller which can assist with weight loss. To improve your fibre intake choose wholegrain or high fibre breads and cereals, and plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruit.

• A word on sugar

A myth that continues to surround diabetes is that the diet must be low-sugar or sugar-free. We now know that this is not the case as the GI has shown that some types of sugar, such as those found in fruit or milk, convert to glucose more slowly in the body. While it is still important to limit foods which are concentrated sources of sugar, or high in added refined sugar, (e.g. soft drinks, lollies and syrups), small amounts of sugar can be included as part of a lower fat, high fibre meal for people with diabetes. If you would like a copy of our fact sheet The Facts About Sugar, call the Customer Care Line on 1300 136 588.

Diabetes Australia runs Healthy Shopping Tours (in the Sydney metropolitan and some regional areas) to teach you how to read food labels and help make selecting healthy foods easier.

For more information