Nutrition & Diabetes
People with diabetes can live a normal healthy life. However, poorly controlled diabetes can lead to complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, blindness and a nerve problem which starts to shut the body's immune system down leading to amputation and death.
For both types of diabetes, it's extremely important to control blood sugar levels and blood pressure, to prevent any long-term complications.
Diabetes is the third most common long-term disease in the UK, after heart disease and cancer.
Balanced Diets, Healthy Nutrition
There is no guaranteed way of preventing diabetes. However, eating a healthy balanced diet, taking regular physical exercise, and losing weight if you are overweight can delay the onset of the condition.
The Food Standards Agency and Diabetes UK (formerly the British Diabetic Association) don't recommend special diabetic products.
"Diabetic" Foods
Foods that are labelled "diabetic" aren't necessarily healthier or more suitable for diabetics than other foods. And they tend to be more expensive than other products.
Many of the products that are labelled "diabetic" are sweets, chocolates and biscuits. We should all avoid eating lots of these types of foods.
"Let your foods be your medicine, and your medicine your food."
- plenty of fruit and vegetable
- plenty of starchy foods such as rice, bread, pasta (try to choose whole-grain varieties when you can) and potatoes
- some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and pulses
- some milk and dairy foods
- just a small amount of foods high in fat, salt and sugar
It's also important to eat a variety of foods to make sure we get all the nutrients our bodies need
Erik-lee, SE-Fitness