Healthy Eating and Diabetes
One important message which came across was that, although it is important to follow a healthy diet, it does not mean that you have failed in any way if you have to change your medication e.g. by starting on tablets after controlling your diabetes by diet alone, by going on to insulin after being on tablets. Diabetes is progressive and the main thing is to achieve successful control which may inevitably involve changes in your treatment.
Everyone should eat a balanced diet, but what you choose depends on your individual circumstances. A good aim for carbohydrates is to have 50g per meal, but this can vary according to how active you are. Up to 25g of sugar is not harmful. Salt intake should be kept down. All fruit is good but it should be remebered that fruit contains sugar which affects your calorific intake, so it is best to spread it out through the day rather than eat a large amount at one time. There is no need to look for foods labelled as "diabetic", and , in fact, many outlets no longer stock such produce.
You have the right to ask to be referred to a specialist healthcare professional, such as a dietitian, if you feel you are having problems.
Refer to the Diabetes UK website for advice on healthy eating, to download recipes etc: