Nutritional approaches to diabetes treatment

Many people when they are first diagnosed with diabetes worry that eating will stop being pleasurable. Many myths persist about what sort of diet you should follow. The truth is that you don’t have to follow a special diabetic diet or buy ‘diabetic foods’. The guidelines for a healthy diet are the same for you as they are for everyone. Eating when you have diabetes will not only continue to be pleasurable and satisfying, it can also be your most powerful defence against the health problems associated with diabetes. These are the ways in which diet can help you:

• Reducing your intake of rapidly-digested carbohydrates can stabilize blood glucose levels, lower levels of unhealthy blood fat and improve sensitivity to any insulin still produced by your pancreas.
• Cutting down on salt reduces the sodium and fluid retention that can trigger high blood pressure.
• A high-fibre diet slows the absorption of dietary carbohydrates and cholesterol to improve your glucose control and blood cholesterol balance.
• Reducing energy intake helps you lose weight.
• Cutting back on partially hydrogenated trans fats can lower the risk of heart disease.
• Increasing your intake of healthy fats can improve glucose control and protect against cardiovascular problems.
• Fresh fruit and vegetables provide antioxidants and isoflavone that help to protect against the circulatory damage linked with diabetes.
• A wholefood diet provides trace elements that can improve glucose control.
• A diet rich in vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid can help reduce atherosclerosis

This is taken from Overcoming Diabetes by Dr Sarah Brewer