nutrition Archives - Diabetes Counselling Online

D-discussion on ‘That Sugar Film’

March 23, 2015 by Sally 2 Comments

Last week I attended the Newcastle premiere of ‘That Sugar Film’, with Damon Gameau as the star. I was there because I was invited to participate afterwards as the ‘nutrition expert’ in the 30 minute Q&A with the audience, numbering 640. I thought my experience worth talking about as, although the film is doing an awesome job at raising awareness of how much sugar is in the foods we eat, it’s really important that people understand that eating well is not all about fearing or avoiding one nutrient (in this case, sugar). I believe that achieving optimum health through eating a well balanced diet, consisting of a variety of real foods, mostly plants, is the most important message to take away from this experience, and I hope that is what I communicated to the audience as a panel member.

In ‘That Sugar Film’ Damon Gameau performs an experiment on just himself. Bearing in mind that we’re all different, and, importantly, that this wasn’t a clinical trial, Damon’s self experiment can form a good reminder to us on some key points of understanding about how added sugars in foods can play havoc with our wellbeing in various ways. Damon has written a blog himself explaining what ‘added sugars’ actually means. He explains, as I have previously done, how and why the term ‘added sugars’ does not include the naturally occurring sugars in fruits and dairy. Natural sugars such as these, and other carbohydrates, including whole grains and legumes, also provide essential nutrients for wellbeing. I encourage you to read his blog on this subject (link above) as it provides a well balanced view.

The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA), of which I am a member, supports the recommendations of the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) about limiting the intake of foods and drinks containing added sugars. Examples are: confectionery; sugar-sweetened soft drinks and cordials; fruit drinks; vitamin waters; energy drinks; and sports drinks. The DAA believes a healthy, balanced diet involves eating appropriate amounts of a wide variety of nutritious foods, while occasionally being able to enjoy small amounts of ‘discretionary choices’. It’s about taking a balanced approach that is sustainable over the long term.

On that note, remember my recent blog chatting about Dr Rosemary Stanton’s talk on ‘Why so many controversies?’ Here, Dr Stanton reminds us that junk food, containing free sugars, poor quality fats, and high levels of sodium, currently accounts for 36% of the energy intake of adults, and greater than 40% of children’s energy intake. Those are scary figures. Those figures are worth considering when choosing foods and drinks, as are the points about added sugars in ‘That Sugar Film’. Making healthy choices is really about being mindful of what is in the foods we’re eating, choosing to buy and eat fresh foods, learning to read labels, and remembering to eat with moderation.

For us with diabetes, I found this experience to be a really good reminder to be mindful in our food choices. We can consider if we could make a healthier choice where there are options. This is not always possible, so remembering that ‘a little of what you like does you good’, if you make the decision to eat something from our ‘discretionary’ list, then it’s not worth feeling guilty about. Enjoy that choice, try to make it a small amount, and eat slowly and mindfully.

Nourishment and Enjoyment

It is important to appreciate that we eat food for more reasons that just getting the nutrients we need for good health. Eating is also a social activity and most celebrations are based around eating (think weddings, funerals, get-togethers and more). It’s about learning the balance between nourishment and enjoyment.

As APD Dr Joanna McMillan reminds us, it’s important to take pleasure in what you’re eating because that’s the only way you’ll do it for the long term. This is such an important message for us all to remember, especially when we have diabetes because it really is every meal for the rest of our lives. As we often say, ‘it’s all about moderation’ and trying where possible to make healthier choices.

Accredited Nutritionist Catherine Saxelby also reinforces these ideas in her blog on this film where she says, “On a more serious note, I believe the film goes overboard on the need to quit sugar. Are we not capable of moderation? Does it have to be total exclusion?”

Nutrition is a developing science

There is a lot to learn about food and how it affects us. As the dietitian for Diabetes Counselling Online I’ve written over 60 blogs on diabetes and food for Diabetes Counselling Online in an effort to help people with any type of diabetes to get a clear understanding of the nutritional value and health benefits of the food and drinks we choose. There are many more more topics to cover.

I’m constantly reminding people to aim to choose ‘real foods’ from the 5 food groups in the Australian Dietary Guidelines. These guidelines (released in 2013) were developed by real experts who reviewed over 55,000 scientific journal articles. They then translated that evidence into meaningful dietary advice, while reflecting a commitment to best practice standards in health guideline development. This amazing work was done to help all Australians to make better decisions about the foods we choose, to minimise risk of many long term health conditions.

Nutrition science is constantly developing and there are still many discoveries to be made. This is why dietitians constantly study to keep up to date with the latest research so the advice we provide in our medical nutrition therapy is providing you with the safest and most practical advice available.

Some processed foods aren’t all bad

Another point worth making is that ‘That Sugar Film’ demonstrates the large amounts of sugars that can be found in processed foods. It tells us that if you took all the foods off a shelf in a supermarket that contained added sugar, there’d only be about 20% of the foods left there. So this is an exercise for us in learning to read labels, as well as us understanding how to make informed choices of the foods that are there.

Some of these processed foods that are referred to in the film are baked beans, containing the equiv of 1 tsp of sugar per serve. Using baked beans as an example, the beans themselves are highly nutritious and 1 tsp sugar is in the sauce, which also contains nutrients such as lycopene that we need to obtain from cooked tomatoes. That 1 teaspoon of sugar is not enough to spike your BGLs and baked beans do have a low glycemic index, so they’re a good option for us when we need a meal in a hurry.

There are also other processed foods such as tinned and frozen vegetables, some breakfast cereals, some grainy breads and dairy products that as a dietitian I regularly encourage people to use. If these products weren’t being recommended, then chances are that people might inadvertently choose something less nutritious in an effort to have a little less sugar. Learning to label read is so important here. Some of the healthier, lower GI breakfast cereals are really convenient options in our busy lives, as well as containing important nutrients that we need for wellbeing, despite containing some added sugars.

Have you seen it?

If you haven’t seen ‘That Sugar Film’ yet, I encourage a viewing as it will help you to reflect on your own intake of ‘added sugars’, and perhaps help you to understand more about yourself and the food you eat. Just remember to come back and re-read here, so you can refresh your memory about the points I have made in this blog so you’re seeing a balanced perspective.

In the words of Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This is reinforced by the words of Associate Professor and APD Tim Crowe, “Because there are thousands of natural chemicals present in foods, there is no single food that should be called a ‘superfood’. Instead, think ‘superdiets’ that contain plenty of different plant-based foods as the best way to eat for good health.”

Please feel free to ask questions either in the space provided following this blog, or on our closed Facebook group ‘Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!”. I believe food really should be celebrated, not feared.

Sally

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a linked list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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D-thoughts on snacking

January 26, 2015 by Sally Leave a Comment

Happy Australia Day! And what good timing for a blog on snacking! It must be the ‘most asked’ question I get as a dietitian: “What are the best snacks for people with diabetes?”

It’s not really a black and white question as the answer depends on your personal diabetes requirements, your personal tastes, your ability to be mindful in your choices and your knowledge of healthy eating in general. So this blog aims to help you to be mindful in making snacking decisions.

We encourage you to choose foods that are higher in nutrients to add to your overall wellbeing, rather than ‘discretionary choices’ which everybody, diabetic or not, is encouraged to limit. It’s especially the case for us with diabetes… but it doesn’t mean missing out on delicious flavours!

Priority One

Your first priority needs to be your overall diabetes goals. Are you getting all the nutrients from your diet that you need for wellbeing? Are you needing to watch your weight? Is matching your food intake to your body’s ability to process carbs an issue for you?

A perfect segue to our Australian Dietary Guidelines… Are you actually meeting the quantities recommended in the 5 main food groups across your day?

In an ideal world we would choose snacks that are included in the foods that we are recommended to enjoy each day. In these examples I’m referring to the ‘Healthy Eating for Adults’ brochure, but there’s also a Healthy Eating for Children brochure for those thinking about their children with diabetes. In both cases, the actual food group listings are on page 2.

Each of the food groups has snacking potential, so there’s always plenty to choose from.

In the ‘Vegetables and legumes/beans’ group you can always find a low-carb snack if that’s what you’re after. Whether it’s raw veg to nibble on, celery with nut butter, blanched asparagus spears when they’re in season, tasty tiny tomatoes that burst with flavour in your mouth, hummous dip with veggie sticks, or even leftover cold roasted non-starchies or ratatouille (recipe in the files section of the closed ‘Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!’ Facebook group). There are always options in this group of foods if one of them will meet what you’re looking for…

Next group down and a great one for those wanting something to satisfy a sweetness craving is the ‘Fruit’ group. With diabetes we are recommended to aim for about 2 serves per day, eaten at different times. However, some fruits are really low in carbohydrate, so we can have more of these without upsetting our glycemic control. Some of those include berries, passionfruit and kiwifruit. But still watch your quantities. If you want to know how much fruit will contain 15g of carbohydrate, take a look at www.calorieking.com.au , search for the fruit you are looking at, and adjust quantities to get to the 1 carb serve number.

In the ‘Grain (cereal) foods’ group, it’s easy to calculate whether you’re going to meet your daily recommended amount. Often for people with diabetes this is a group that people actually tend to be low in. Instead of choosing a ‘discretionary item’, swapping in a low-GI high fibre grain snack such a piece of heavily grained toast with a topping to suit your taste can be a great option to satisfy your hunger and keep your BGLs stable. Or even a small bowl of your high-fibre cereal. Of course these options all contain carbs, but they are all much more nutritious than a cracker or sweet biscuit.

In the ‘Protein’ group, snacking options are easy to find, but it’s important to remember to try not to exceed the guidelines in terms of serve sizes and number of serves recommendations. This is because protein contains energy (or calories/kilojoules) that will cause weight gain if you have too much, although they shouldn’t upset your glycemic control. I recommend having a read of this blog on Protein : written earlier, if you’d like more info. The perfect snack from within this group for us with diabetes is really a handful of nuts, as the evidence behind inclusion of nuts in our diet is quite outstanding. Read more about nuts in this blog.

And last, but not least, is the ‘Dairy and/or alternatives’ group. I wrote a couple of blogs about dairy and diabetes as it’s such an important food group for us with diabetes. Here’s a link to the first one and the second one that contain more great ideas for snacking. My favourite snacking recommendations to help meet the nutritional guidelines are a low-fat yogurt (low sugar too if you’re watching your carb intake closely) or plain low-fat greek yogurt with berries mixed in. Or a low-fat milk based smoothie made on frozen berries, with a couple of teaspoons of chia seeds added for extra fibre. Even a cup of milk based coffee can do the trick… These should work well to satisfy hunger and provide you with the nutrients this group is known for.

Priority Two

Your second priority, also a very important one, is to ask yourself what do you actually feel like eating and why? Sometimes snacking can become a habit. People say “I have a sweet tooth and NEED a biscuit or cake”. (or whatever) This is important too, because if you deprive yourself of what you really want (or feel you need) all the time, then your craving will only grow bigger and you’ll end up overdoing it and regretting it later. Not a good thing, but happens all too often. If you can enjoy a small amount of what you feel you “need”, being mindful of enjoying every mouthful, savouring the textures and flavours that you’ve wanted so badly, then you’re in a better place to return to your ‘healthier’ options on a regular basis.

Do I really need to snack?

If you’re medicated for your diabetes, and are putting yourself at risk of a hypo if you don’t snack, then you should snack as you’ve been advised by your medical diabetes team. If in this case you’d rather not be snacking as you’re just not hungry, then you should talk to your d-team and arrange to have the medication adjusted so that you don’t need to snack.

For those of you where snacking has just become a habit, it’s worth thinking twice to see if you really are hungry before you just head for a snack. Is it out of habit or because you’re bored? Sometimes a drink of water will satisfy that ‘hunger’ feeling, which may actually be your body telling you that you’re dehydrated. If you’re bored, take the opportunity to go for a walk, call a friend, do something off your household chores list, read a book, or engage in your hobby.

If you are constantly actually hungry, it may be worth your while to visit an Accredited Practising Dietitian to see how your meal plan can be adjusted to help avoid that happening. Being hungry is not good or necessary for you to manage your diabetes and weight well.

More ideas?

In the Diabetes Counselling Online closed Facebook groups ‘Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!’ and ‘Diabetes Weight Matters’ we’ve asked the members what their favourite snacks are and have created a document up in the files section of the groups. I think I still need to finalise the weight matters file, but it’ll be there soon. These are member ideas, not necessarily dietitian approved, so please use this blog as a thought process in helping to make your snacking decisions right for you.

Also in the current issue (February 2015) of the Australian Healthy Food Guide they’re running a feature relevant to this blog that you may find helpful. It’s entitled “Your Treat Foods Toolkit” and explains “why those ‘naughty’ treat foods are discretionary, and how they can fit into a healthy diet.” It’s written by an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Brooke Longfield and can be found on page 34. Although not related specifically to diabetes, you’ll find it helpful for portion sizes and understanding more about ‘discretionary’ foods.

Happy snacking! Sally

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Making 2&5 easy

November 3, 2014 by Sally Leave a Comment

We’re all so busy these days. How on Earth are we meant to able to consider our health and getting enough fruit and vegetables (our 2&5) into the meals we eat?

Often I see clients who, when I take their diet histories, they don’t even start to consider foods like fruit and vegetables until so late in the day that it’s actually too late to get enough of those important plant nutrients. Or when they’re doing it they find them so unappealing that there’s no incentive to make them want to eat more.

In this blog I hope to help you find it easier to get them all in and enjoy them, which in turn will help you to improve your own wellbeing, diabetes health, mental health, heart health and so much more!

The Australian Dietary Guidelines tells us:

“There are many nutritional, societal, culinary and environmental reasons to ensure that vegetables, including legumes/beans, and fruit are a major component of Australian dietary patterns. These foods are nutrient dense, relatively low in energy (kilojoules) and are good sources of minerals and vitamins (such as magnesium, vitamin C and folate), dietary fibre and a range of phytochemicals including carotenoids. Many of the sub-components of foods and their relationships have not been studied in detail, and it is expected that other sub-components – and their biological effects – are still to be discovered.”

From a diabetes point of view, they’ll help improve our immune system, mental health, good cholesterol, bowel health and help with weight management (just to name a few benefits!).

Perhaps a good start would be to look at ideas to include them in your meals across the day, and then provide you with some easy recipes – some of my personal favourites, and I encourage you to share your personal favourites below too in case they inspire someone else to enjoy more of these wonderful foods.

A good starting point is to know what the guideline is and how much a serve is. This snip from the Australian Dietary Guidelines for Adults brochure provides a pretty clear picture.

One of my best tips is to break up the intake of these foods across the day so that you’re not left with large amounts required at the end. Personally I aim to get 2-3 serves of vegetables at lunchtime and another 2-3 for dinner, and I one of my fruit serves at breakfast and one as a snack later in the day. But there are no rules about this. Here are some ideas that might help you.

Breakfast

Weekday breakfasts usually need to be fast to prepare and eat. So a bowl of high fibre cereal with a serve of fruit is one easy way to get you off to a good start. Think bananas, strawberries, blueberries. A milk based smoothie also works well here, as does multigrain toast with peanut butter and a squashed banana.

On weekends with a little more time, why not wilt some baby spinach leaves and panfry mushrooms and tomato, served on toast with an egg. Remembering that one medium sized tomato equals a serve, and half a cup of cooked veg (the mushrooms and wilted spinach) is another serve, you’re off to a great start with two vegetable serves already under your belt.

Lunch

I love lunchtimes in my office. I take the various ingredients to build my favourite salad and set aside an hour to build and eat it while I check my email and Facebook. My salads include mixed leaves, baby tomatoes (various colours if they’re available), Lebanese cucumber, onion, half a cup of 4 bean mix and a quarter of an avocado. That gives me around 3 vegetable serves and I salivate over every mouthful.

Of course leftover are also a top idea for lunch, especially ones high in vegetable ingredient, and can be served with baby spinach leaves to lift them.

And if you’re in a massive hurry and can only have time to make a sandwich, pile on the salad and take some extra veg in a box to nibble on with your sandwich. I just adore the flavour in the grape or Perino tomatoes, and cooked and cooled asparagus (in season at the moment) are such a treat flavourwise – I even enjoy it raw!

Dinner

A good place to start here is to remember the plate model, in that half your plate should be non-starchy veg or salad.

I’ll provide ideas below on some yummy ways you can make this happen. It is definitely the easiest meal to get those extra serves in, so 2-3 shouldn’t be a challenge at all.

Snacks

Of course a piece of fruit is an excellent snack, remembering you’re aiming for 2 per day, so if you’ve had one with your breakfast you only need one later in the day too. For us with diabetes they’re better off eaten at separate times to keep our BGLs more stable.

Five easy ideas to enjoy your vegetables

Simply steamed or microwaved to an ‘al-dente’ texture (ie not overcooked) mixed vegetables of your choice such as broccoli, zucchini, green beans and peas. Dress with the juice of a lemon, a finely chopped clove of garlic, extra virgin olive oil (equal amount to the lemon juice) and salt and pepper to taste. Delicious!
Start with a tin of tomatoes and add flavours such as garlic, anchovies and chilli. Then just add your choice of veggies and simmer in the sauce for 5 minutes or until they’re an al-dente texture (not overcooked). Tasty!
Take a bowl and add a huge variety of vegetables such as mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini, pumpkin, beans, whole garlic cloves, onion and toss them in some extra virgin olive oil with fresh or dried oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Tip them into a baking tray lined with baking paper (for easy washing up) and roast at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 mins. Also wonderful with crumbled feta cheese tossed through at the end, and delicious cold the next day for leftover lunches!
Soups and stews are such an obvious choice for those who find it hard to enjoy their veggies as all you need to do is add a whole load of mixed veggies into a large pot, cover with stock, simmer for 20-30 minutes and blend with your desired flavourings. How easy is that?!
Last but not least, if you have left over steamed vegetables it’s so easy to reinvigorate them by adding them into a mix of a few beaten eggs and some cheese and a few extra fresh herbs, baked for 30 mins at 180 degrees to make a frittata that will ‘Wow’ your guests. Also fabulous for next day lunches to help get your vegetable serves in. Yummo!

That’s probably enough to cover in this blog. I’ve give you quite a lot to consider. As mentioned, we’d love you to share your favourite ways of enjoying vegetables, and let’s talk about them more in our Diabetes Counselling Online groups such as Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!, Diabetes Weight Matters and Men Living with Diabetes among others.

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a linked list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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Fancy a beautiful Lunch in a Vineyard winery?

October 9, 2014 by helwild Leave a Comment

LDV 2014 email invitation.pdf - Adobe Reader

Hello.

You already know that www.diabetescounselling.com.au is an Australian Charity, providing free education, support, and counselling to people with diabetes and their families. This means that there are also Volunteers who spend time fund raising throughout the year.

In 2014 we are fortunate to be one of many charities generously supported by Channel 9 Telethon. In late October, we are one of only 6 charities being supported in running a Charity Luncheon, La Dolce Vita, in the beautiful Adelaide Hills.

Celebrating our lives through good food, good company, good wine, in beautiful settings is one of the best aspects of life. This event is an outstanding one, with some of the best food, wine, and scenery that South Australia can offer. It is made extra special knowing that you are supporting 6 diverse charities directly through the opportunities to participate in auctions and raffles on the day, whilst enjoying a gentle ‘wind down’ as 2014 draws to a close.

“La Dolce Vita 2014
Proudly supported by Beyond Bank Australia
Sunday 26th October
It is our pleasure to invite you to La Dolce Vita which, again this year, is being held in the stunning setting of Longview Vineyard.

With fine Italian cuisine and specially selected wines from Longview Vineyard’s cellars being served, you will be treated to a range of mouth-watering taste sensations.
Inspired by the wonderful Italian lifestyle La Dolce Vita promises a lovely relaxing afternoon for you to enjoy with family and friends.

La Dolce Vita is being held:
At: Longview Vineyard, Macclesfield
On: Sunday 26 October 2014
From: 12.30pm to 5pm

(Entrees on the piazza followed by main course, dessert and an auction presented by Michael Pratt … his distinctive style … in the padiglione.)

This year La Dolce Vita is supporting Asthma SA, Blind Sporting Council, Diabetes Counselling Online, The Mary Potter Foundation, PARAQUAD SA, and 5RPH Vision Australia Radio.”

Tickets at $135 per person, or $1300 for a table of 10 are available next to the Diabetes Counselling Online table if you’d like to sit with us! Just email Helen Wilde at [email protected] to purchase tickets from us!

Tickets to La Dolce Vita are limited, but we do have a few remaining at our own table for sale.

Please read the info below from the Channel 9 Telethon office for other booking details. Contact me on [email protected] for more information.

“Tickets at $135 per person or $1,300 per table of 10 can also be booked via the Telethon website or by contacting 8267 0206. Bus transport, which will leave vantage points close to the city, can be booked by contacting Channel 9 Telethon on 8267 0206.
Tickets are strictly limited to 270 guests.”

We look forward to sharing La Dolce Vita 2014 with you.

See you there!

Regards

Helen Wilde

Senior Counsellor

Helen has been a Counsellor with the service since 2003. She has been the parent of someone living with Type 1 diabetes since 1979, and has had type 2 diabetes herself since 2002.

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Discussion on low carb diets

July 28, 2014 by Sally 8 Comments

Australian Guide to healthy eating poster

By popular demand through a thread in our Facebook group Diabetes and Food – let’s celebrate it!, this topic deserves a blog to help explain some of the ‘stuff we hear’ around carbohydrates and type 2 diabetes. I’d also encourage people with type 1 diabetes to read this though, because some of the points made are also relevant for us! Up front I will remind you that everyone has individual requirements and should see an Accredited Practising Dietitian for a personalised consultation, so this is a ‘general guide’ only.

Firstly we need to understand what ‘low’ means in such a context as in my experience as an Accredited Practising Dietitian, people tend to associate ‘low’ with ‘virtually no’ carbohydrate. We’ll also look at some of the evidence that shows that ‘low’ carb diets can help with glucose control in type 2s, and why when drugs (other than metformin or SGLT2-inhibitors) are introduced it’s important to ensure more (quality) carb intakes as advised by your health professionals. And lastly (but certainly not leastly) we’ll review how, based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines, it’s possible to have a nutritionally balanced diet while watching your carb intake.

What does ‘low’ carbohydrate mean?

If you ask some people what they think ‘low carb’ means, you may hear that it’s about cutting carbohydrates out as much as possible. Straight up as a dietitian my alarm bells ring as carbs feature in all five of the food groups that we need for nutrients to ensure our wellbeing: vegetables (starchy vegetables like potato, sweet potato and corn), fruit, dairy, protein (when the likes of legumes are included, and especially in vegetarian diets) and of course, the important grain/cereal foods.

The American Diabetes Association defines a low-carb diet as 130g of carb per day. Does that surprise you?? The ‘trick’ with low carb diets is therefore to know how to choose your carbs wisely so that you’re still meeting your nutrient requirements, and also to know what to replace that carb energy with (remembering that carbs, proteins and fats make up our daily energy intake) so you don’t get too hungry and be encouraged to ‘cheat’.

Remembering that there’s 15g of carbohydrate in an ‘exchange’ or ‘serve’ that gives us close to 9 carb serves across the day.

If you’re on medication that helps your body to produce more insulin, or you’re providing insulin yourself on a fixed dose then this idea is dangerous to your health so please speak to your health professionals before making any changes to your diet.

Some benefits of lower carbohydrate diets

Of course we know that all carbohydrates break down to glucose which is the fuel needed by our bodies, but in modern diets often too much (and poor quality) of this ‘fuel’ is provided which can cause stress to our organs and worsen our diabetes control. So understanding the benefits of a lower carbohydrate diet can help us to stick with it for longer and balance the rest of our diets more easily.

Some of those benefits may include:

Lower incidence of high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia)
Lower amounts of medications need to control hyperglycemia
130g/day is a sustainable amount, meaning it’s easier to stick to in the longer term
Putting your pancreas under less stress to produce insulin, thereby helping it to keep working for longer
By ensuring your 130g/day is nutritious and low-GI carb you may also improve your blood fat levels (cholesterol/triglycerides) which will lower your risk of cardiovascular disease
It doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss – that depends on your total energy intake.

How do you manage it best?

Again I will mention how important having a personalised consultation with your Accredited Practising Dietitian is because everyone is different in many ways. Here I will make suggestions that I hope will help to get your head around combining the idea of low carb into your daily routine while still meeting the nutritional requirements as outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines foundation diet (see page 2).

In a nutshell, it’s about only choosing your carb sources from the 5 food groups and balancing that out with quality proteins and healthy fats. I encourage you to re-read the previous blogs I’ve written on those topics as highlighted.

Remembering that 130g/day equates to close to 9 carb exchanges/serves, your day might start to look a bit like this:

Breakfast: ¼ cup of raw rolled oats (1 serve carb) served with 125ml light milk (half a serve), a small banana (85g – 1 carb serve) and a tablespoon of LSA mix (for extra fibre/protein) = 2.5 serves total

Morning Tea: A 100g tub of low-fat yogurt = 1 serve total

Lunch: A sandwich made on wholegrain bread (the grainer the better – 2 serves) made with a protein serve and as much non-starchy veg as you can handle, either on the sandwich or as a side, using half an avocado as the spread (for your good fats), and a piece of fruit such as an apple or pear (both good low-GI fruits – 1 serve) = 3 serves total

Afternoon Tea: A 30g handful of mixed unsalted nuts = not worth counting carb-wise

Dinner: Remembering the balanced plate being one quarter carb, one quarter protein and half non-starchy vegetables, this works with so many meals. Aim for your carb serve to = 2 serves total

Supper: You’ve still got half a carb serve up your sleeve. I would encourage something like half a slice of grainy toast with peanut butter on it to give you the energy to get you through the night, but half a serve of low-fat dairy would also work well, or even a couple of squares of dark chocolate if you fancied it = 0.5 serves total

In this example you can see that we’ve incorporated 9 carb serves/exchanges and yet have included quality carbs at every meal.

Some final tips

Remember to include protein and some non-starchy veg with every meal.
Rice and pasta can be problematic a serve size is so small. Something I recommend that works for many people is to include the carb serves in the form of legumes (lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, etc) in the pasta sauce and use low-carb alternatives such as those made from konjac root, or make pasta/rice out of vegetables such as grated zucchini or carrot or cauliflower. I sometimes serve my pasta sauces on mashed cannellini beans and frozen spinach (warmed of course!) and find it’s very satisfying.
Don’t forget to exercise! If the point of minimising your carbs is to control your BGLs, then even as little as ten minutes exercise after meals can make a fantastic difference to your readings. Do some self-experimenting about how much your BGLs drop after say 10, 20 or 30 minutes walking after meals, and then if you want to include more quality carbohydrates in some meals, you’ll know how to manage better.

I hope this has proved useful for you, and that you have a better understanding of how a low-carb (130g/day) might help with your diabetes control. Of course please ask any questions below and I’ll be happy to address them for you.

Sally is the Social Media Dietitian with Diabetes Counselling Online, owner of her private practice (Marchini Nutrition), and has had type 1 diabetes for close to 40 years and coeliac disease for many years too. You can access a list of all Sally’s Diabetes Counselling Online blogs here.

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