Diabetic food advice

Eating with type 1 diabetes: What's good, what's healthy, and what makes a delicious diabetes diet plan?

Food is delicious, and so long as you’re on the right kind of insulin regime, you can eat as much of it as you like. Trust me, this is a big deal. Only a few years ago eating with diabetes meant a sugar-free diet and spending years missing out on ice cream, chocolate and cake. Boo to that.

Here I look at some common misconceptions about the diabetic diet, and make sure you can eat whatever it is you fancy.

Before you tuck in, let’s talk carb counting

Counting carbohydrates sounds boring, but it opens your mouth to a world of possibilities when you’re a type 1 diabetic.

Carb counting is what bodies without diabetes do naturally. The body works out how many carbs you’ve eaten, and releases the amount of insulin you’ll need to burn it down.

However, our bodies do have diabetes, so we have to do the carb counting for ourselves.

Fortunately for you, I have a DEDICATED CARB COUNTING PAGE! WOOO! There you’ll find everything you need to know to eat delicious food without dying. In short, it’s a useful page.

Do you need a special diabetic diet?

Type 2 diabetics will need to follow a specific diabetic diet plan to help them control their condition, but as type 1’s we’ve got our own ways of dealing with it. You don’t need a special diet, you just need to understand what’s in the food you’re eating and what insulin you need to take with it.

For type 2’s, there are handy charts like this one from Healthline showing you which foods are good for you.

Can diabetics eat sugar?

To put it simply, yes. You just need to be careful.

When a type 1 diabetic eats a lot of sugar, it will cause your blood sugar to spike. You just need to take the right amount of fast acting insulin to counter it. Check the carb count on anything sugary you're eating, take the insulin you need to counter those carbs, and enjoy.

There are also some good diabetic recipes out there that will lower your sugar consumption, but be careful - too much sugar alternative can cause problems later. You’ll poo a lot, basically. My mum once made me a diabetic Easter egg, and let me tell you, it was not a pretty sight a few hours later.

Are there different kinds of carbs?

All carbs work in different ways. You get fast acting carbs like sugar in sweets and fruit, and slow acting carbs in things like pasta and potatoes. Fast acting carbs can go away as quickly as they arrived - they won't hang around in your blood sugar for long. Slow acting carbs, however, could still be affecting your levels hours later. Things like a stuffed crust pizza, for example, could cause high levels for a long time after you've eaten it.

Don’t let that put you off though. Pizza is amazing and you should eat it, just carefully and with extra toppings.

High carb foods can be a tricky part of a diabetic’s diet, but if you understand carb counting, they can also be delicious.

Is beer a carb?

What? Trusty beer? Good old, faithful beer? Oh yeah, that's a carb alright. It is made of wheat, after all. The thing with beer is it's hard to predict what it will do to a diabetic’s blood sugar. Unlike other things, you can't have insulin for it in advance.

That's partly due to the fact it does different things for different people.

Helpful, right?

I find lagers tend to raise sugar the most, while stouts seem to be alright. But that isn't always the case. My best, most responsible advice would be to give it a try and see what happens. Seriously. It’s a really fun experiment.

Word of warning though, the mix of diabetes and alcohol can cause a particularly interesting kind of hangover. As your body soaks up the alcohol, it will also stop being able to absorb sugar. You might find it easier to slip into hypo, leading to you feeling all kinds of hungry.

I’ve got a dedicated page all about boozing it up. Read that for more.

How long do carbs stay in your body?

Different carbs work in different ways for diabetics. Fast-acting carbs will be used up in less than a couple of hours, meaning your insulin will have no problem in dealing with them.

Slower carbs, however, can be trickier. Your insulin will deal with the initial spike, but they could still affect your blood sugar levels long after the insulin is gone.

To cope with those, you just need to keep an eye on your levels. Don't get frustrated and shout things like, "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? I TOOK THE RIGHT INSULIN!" I know how it feels. And definitely don’t panic and take too much more insulin. Insulin works in your body for up to two hours, so give it time to do its job before taking any extra., or you’ll end up going low.

Is it ok to inject in a restaurant?

Gone out for a meal, have you? Fancy. You'll probably want to have some insulin so you can eat that tasty food you've ordered. Can you do this at the table? Damn right you can.

The first time you eat out as a diabetic, it might feel a little strange to inject in a crowded restaurant, but it's absolutely fine for you to do it if you feel comfortable. The chances are no-one will even notice, and if you do get any looks just smile and enjoy your food.

Of course if you don't feel confident enough to do that yet, there's no harm in nipping off to the toilet to do it. Just wait until your food is there. You don't want to have insulin and then discover the oven is broken.

How do diabetics eat tapas?

Normal food is so easy, isn't it? It's just one meal, one easy to carb count meal, one meal that you have to inject for that comes out at one time.

Tapas, on the other hand, is not one meal. Tapas is a challenge.

However, it's a challenge you can overcome. Think of it like this:

The food will all come out within the next hour or so. You'll often know what the food is going to be in advance, so can do your carb counting just like you would another meal. Take the insulin for it as soon as the first bit of carby content comes out. Let's say it's potatas bravas (delicious potato cubes, oh my). Later on there'll maybe be bread and something deep fried. There won't be too many carbs in total.

Have your insulin and leave it to work over the next two hours. It will cover every portion. Don't be tempted to inject for every course - it's a hassle, and the insulin will all add up. That could be tapas trouble.

You probably won’t find tapas on any diabetic diet plan or good food list, but if you know how to cope with it, you could easily find it in your stomach.

Are there diabetic sweets?

You can get diabetic sweets in all kinds of flavours, which you can eat and enjoy without needing any insulin. But why would you?

Too many of these sweets will have consequences - messy, poo-related consequences - and will leave you sitting on the toilet feeling sorry for yourself.

I’d not bother with them. If you use fast-acting insulin you can eat regular sweets without needing to stock up on toilet paper. Just note: some sweets are really very sweet, and will cause a big spike in your sugar levels. Things like Fruit Pastilles and Jelly Babies are so sweet they can fix a hypo, so you might be best sticking with less intense options. I love a bag of white chocolate buttons, maybe you will too!

What's the difference between sugar and carbs?

As far as you, a diabetic, is concerned, there is none. Carbohydrates are a kind of sugar (I don't get into the boring details here - I’ve got a life to live), and they'll both do the same thing to your blood sugar levels.

You know the bit on food packets that says 'carbs of which sugars'? Just look at the carbs number. That's all you need to know.

You might want to read about: Exercise | Sexual health | Alcohol | Holidays.