Introducing the Eatwell Guide

The general advice we give for someone with type 2 diabetes is to follow the eat well plate which is what we use in Britain to show what a healthy, balanced diet should look like for anybody over the age of five. There's five main food groups. The first one is fruit and vegetables, and you should aim to have between five and nine portions every day. And a portion is about a handful or two to three tablespoons of vegetables, one apple, one banana, or a small glass of fruit juice. They contain vitamins, minerals and fibre. The next one we have here is the starchy carbohydrate group. So that includes our bread, rice, potatoes and pasta. We should be aiming for around five to 14 of these foods a day. A portion might consist of a slice of bread, two new potatoes or about three tablespoons of cooked spaghetti or rice. So if you're quite sedentary, then it can be useful to stick to the lower threshold, so around the five to six portions a day, two portions with each meal, for example. If you're more active and burning more energy, then you need more carbohydrates to fuel this, so you might be aiming for two to three portions with each meal. The next group is milk and dairy foods, and you need two to three portions of these a day, and a portion is about a third of a pint of milk, a matchbox size of cheese, which is about 30 grams, or a pot of yogurt. They're very high in calcium, which is important for your bones and teeth. It's best to choose the lower fat ones when they're available. The protein category consists of meat, fish, eggs, and alternatives such as pulses. A portion of protein, such as meat or fish, looks like a small deck of playing cards. Proteins are really important in the body for growth and repair. All our fruits contain a natural sugar called fructose, it's a slow acting sugar so that's why we say that there's no need to cut out any particular fruits, including grapes and bananas which are common myths. We don't advise any diabetic products for people with type 2 diabetes. Regular products offer no benefit over regular products, so if you did want some jam or ice cream, you can, just make sure you're being aware of the portion size. A word of caution with fruit juice, it's a more concentrated form of carbohydrate, so be aware of portion sizes. It's advisable just to aim for the one glass of fruit juice a day. A glass would be around 150 mils. An example of a healthy balanced lunch could be a chicken salad sandwich on granary bread. An example of a healthy balanced main meal could be meat, potatoes and vegetables. You've got most of your plate providing the vegetables and a smaller portion of carbohydrate and some protein from the beef. Another option could be a spaghetti bolognese. So you can add some vegetables on the side. And a good tip is to add plenty of veg to the sauce as well to bulk it out and add extra flavor. So these are some examples of portion sizes which show a nice balance between the amount of vegetables, carbohydrate, and protein on a plate. We know there's a link between being overweight and type 2 diabetes. Trying to maintain or achieve a healthy weight is a good target. This isn't realistic for everybody and we do know that just a 5-10% weight loss can be really beneficial for diabetes control. A recommended amount is around 1-2 pounds a week as a healthy weight loss target. people eat because they're upset, depressed and getting further help and support, if that is the case, is the way forward. If you want further information you can attend a local structured education course. Some examples include Desmond and Expert. People learn as much from each other attending the course as they do from the experts and feedback has been really positive. There's an awful lot of information to learn on diabetes. The thing I want you to take away, if nothing else, is that the diet should be the same as it is for the general population. It's everything in moderation and no foods are forbidden.