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What is a diabetes diet?

I just became a Type 1 diabetic, I want to know what fruit and food can I eat and what should I avoid?

I do not understand low fibre / high fibre, low GI / high GI. Can I eat apples, oranges, potato, pumpkin, tomato, meat?

What can I eat, what can I not eat? I do not know groups, can someone please help me?

– Andre Viviers


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One Comment

  1. Hi Andre!
    First of all, welcome to the community – you’re not alone. We’ll be doing an in-depth article on low GI in our first magazine in November (have you signed up to get it – it’s free), but here are a few guidelines:

    Basically, low fibre is processed food like white bread, pies, pasta etc, and should be eaten as little as possible.
    High fibre is wholegrain, whole wheat, brown rice, bran etc, and is very good for you.
    High GI is carbohydrate that is quickly absorbed and spikes and then crashes your blood sugar (not good) – these are mostly low fibre foods.
    Low GI is slowly released carbohydrate that slowly raises and lowers your blood sugar (very good) – most high fibre foods are low GI.

    Can you eat apples, oranges, potato, pumpkin, tomato, meat? Yes! You can eat everything in moderation. You just have to take enough insulin to cover what you eat. So every time you eat carbohydrate (things like bread, potatoes, pasta, pumpkin, butternut etc, but also milk, yoghurt and all fruit) you have to take insulin. Proteins, like meat, fish and chicken, don’t have carbohydrates so you don’t have to inject for them, but it’s best to go for low-fat options or the fat will affect your blood sugar. And most vegetables (except ‘sugary’ ones like pumpkin and butternut) are carb-free, so you can eat as many as you like 🙂

    I hope this helps a bit, but I’d really recommend seeing a dietician if you can – they really know everything you need to know, and can tailormake a diet to suit your lifestyle.
    You can do it! Keep us posted and let us know how it goes…

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