Diet: Key Information for Healthy Eating

Contents

• Introduction
• Regular meals
• Starchy carbohydrates
• Sugary carbohydrates
• Fruit and vegetables
• Protein foods
• Dairy foods
• Salt
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Fats
• Healthy weight
• Diabetic products
• Exercise
• Useful resources

Introduction

Whether you are living with diabetes or not, a healthy, well-balanced approach to eating and drinking is important.

The foods you choose to eat will not only help you manage your diabetes, but will also play an important role in helping you control your weight and reducing the risk of long-term conditions such as heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.

The following tips are a guide to healthy food choices to help you manage your diabetes.

Regular meals

Key message: aim for three meals each day and avoid skipping meals

Your food and drink intake should be based around regular meals with a good mix of nutrients and sensible portion sizes. If you follow this, it will help you to keep your blood glucose levels steady and you should feel less tempted to snack on high-calorie foods, which should be limited in a healthy diet.

Starchy carbohydrates

Key message: include a starchy carbohydrate at each meal, especially ones that are rich in fibre and wholegrains

Starchy carbohydrates are foods such as rice, potato, pasta and bread (khubz). Although these are healthy foods, they will affect your blood glucose levels. The larger the portion of carbohydrate you eat, the higher your blood glucose levels will be. Likewise, if you eat smaller amounts, the effect on your blood glucose levels will be less.

You should choose starchy carbohydrates which contain higher levels of fibre and wholegrains and have a lower glycaemic index. These will have less of an effect on your blood glucose levels as they are digested more slowly. They can also help to keep you feeling fuller for longer, so they can help you with weight loss too.

Foods such as maqloubeh, mujaddara, kabsi, koshari - these dishes all consist of some form of rice.  Vine leaves and bell peppers are also occasionally stuffed with rice.  You can use brown or whole grain rice instead of white rice. When using pasta in baked dishes try to use whole-wheat pasta. These are all good sources of fibre. Potato is a common ingredient used in Arabic foods and cuisine. This can be made healthier by substituting potato with sweet potatoes and baking these instead of frying. However, it is important to try and eat smaller amounts as this will have an effect on your blood glucose levels which will then be lowered.

Sugary carbohydrates

Key message: limit added sugar to 30 g (6 tsp a day) a day

Having diabetes does not mean that you have to cut sugar out completely. It is possible to enjoy a small amount as part of an overall balanced approach to eating, but it is best to limit sugary foods such as bhaklahawa, basbusa, kunafa  and fruit juices such as kharub (carrot juice) and sweet laban where possible. Try having less or no sugar in arabic coffee and teas. Switching to artificial sweeteners and sugar-free options can really help to manage your blood glucose levels.

Fruit and vegetables

Key message: aim for at least five portions of fruit and vegetables each day

Fruit and vegetables are a good source of fibre and are packed with essential vitamins and minerals. You should eat a wide variety and aim for a minimum of five portions each day – two or three fruit and at least two or three vegetables. This can help to reduce your risk of developing many health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity and certain cancers.

Increase your intake of vegetables such as green leafy vegetables, okra cabbage, and spinach. Aubergine or eggplant can be boiled, stewed, grilled, stuffed, and cooked with meat and with rice or added to a vegetable musaka. Baba ghanoush is a great appetiser which you can eat along with celery, cucumber and carrot sticks.

Fruits which can be enjoyed include watermelon, mango, guava, bananas, strawberries and pomegranate.  Fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables (canned in fruit juice or water and with no added sugar and salt) all count as your daily 5 a day. It is important to remember that very large portions of it or drinking too much fruit juice can cause high blood glucose levels.

Other snacks which you can eat include dried fruit and nuts. Avoid roasted and salted nuts. You can add pepper to add flavour to the nuts instead of salt. Dates can also be eaten however dates are very high in sugar (glucose) (one date is equivalent to 5g of carbohydrates) therefore limit your intake to 1-3 dates per day.

Protein foods

Key message: Aim to have 2-3 portions of lean protein or pulses per day

Foods containing high protein include meat, fish, dairy products, eggs. Meals such as kebabs, kofta, with houmous or halloumi are classed as protein foods. When cooking these foods try to bake or grill the ingredients instead of frying. You can include eggs in your diet in different ways e.g salmon with eggs and feta cheese or poached eggs with avocado.

Falafel is also another dish commonly eaten in the middle east which is made with chickpeas and is high in fibre. High fibre foods such as beans, peas, lentils may help manage blood glucose levels by slowing carbohydrate absorption. Falafel is typically deep fried however you can make your own falafel and bake them rather than deep-fry them, which cuts back on excess oil, fat, and calories.

Dairy Foods

Key message: aim for 2-3 portions of low-fat dairy food and drinks

Dairy foods provide protein and vitamins and are an important source of calcium which is vital for strong bones and teeth.

Some dairy foods are high in both total and saturated fat. It is important to avoid eating too much saturated fat. Some types of cheeses such as halloumi are also high in salt.

Choose lower-fat varieties or reduced-fat hard cheese. Remember, however, that they are still high in total fat and saturated fat so it is important to keep an eye on portion sizes. Reduced-fat cream cheeses and white cheeses are lowest in fat and salt.

Try switching from full fat to low fat (light). Lower-fat milks including Laban contain a similar amount of protein, carbohydrate, and calcium as whole milk; they just contain less total fat and saturated fat. When making Laban you can use plain yoghurts. Go for low-fat or diet yoghurts (these can be higher in added sugar, though, so it is important to check the label).

Salt

Key message: aim for no more than 6 g (1 tsp) salt each day

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure, particularly if you are overweight or if high blood pressure runs in your family. This is concerning, as high blood pressure increases the risk of developing heart disease.

Avoid adding salt to your meals and reduce the amount of salt you use in cooking. Choose fresh foods where possible as processed foods usually have a high salt content. Soups, packet noodles, crisps, savoury snacks, nachos, are all high in salt. Experiment with flavoring foods using herbs and spices, zetaar or lemon juice instead of salt.

Omega 3 fatty acids

Key message: aim to eat two portions of oily fish each week

Omega 3 fats are a type of healthy fat called an essential fatty acid. Your body cannot make these in sufficient amounts, so you have to get them through food. They can lower blood triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood) and help protect against heart disease.

Omega 3 fats are found mostly in oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring and sardines, so you should try to eat these twice a week.

Fats

Key message: aim to reduce total fat intake, whilst also replacing saturated fats with unsaturated equivalents

To achieve or maintain a healthy weight, it is important that you reduce the total amount of fat you eat, as all oil has the same number of calories, whether it is a healthy type or not. You should always measure the oil you use in cooking with a teaspoon rather than pouring it straight from the bottle or use an oil spray instead.

You should try to replace saturated fats with moderate amounts of healthier fats:

• Monounsaturated fats, found in nuts, olive and rapeseed oils and spreads
• Polyunsaturated fats, found in sunflower and corn oils and spreads, and nuts, seeds, and oily fish

Eating these types of fat can help reduce your risk of developing heart disease.

Key messages:

• Use less butter, ghee, coconut oil and spreads.
• Measure out oils onto a teaspoon rather than pouring from the bottle.
• Choose lower-fat cooking methods such as baking, grilling
• Use olive or rapeseed spray oils.

Healthy weight

Key message: staying at a healthy weight will help you manage your blood glucose and will help to reduce your risk of developing many health conditions

If you are overweight, you may need to reduce the size of the portions of food you eat and aim for a better overall balance between the different food groups. If you have diabetes, being overweight may increase insulin resistance, which means your body cannot use insulin as well as it should. This can make it more difficult to keep your blood glucose under control and can increase the risk of your diabetes getting worse.

Diabetic products

Key message: diabetic products are not recommended

Diabetic products such as diabetic chocolate or biscuits have no health benefits, can be just as high in calories and fat, are more expensive, have a laxative effect and can still impact on blood glucose levels. They are no substitute for eating a healthy balanced diet.

Exercise

Key message: aim to increase your daily activity levels

To stay healthy, you should aim for 30 minutes of active exercise five times a week. This should include moderate aerobic exercise (such as cycling or brisk walking) and strength exercises that work most of the major muscle groups (such as Pilates or weights) at least twice a week.

Useful resources

To learn more about losing weight, click here.

For more information on exercise, click here.