For years, researchers have tried to determine what causes blood sugar levels after meals to soar too high in those with diabetes. Potential culprits have included sugar, carbohydrates, and starches, among other foods. The glycaemia index is a ranking that attempts to measure the influence that each particular food has on blood sugar levels. It takes into account the type of carbohydrates in a meal and its effect on blood sugar.
Foods that are low on the glycaemia index appear to have less of an impact on blood sugar levels after meals. People who eat a lot of low glycaemia index foods tend to have lower total body fat levels. High glycaemia index foods generally make blood sugar levels higher. People who eat a lot of high glycaemia index foods often have higher levels of body fat, as measured by the body mass index (BMI).
Talk to your doctor, a registered dietician, or a diabetes educator and ask if the glycaemia index might work to help gain better control of your blood sugar levels.
The glycaemia load takes into account the effect of the amount of carbohydrates in a meal. Both the type of carbohydrate and the amount have an effect on blood sugar.

Eating Right with Diabetes

If you have diabetes, it's important to eat right every day to keep your blood sugar levels even and stay healthy. Here are some easy tips:

• Be sure to eat a wide variety of foods. Having a colourful plate is the best way to ensure that you are eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, meats, and other forms of protein such as nuts, dairy products, and grains/cereals.
• Eat the right amount of calories to maintain a healthy weight.
• Choose foods high in fibre such as whole grain breads, fruit, and cereal. They contain important vitamins and minerals. You need 25 to 35 grams of fibre per day. Studies suggest that people with type 2 diabetes who eat a high fibre diet can improve their blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Similar results have been suggested in some studies in people with type 1 diabetes.

Serving Sizes and Diabetes

Be sure to eat only the amount of food in your diabetes meal plan. Excess calories result in excess fat and excess weight. In people with type 2 diabetes, excess body fat means less sensitivity to insulin. Weight loss in overweight and obese people with type 2 diabetes helps improve blood sugars and reduces those risk factors which lead to heart disease. Your dietician can help you determine the appropriate serving sizes you need, depending on if you need to maintain your weight, gain weight, or lose weight, and if you have high or low blood sugar levels. In women with gestational diabetes, it's important to eat multiple meals and snacks per day as recommended. Do not skip meals. Eat meals and snacks at regular times every day. If you are taking a diabetes medicine, eat your meals and take your medicine at the same times each day.

The Sweet Truth about Food and Diabetes

You might have heard that, as a person with diabetes, you shouldn't have any table sugar. While some health care providers continue to promote this, many realizing that the average person lives in the real world and will probably indulge in a bit of sugar every now and then have adopted a more forgiving view. Most experts now say that small amounts of sugar are fine, as long as they are part of an overall healthy meal plan. Table sugars do not raise your blood sugar any more than similar amounts of calories from starches, which is found in many foods that we consume. It is important to remember that sugar is just one type of carbohydrate.
When eating sugar, keep these tips in mind:

• Read food labels. Learn how to determine how much sugar or carbohydrates are in the foods that you eat.
• Substitute, don't add. When you eat a sugary food, such as cookies, cakes, or candies, substitute them for another carbohydrate or starch (for example, potatoes) that you would have eaten that day. Make sure that you account for this in your carbohydrate budget for the day. If it is added to your meal for the day, then remember to adjust your insulin dose for the added carbohydrates so you can continue to maintain glucose control as much as possible. In other words, readjust your medications if you do add sugars to you meals.
• Sugary foods can be fattening. Many foods that have a lot of table sugar are very high in calories and fat. If you are watching your weight (and many people with diabetes must), you need to eat these foods in moderation!
• Check your blood sugar after eating sugary foods and talk to your health care provider about how to adjust your insulin if needed when eating sugars.

Ultimately, the total grams of carbohydrates rather than what the source of the sugar is what needs to be accounted for in the nutritional management of the person with diabetes. People with diabetes have higher than normal risk for heart disease, stroke, and disease of the small blood vessels in the body. Controlling blood pressure and limiting the amount of fats in the diet will help reduce the risk of these complications.
Limiting the amounts of saturated fats, increasing the amount of regular exercise, and receiving medical treatment can lower bad LDL cholesterol. This has been repeatedly shown in medical studies to help people with diabetes reduce their risk of heart disease and reduce the risk of death if a heart attack does occurs in a diabetic person.