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Diabetes: What do eating patterns have to do with it?

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Diabetes: What do eating patterns have to do with it?

In Australia someone is diagnosed with diabetes every 5 minutes. Diabetes affects about 1.2 million people.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus (diabetes) develops when there is too much glucose in the blood. This happens when the body can’t make enough insulin, or it can’t use the insulin it makes effectively.

Glucose is a type of sugar and is the body’s main energy source. When carbohydrate -containing food is eaten the body breaks the carbohydrate down into glucose. It enters the bloodstream and is transported to the body’s cells. The pancreas produces insulin when blood glucose (also known as blood sugar) levels rise. Insulin acts like a key to let the glucose into the cells to provide energy.

Over time high blood glucose levels can damage blood vessels and nerves. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to:

  • Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
  • Vision loss
  • Kidney failure and dialysis
  • Wounds that are slow to heal and limb amputations
  • Poor mental health

What are the different types of diabetes?

There are 3 main types of diabetes:

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune condition. The body’s immune system stops the pancreas from producing insulin. This requires life-long insulin replacement through insulin injections or an insulin pump.


Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes is the most common type of diabetes (85-90% of all cases). It occurs when the body produces some insulin, but not enough or the insulin doesn’t work well enough to regulate blood glucose levels. Many factors can increase risk of type 2 diabetes, including age, ethnicity, genetics, medication use (e.g., corticosteroids), poor diet and low levels of physical activity. Type 2 Diabetes is managed with lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, regular physical activity and weight loss, medication and/or insulin injections may also be needed.


Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs during pregnancy, affecting 5-10% of pregnant women. The body still produces insulin, but other hormones produced during pregnancy can make the body is less responsive to insulin and blood glucose levels rise too high. Gestational diabetes doesn’t lead to a baby being born with diabetes, but it can increase the risk of a baby developing Type 2 diabetes later in life. Women with this type of diabetes can still have a healthy baby. However, managing the condition is important to reduce the risk of complications during pregnancy.

How does what you eat affect diabetes?

Healthy eating pattens give your body the fuel and nutrients it needs to thrive. Carbohydrates are important sources of energy, essential fibre, vitamins and minerals. As carbohydrates break down to glucose (sugar), food choices can have a powerful impact on health and wellbeing in diabetes. A healthy eating pattern can:

  1. Keep blood glucose in target range, providing steady energy throughout the day
  2. Support a healthy heart
  3. Protect kidneys, eyes, nerves and which can be damaged by persistent high blood glucose levels
  4. Boost overall health and wellbeing, helping you feel your best physically and emotionally

Here are some of the top tips to help you eat well and stay well with diabetes:

  • Spread carbohydrate intake across the day by eating regular, balanced meals as this can help keep blood sugar levels steady while providing essential energy and nutrients
  • When available try brown/ wholegrain bread and cereal options instead of white
  • Where possible choose low glycaemic index (GI) foods (e.g., legumes, oats, plain yoghurt). GI is a measure of how fast or slow carbohydrate is digested into glucose (sugar) and enters the bloodstream
  • Eat a wide variety of foods from each of the five major food groups, to help you get a variety of beneficial nutrients
  • Choose healthy fats and oils (e.g., olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, oily fish) and watch the salt for heart and kidney health and to reduce the risk of stroke
  • When shopping compare food labels to choose packaged foods and convenience meals that support your goals

Want to know more?

Head here for more information on:

What can affect your blood glucose levels

What your blood sugar levels mean

Tasty, easy, low cost NMNT diabetes friendly recipes

For personalised advice see your GP and an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD)

You can find out more about diabetes, its types, and where to find support on the Diabetes Australia website.

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Your Personal Healthy Eating Quiz

What you eat or don’t eat affects how you look, feel and perform. Take our short quiz to find out what foods you could introduce to help you be your best.

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What is healthy eating?

Eating healthy is making sure you enjoy a wide variety of foods from each of the five major food groups daily, in the amounts recommended. The five major food groups as recommended by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating are:

  1. vegetables and legumes/bean
  2. fruit
  3. lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, legumes/beans
  4. grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties
  5. milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat.

Foods are grouped together because they provide similar amounts of key nutrients and eating a variety of foods from the list above helps to promote good health and reduce the risk of disease.

How do I improve my diet?

If you want to improve your diet you have come to the right place. By completing the Healthy Eating Quiz you’ll receive instant personalised feedback and a report on your diet quality to highlight any areas where you can improve your overall eating habits. Your score is based on the frequency and variety of the foods consumed from the five major food groups mentioned above. No Money No Time can help you improve your score by providing tips, goals and suggestions. On top of this we will provide quick, cheap and healthy recipes as well as credible answers to diet hacks, myths and FAQ’s.

Is my diet healthy?

Dietary habits are different between people. Some people choose to follow a particular diet (i.e., Keto diet or vegan diet) while some have to make changes due to certain food restrictions or health conditions. If you want to know if what you usually eat is healthy, then do the Healthy Eating Quiz today to give you the answers in less than 10 minutes.

Why is healthy eating important?

Your HEQ score and personalised feedback report is based on the frequency and variety of healthy core foods you usually eat. This is important because no single food contains all the nutrients we need to stay healthy. Some foods are higher in nutrients than others and people who have a lot of variety in the foods they eat are more likely to be healthy and to stay healthy. In other words, if you can eat a large variety of vegetables as opposed to only 2-3 types of vegetables, the benefits are much greater. This type of diet also helps you to feel better, think better and perform better during your usual daily activities.

Take the Healthy Eating Quiz