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Is it true that diabetics can't eat carbohydrates?

Many people believe that if you have diabetes, you can't eat carbohydrates. However, this is not true.

Carbohydrates aren't the enemy. On the contrary, your body needs them to function optimally. Carbohydrates provide fuel for your body and, without them, you'll have very little energy. They form the foundation of any healthy diet, whether you're diabetic or not.

As carbohydrates are your main source of fuel, it should come as no surprise that they also have the greatest effect on your blood-sugar levels. When you eat, your body processes the food into fuel. Even non-diabetics will see a rise in their blood-glucose levels after eating – after all, your body’s energy levels are being replenished.

The secret, though, lies in the following: 1) the kind of carbohydrates you eat, and 2) your portion sizes.

This is important for both diabetics and non-diabetics. If you eat too many carbohydrates, you'll definitely gain weight. And, if you eat carbohydrates that are digested too quickly, it can cause a spike in blood-sugar levels followed by a crash. Your body might also not be able to quickly and efficiently get excess blood sugar into cells – a situation which, in the long term, could lead to organ damage.

Carbohydrates are divided into simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are simple sugars which are digested quickly and are therefore a quick energy source. These are found in nutritious foods such as fruit, vegetables and dairy products, as well as empty-kilojoule foods (with very few nutrients) such as table sugar, sweets, alcohol beverages and sweetened soft drinks.

Complex carbohydrates are found in grains, starchy vegetables and legumes. These foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre, and are burned in a constant, time-release manner, which is excellent to help manage blood sugar fluctuations and to provide sustained energy. An added benefit of the fibre in complex carbohydrates is that it can help lower blood cholesterol when eaten as part of a low-fat diet, and promote weight loss by making you feel full for longer.

What many people don’t understand is that when complex carbohydrates are being refined (by stripping the fibre away), they start to act as simple carbohydrates – i.e. they're digested rapidly, causing a spike in blood-sugar levels followed by a crash. Refined carbohydrates include cakes, pies, pastries, white bread and flour, and white rice – foods found, unfortunately, in abundance in the typical Western diet.

To ensure steady blood-sugar levels and sustained energy levels, rather stick to wholegrains (brown bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, high-fibre cereals), peas and legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans) and starchy veggies such as corn on the cob, potato, sweet potato, butternut and pumpkin. If you're familiar with the glycaemic index (GI), you'll note that these are also the foods with a lower GI.

Limit your size and number of carbohydrate portions. A diabetic woman with a normal body weight should eat between 3 and 4 carbohydrate servings per meal (45 to 60g). Diabetic men with a normal weight can eat 4 to 5 servings per meal (60 to 75g). One carbohydrate serving equals a slice of bread, a small potato, ½ cup of cooked oats, 1/3 cup of cooked rice, 3/4 cup of high-fibre cereal, ½ glas of orange juice, 1 glass of milk, 1 small apple or ½ a banana.

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