Food and Diabetes
Balancing your Carbohydrates
Patient Information
Dietetic & Nutrition Department
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AC
Diet 012
2
Food & Diabetes Balancing your Carbohydrates
January 2015
January 2017
Food & Diabetes Balancing your Carbohydrates
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When you have diabetes it is very important that you eat regular meals and have similar
amounts of food from day to day.
This may help you to:
 Keep the glucose (sugar) in your blood under control
 Control your weight
When you digest foods containing carbohydrates, glucose (sugar) is produced.
The most important factor in controlling your blood glucose level is the total amount of
carbohydrate you eat.
Carbohydrates are found in the following types of food:
Sugar and sugary foods such as sweets, chocolates, sweetened drinks, cakes, puddings
and sweet biscuits. When you eat these foods they are quickly absorbed into your
bloodstream, making your blood glucose levels rise quickly.
Starchy carbohydrate foods including bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, noodles, couscous,
and breakfast cereals. After digestion, these foods can be more slowly absorbed into your
blood, which helps you to keep your blood glucose levels more stable.
Milk and fruits Milk, yoghurt, fruit and fruit juices all contain natural sugars
You can balance your diet, and get better blood glucose control, if you are aware which
foods contain carbohydrate and how much.
All the foods in the amounts stated on the following lists contain similar amounts of
carbohydrate and can be exchanged for each other to help you to have a varied and
balanced diet.
For packaged foods, please check the label for total carbohydrate content. However, as a
rough guide, the following foods all contain similar amounts of carbohydrate (10g)
Bread products
25 g or 1 oz of any bread product:
1 small slice of bread
½ large slice of bread
½ bread roll / barm cake / oven bottom muffin
½ crumpet / croissant
½ mini pitta bread / 1/3 standard pitta bread
¼ small naan bread / 1/8 large naan bread
1/3 tortilla wrap
1/3 medium chapatti
1 inch slice French bread
Food & Diabetes Balancing your Carbohydrates
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Cereals
½ oz (15g) porridge oats (dried weight)
Small bowl (100g) porridge (cooked weight made with water)
1 Weetabix
1 Shredded Wheat
2 tablespoons Shreddies / Bran Flakes / Sultana Bran
3 tablespoons All Bran
1 tablespoon unsweetened muesli
3 tablespoon Special K / Rice Crispies
2 tablespoons Cornflakes
Potatoes
1 egg-sized boiled potato
1 scoop mashed potato
½ small or ¼ medium or 1/8 large jacket potato
1 small roast potato
5 chips (medium cut)
1 small potato waffle
1 small packet crisps
Rice, pasta and noodles
1 tablespoon cooked rice
1½ tablespoons cooked pasta
2 tablespoons / 1/3 small tin spaghetti in tomato sauce
¼ layer uncooked noodles
Pulses and vegetables
2 tablespoons baked beans
2 tablespoons kidney beans / chick peas / butter beans / lentils (cooked or tinned)
2 tablespoons sweetcorn / mushy peas / peas
1 large parsnip
Fruit
1 apple / orange / pear / peach / grapefruit
1 small / ½ large banana
2 plums / kiwi fruits / clementines / satsumas
10 to 12 grapes / cherries / strawberries
1 slice melon / pineapple / mango
Small bowl fruit tinned in natural juice
½ tablespoon dried fruit e.g. raisins
3 to 4 dried apricots / prunes
Small glass unsweetened fruit juice
Food & Diabetes Balancing your Carbohydrates
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Milk products
1 cup (1/3 pint) milk
1 small carton diet or natural yoghurt (125g)
½ small carton low fat yoghurt
1 scoop ice cream
1 small pot diet fromage frais
Biscuits, crackers and cakes
1 Digestive / Ginger Nut /Hob Nob / Jaffa Cake
2 Rich Tea / Morning Coffee / Marie / Garibaldi
½ cereal bar (approx)
1 oatcake
2 crackers / rice cakes / Ryvitas
1 thin slice malt loaf
½ hot cross bun / teacake / scone
1 small thin slice sultana bread / fruit loaf
Miscellaneous
2 thick sausages
1 small sausage roll
½ tin soup
2 fish fingers
1 fish cake
1 portion fish in bread crumbs
½ medium chip shop fish
1 Scotch egg or 2 bite-size scotch eggs
½ small pork pie
¼ meat and potato pie/steak and kidney pie/ Cornish pastie
1 small, thin slice pizza
Contact Information
Dietetic Department, Royal Albert Edward Infirmary 01942 822189
Food & Diabetes Balancing your Carbohydrates
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Comments, Compliments or Complaints
The Patient Relations/PALS Department provides confidential on the spot advice, information
and support to patients, relatives, friends and carers.
Contact Us
Tel: 01942 822376 (Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm)
The Patient Relations/PALS Manager
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary
Wigan Lane
Wigan WN1 2NN
In addition to the Patient Relations/PALS Service, you can contact HELPline on 01942 822111.
This leaflet is also available in audio, large print, Braille and other languages upon request.
For more information call 01942 773106.
© Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without the permission of the copyright owner
Food & Diabetes Balancing your Carbohydrates
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