York Teaching Hospital
NHS Foundation Trust
First Line Dietary Advice
for Carbohydrate
Awareness
Information for patients, relatives and carers
 For more information, please contact:
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
Scarborough Hospital
Tel: 01723 342415
Woodlands Drive, Scarborough, YO12 6QL
The York Hospital
Tel: 01904 725269
Wigginton Road, York, YO31 8HE
Our Values: Caring about what we do  Respecting and valuing each other
Diet plays a very important part in the treatment of your
diabetes.
The diet recommended for diabetes is based on healthy
eating guidelines.
Carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet.
They are the only food group that break down into
glucose (sugar) during digestion. This means they are
the only food group that will cause a rise in blood
glucose levels.
Thinking about your carbohydrate portions and types
can help to stabilise blood glucose levels.
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What are carbohydrates?
Two main types – sugars and starches
Sugars
Sugar, glucose, syrup
Sugar y drinks
Jams, marmalades, honey
and treacle
Cakes, biscuits, chocolate
Milk, yoghurts and ice
cream
Fruit and fruit juices
Starches
Bread and bread products
(pizza bases/pitta breads)
Pasta, rice, noodles
Potatoes and crisps
Grains – cous cous,
quinoa, bulghar wheat
Cereals
Flour products (pastry,
Yorkshire puddings, batter)
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Portions
Carbohydrates affect your blood glucose levels. Eating a
similar amount at each meal and eating in a regular
pattern can help to keep blood glucose levels stable.
Vegetables/Salad
Carbohydrates
Protein
This picture illustrates how much of your plate should be
taken up by the different food groups.
Protein foods include meat, fish, eggs, beans and
pulses, meat alternatives and nuts and seeds.
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Types of carbohydrate
Different carbohydrates break down into sugar at
different rates. Carbohydrates that break down slowly
are preferable for your blood glucose levels.
The following foods are “slow release” carbohydrates
and are good options to include in your diet.
 Wholegrain/granary/seeded breads
 Basmati rice
 Pasta
 Sweet potatoes
 Breakfast cereals that are oat, wheat or bran based
(i.e. porridge, All Bran, no added sugar Muesli)
 Beans (including baked beans), lentils and chickpeas
Fibre from other sources can also make you feel fuller
for longer and help to slow down the release of sugar.
Good sources of fibre are:
 Vegetables and salad
 Fruit
 Beans, lentils and chickpeas
 Nuts and seeds
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Our Values: Caring about what we do  Respecting and valuing each other
Meal timing
A regular meal pattern can help with blood glucose
management. Aim to space meals about 5-6 hours
apart, if you are hungry in between meals a small
healthy snack would be recommended.
This could include:
 One portion of fruit (a cupped handful – i.e. one
apple, one pear, two satsumas, a handful of berries
or grapes)
 One slice of granary/wholegrain bread
 Two wholegrain/oat based crackers
 Diet or light or healthy yoghurt
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Caring with Pride: Our ultimate objective is to be trusted to deliver
Listening in order to improve  Always doing what we can to be helpful
Tell us what you think
We hope that you found this leaflet helpful. If you would
like to tell us what you think, please contact
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, The York Hospital,
Wigginton Road, York, YO31 8HE, telephone
01904 725269.
Teaching, Training and Research
Our Trust is committed to teaching, training and
research to support the development of staff and
improve health and healthcare in our community. Staff or
students in training may attend consultations for this
purpose. You can opt-out if you do not want trainees to
attend. Staff may also ask you to be involved in our
research.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Patients, relatives and carers sometimes need to turn to
someone for help, advice or support. Our PALS team is
here for you.
PALS can be contacted on 01904 726262, or via email
at [email protected].
An answer phone is available out of hours.
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Providing care together
in York, Scarborough, Bridlington, Whitby, Malton, Selby and Easingwold
Owner
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
Date first issued
April 2016
Review Date
March 2018
Version
1 (issued April 2016)
Approved by
Catherine Dunn, Advanced Clinical Specialist
Dietitian
Document Reference
PIL
1030 v1
© 2016 York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. All Rights reserved
www.yorkhospitals.nhs.uk