Jen Evans Friday, December 8, 2017
People with diabetes should eat special diets
False. Like everyone, people with diabetes should maintain a healthy and balanced diet. It is important for us all to eat a balanced diet that is high in fibre, low in saturated fat and contains low GI carbohydrates to provide the body with necessary fuel and micronutrients. There is no need for people with diabetes to have special or separate meals.
Eating too much sugar causes diabetes
Diabetes is related to high blood glucose levels, so the more sugar you eat the more likely you are to get diabetes, right? Wrong. Diabetes is not caused by eating too much sugar. In fact, it’s not clear what causes some types of diabetes.
What we do know is type 2 diabetes tends to be more related to lifestyle choices like food, exercise and maintaining a healthy weight, but even type 2 diabetes is not directly related to eating too much sugar.
Bananas are high in fat
It’s unclear where this popular myth came from, but it needs to be busted. Banana cake or deep fried banana fritters may be high in fat but the plain old banana is not. In fact, a large banana has only 0.1g of fat and is packed full of fibre, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
You shouldn’t eat after 7pm
If this common myth was true, there would be a lot of hungry people! It takes an organised person to ensure that dinner is done and dusted before 7pm.
The time of day that you eat isn’t the most important thing. It’s the amount and type of food you have eaten over the whole day that is important.
Try adding a piece of fruit or a glass of low fat milk to your dinner and you may even be less tempted to indulge in sweet snacks later on.
Carbohydrates will make you fat
This little gem has been around for a long time, so it’s high time we set this one straight.
The bottom line is no single food or type of food can make you fat. Eating more kilojoules than you are burning off in your day-to-day activities is what will make you stack on the kilos. It is all about portions.
Healthy diets
A healthy diet is one where you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean meat and low fat dairy. Balancing this with regular physical activity will ensure your body is happy and healthy.