From the moment you are diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes you are likely to be faced with what seems like an endless list of new tasks that need to become part of everyday life ? injections, testing, treating a hypo, monitoring and eating a healthy, balanced diet. No wonder it can all seem so daunting and overwhelming.
One of your first questions is likely to be ?what can I eat?? But, with so much to take in, you could still come away from appointments feeling unsure about the answer. Plus, there are lots of myths about diabetes and food that you will need to navigate too. If you?ve just been diagnosed and aren?t sure about what you can and can?t eat, here?s what you need to know.
What can you eat
In one word. Anything. It may come as a surprise, but all kinds of food are fine for people with Type 1 diabetes to eat. In the past, people were sent away after their diagnosis with a very restrictive diet plan. This was because the availability of insulin was limited and the type of insulin treatment was very restrictive. As insulin treatments have been developed to be much more flexible, the days of ?do's and don'ts? are long gone. The way to go nowadays is to try and fit diabetes and insulin around the same healthy, balanced diet that is recommended for everyone, with lots of fruit and veg and some food from all the food groups.