August 2014 Meeting – Diabetes Dietitian

How many lumps!  Siriol gives us the low down.
How many lumps! Siriol gives us the low down.

This month we were treated to an excellent talk, by Siriol Wilson from the Gloucestershire Specialist Diabetes Service, on what we should be looking for in what we eat and how to identify the food that is good for us and what is not so good.

Those attending were split into two groups and then took part in two interactive tasks, one trying to work out how much sugar there is in various proprietary drinks, ranging from Diat Coke to Lucozade, no prizes for knowing which has most or least of those two!  To demonstrate how much sugar is in each group had to put lumps of sugar on each drinks picture to represent the sugar content.  It was good to see that in general the groups got it right.

 

Siriol explaining the different food groups.
Siriol explaining the different food groups.

The other task was about identifying the different food groups, such as fats, carbohydrates, dairy etc and how they affect diabetes and also covering some of the myths and facts surrounding diet and diabetes.

One of the points Siriol was keen to emphasise was that nothing is off limits for a diabetic, however strict control of what you eat is essential and the not so good things like cake, sweets, fatty foods etc. should be eaten in moderation. The talk was primarily aimed at those with Type 2 diabetes, but of course much of what was said applies to those with Type 1.

The Specialist Diabetes Service run three information and education sessions on understanding Type 2 diabetes:

Diabetes and You:  For those with Type 2 be it recently diagnosed or had the condition for some time.  It is led by a Diabetes Specialist Nurse and aims to help you understand diabetes, how it affects you and the treatments available.

Diabetes, Food and You:  Led by a Diabetes Dietitian and is a much expanded version of what was covered in the meeting.

Diabetes, Insulin and You:  For Type 2 diabetics who have started using insulin.

Each course is between 2 to 3 hours long, they are extremely good and worth attending.  For further details email community.diabetesteam@glos-care.nhs.uk or contact Mike Broome who can send you an information & application leaflet.