Helpful advice
Frequently asked questions about diabetes
People with diabetes should follow a healthy balanced diet, the same as recommended for the rest of the population. Sainsbury’s advice is inline with that of Diabetes UK and therefore does not sell own brand diabetic products. For more information on diabetes we recommend you contact your GP or dietician as Sainsbury's will be unable to provide this level of information.
What’s diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition in which the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood becomes too high because the body cannot use it properly.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce sufficient amounts of the hormone insulin to control blood glucose (sugar) levels (type 1), or when individuals become insulin resistant (type 2). This is when the body fails to respond properly to its own insulin and is often due to high levels of body fat. The outcome of both types of diabetes is an unhealthy rise in blood glucose (sugar) levels, which in the long term can lead to circulatory and heart problems, kidney disease and blindness.
Over 2 million people in the UK have diabetes and there are about 75,000 people who have diabetes but don’t know about it.
What are the symptoms?
- Increased thirst
- Needing to go to the toilet more often, particularly at night
- Weight loss
- Tiredness
- Blurred vision
- Genital itching
It’s important you visit your doctor if you are experiencing any of these symptoms.
For more information, see Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk/ or call their Careline which can provide support and information on diabetes – 0845 1202960 (lo-call rate.)
What are the different types of diabetes?
There are two types of diabetes that develop at different stages in life:
Type 1 or insulin dependent diabetes
- Occurs in those under 40, usually at a young age.
- The body’s immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, this is called an auto-immune condition, and the result is that the pancreas cannot produce any insulin to control blood sugar levels.
- Type 1 diabetes is managed by insulin injections and a healthy diet.
- This type of diabetes affects between 5 and 15% of people with diabetes.
Type 2 or non-insulin dependent diabetes
- Usually develops in middle-aged people later in life. It tends to develop more slowly and is less severe. Although younger (25+) South Asian and Afro Caribbean people are more susceptible to this type of diabetes. Recently, more children are being diagnosed, some as young as 7.
- This type of diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or the insulin produced does not work properly, (sometimes referred to as insulin resistance.)
- Most people who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes tend to be overweight or obese, participating in little or no physical activity. With ever increasing levels of obesity this type of diabetes is expected to increase.
- The treatment is a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise, and in some cases coupled with tablets or insulin injections.
- This type of diabetes affects between 85% and 95% of people with diabetes.
As someone with diabetes what should I be eating?
People with diabetes can eat a healthy balanced diet, the same as people without diabetes. There’s no need to buy special foods or prepare separate meals. The Eatwell plate provides you with a guide when planning what to eat. A healthy diet should be low in fat, be based around starchy carbohydrates (preferably wholegrain) and be low in salt.
(The Eatwell plate is suitable for adults and children over the age of 5.)
What’s the glycaemic index (GI)?
The glycaemic index (GI) is a ranking of foods based on the blood sugar response after eating 50g carbohydrate from the food, compared to a reference food. This tells us whether foods will make our blood sugar levels rise very quickly, moderately or very slowly.
- Low GI foods can be beneficial as they are broken down more slowly which helps to maintain your blood sugar levels.
- Low GI foods include granary and rye breads, basmati rice, pasta, porridge oats, new potatoes, sweet potatoes and yam.
- High GI foods are broken down more quickly and so do not keep your blood sugar level as stable.
- High GI foods – White bread, processed breakfast cereal like cornflakes, biscuits and cakes.
What about ‘diabetic foods’?
Diabetes UK does not recommend ‘diabetic foods’ as they can be expensive and are not necessary. It’s for this reason that Sainsbury’s doesn’t sell any own brand ‘diabetic foods’.
Do people with diabetes need to cut sugar out of their diet?
No, sugar does not need to be excluded from the diet. Sugar should be limited as part of a healthy balanced diet, but good blood glucose control can still be achieved when sugar and sugar containing foods are eaten. Current advice for people with diabetes is to eat a healthy balanced diet based on ‘The Eatwell plate’. It’s low in fat and sugar, high in fibre rich carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables and moderate amounts of meat and fish, and milk and dairy foods. Sugars can be consumed as part of a mixed diet, preferably as part of a balanced meal.
Can too much sugar cause diabetes?
No. Diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. However, diets high in fat and sugar can lead to weight gain, which can increase your risk of developing type-2 diabetes.
It’s therefore especially recommended for those with a family history of diabetes to eat a healthy balanced diet, take regular exercise and maintain a healthy weight.
Can your food labelling include a warning not suitable for people with diabetes?
Diabetes is a complicated disease and has to be managed at an individual level, as not all people living with diabetes will have exactly the same dietary requirements. The current advice from Diabetes UK is to follow a healthy balanced diet based on the same healthy eating guidelines recommended for the general population. For these reasons, we don’t sell a range of products specifically for people with diabetes, nor do we label products 'unsuitable for people with diabetes', we believe it is for the individual to manage their diet with the help of dieticians and their GP.
The front of pack Multiple Traffic Light labelling and back of pack nutrition labelling provides customers with the detail they need to make an informed choice about whether that product fits into the overall balance of their diet.
As someone with diabetes, I am interested in what you are doing to reduce the sugar content of your products?
We’re continually making all our own brand food and drinks healthier, this includes reducing the public health sensitive nutrients (such as fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt), and increasing the beneficial nutrients such as fibre and looking at other factors such as portion size.
When we develop new products or re-develop existing products we always look at ways to make the product healthier, therefore looking at how the sugar levels can be reduced within products is a key consideration. We also use our front of pack multiple traffic light labelling as a tool to help make products healthier, our development teams are always aiming to get more green or amber traffic lights and fewer reds.
We've redeveloped all of our soft drinks (squashes and carbonated) to ensure they are one of the healthiest on the market. For our customers we have done the following:
- Reduced the sugar content of all our squashes.
- Taken out aspartame, acesulfame/K and sodium saccharin and replaced them with sucralose in our sugar-free drinks (which is suitable for diabetics.)
- Taken sodium benzoate out of all carbonated drinks and only use natural colours and flavours.
We've reduced the sugar in some of yoghurts including the entire fabulously fruity and creamy yogurt ranges. Did you know we removed over 59 tonnes of sugar from our products in 2007?
Do Sainsbury’s offer any information for people with diabetes?
We've written a leaflet on how Sainsbury's can help people with diabetes, which includes lots of useful hints and tips, the leaflet is available instore or to download online.
We also provide clear front of pack Multiple Traffic Light labelling and back of pack nutrition information allowing customers to make an informed choice about whether a product fits into the overall balance of their diet.
For more information, see Diabetes UK website diabetes.org.uk/
Careline can provide support and information on diabetes – 0845 1202960 (lo-call rate.)
