Healthy shopping advice... Diabetes Australia

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06 July 2010

Diabetes Awareness Week 2010

Diabetes Australia-NSW will be spreading the message across the state about the link between diabetes and kidney disease this Diabetes Awareness Week from 11-17 July.

25 June 2010

Congratulations to Jimmy Little on success at APRA awards

Diabetes Australia-NSW would like to congratulate Jimmy Little after he was recognised on Monday for his achievements in music.

07 July 2010

New type 2 diabetes medication may help in type 1

A new medication for type 2 diabetes may also benefit those with type 1, reducing the rise in blood glucose levels following a meal and possibly lowering insulin needs.

29 June 2010

Insulin pump prevents night-time hypos

A special insulin pump which uses continuous glucose monitoring to predict hypoglycaemia and stop delivering insulin can help reduce the number of overnight hypos, according to a new study.

Home > Living well with diabetes > Healthy eating...

Healthy shopping advice

Food shopping can be a daunting experience for most people. It can be even more difficult for people with diabetes and their carers.

Being overwhelmed with nutrition information can lead us to select the same foods each week and a lack of confidence about choosing healthy products.

You can reduce the stress of food shopping by knowing what to look for.

The most useful tool to look for on a packet is the Nutrition Information Panel. It contains information on energy, protein, fat (total and saturated), carbohydrate (total and sugar) and sodium per serve and per 100g. Dietary fibre, calcium and other nutrients may also be included.

What to look for

• Compare similar products per 100g for total fat, saturated fat, sodium and dietary fibre. Select products that are lower in saturated fat and sodium and higher in dietary fibre.

• Try not to select a product based solely on the amount of sugar stated on the Nutrition Information Panel. This figure may include sugars from healthy sources such as the sugar in milk (lactose) or the sugar in fruit (fructose).

• Look for products that contain the Glycemic Index Symbol or for foods you know have a low GI.

• Be aware of nutrition claims. For example, ‘light’ may be a word used to describe the colour, texture or taste of the food, rather than being a reference to its fat content.

It may be helpful to familiarise yourself with the Nutrition Information Panel and any nutrition-related claims found on food products you have at home before you next head off to the supermarket.

A very useful resource when shopping is The Healthy Shopping Guide. This concise and easy to read book provides information on food label reading and lists examples of healthy products. It is available from Diabetes Australia-NSW on 1300 136 588 or by ordering online.

Healthy Shopping Tours

To make healthy shopping even easier, you could join a Supermarket tour. Diabetes Australia-NSW conducts Healthy Shoppings Tours, led by a Dietitian, across NSW. Click for more information.

Page last updated: 4 June 2008