For people living with diabetes, food choices often come with a calculation: how many carbohydrates a meal contains, when to eat and how it might affect blood glucose. With so much attention on the numbers, it can be easy to overlook another question: is your diet providing the micronutrients your body needs?
Diabetes Awareness Month is an opportunity to consider the wider role of nutrition in living well with the condition. World Diabetes Day on 14 November adds to that focus, with this year’s theme, Early Action on Diabetes, highlighting the value of acting early. Alongside blood glucose monitoring and prescribed treatment, a balanced diet remains an important part of daily care.
“Good nutrition supports how you feel and function each day,” says Dr Inga Koopmann, Scientific Consultant at Doppelherz®. “It plays a key role in weight management and supporting metabolic health. Together with physical activity, it lays the foundation for long-term well-being and quality of life.”
Making food choices count
Eating well with diabetes does not have to mean a highly restrictive diet. The aim is to find an eating pattern that meets your individual needs and is practical enough to maintain.
That means considering what meals provide, as well as what to limit. Vegetables, appropriate portions of fruit, wholegrains, pulses, protein foods and healthy fats can all have a place in an individualised eating plan. Cutting out foods unnecessarily or relying on a narrow range of familiar meals, however, can make it harder to get a good balance of vitamins and minerals.
The role of vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals support many of the body’s daily functions. B vitamins and magnesium contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism, while vitamin C and zinc contribute to normal immune function.
When diet alone falls short of meeting individual nutritional needs, supplementation can help fill nutrient gaps. Its purpose is to complement the food you eat by providing nutrients that may be missing or present in insufficient amounts.
Where a supplement may fit
A varied, balanced diet is the foundation of good nutrition, but what you eat, your individual circumstances and certain medications can affect whether you get enough of some nutrients. Where gaps arise, a daily supplement can be a practical way to complement your diet.
Developed with people living with diabetes in mind, Doppelherz® aktiv Vitamins for Diabetics from German brand Doppelherz® combines all essential B vitamins, including niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin and folic acid, with vitamins C and E, magnesium, zinc, chromium and selenium in one daily tablet. It can form part of an individual diabetes management plan alongside prescribed treatment.
This Diabetes Awareness Month, take stock of the meals you eat regularly. Are they varied, satisfying and providing the nourishment you need? Identifying where your diet may fall short is a practical starting point for making changes you can sustain.
As Dr Koopmann concludes: “Living well with diabetes is less about restriction and more about taking proactive steps. With balanced nutrition, regular physical activity and medical guidance, you can take an active role in managing your condition and supporting your quality of life.”
Doppelherz® is available at select independent pharmacies in South Africa and Namibia, or online at www.ivohealth.co.za and www.doppelherz.co.za.
Complementary medicine, health supplement.
This unregistered medicine has not been evaluated by SAHPRA for its quality, safety or intended use.
Follow @Ivohealth and @Doppelherz_southafrica.
