Food aisles

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Hammer5372

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Happy new year all.just wondering why supermarket does not have aisles that state reduced ingredients?ie salt sugar carbs etc.seem to cater for all others .meat free.plant based sections etc .I'm sure many parents would appreciate kids packed lunches wouldn't contain high contents of any bad stuff.saves people picking up packaging looking at stats also.surely be easier if you could shop knowing its the healthier option without touching all the products.or are we diabetics the new Z nation!!
 
Its simpler than profit it organizational, what maybe low sugar could be high salt/fat but also low cal or any number of combos, just how many sub sections of sub sections can you get and of course there would be the same products eg biscuits spread all over the shop (litterly) and the staff wouldn't know where anything is. Where as say gluten free is one main ingredient and could be immediately lethal to a consumer. there are exceptions to all products but numbers are higher in gluten/lactose/nuts etc.
 
There must be millions of products on supermarket shelves, almost every product is going to be suitable for one group of people and not others. There is so much product information on the internet that people can research what things are suitable for their particular dietary requirement.
I often think there is just too much choice.
 
Leadinglights said:
There must be millions of products on supermarket shelves, almost every product is going to be suitable for one group of people and not others. There is so much product information on the internet that people can research what things are suitable for their particular dietary requirement.
I often think there is just too much choice.
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Agreed and even a product with the same name but different brands say a tin of beans will have different ingredients and nutritional info, there unfortunately is no logical way to break it down and be organised.
 
I agree the logistics of it are far too complex and in my opinion, not even beneficial to any particular group.

I appreciate that the early stages of adapting your diet to suit your diabetes can be pretty frustrating and I know I bought stuff thinking it might be suitable and then testing proved that it wasn't. However you gradually find regular products which have either been recommended by others or you find work for you and gradually you build up a weekly shopping list and know where to find them in your local supermarket, so there is really only a period of a couple of months where you are a bit flummoxed and needing to read lots of labels.
 
I wouldn’t like that because we all have individual needs. As an example, if there were two different brands of strawberry skyr, I might choose the one with no sugar but if that meant there was actually artificial sweeteners in there, I’d reject it. Same with baked beans and the like.

Also, many people here prefer full fat Greek yoghurt as part of their ‘diabetes diet’, yet that wouldn’t be in the aisle you’re imagining.

We already have a special aisle very similar to what you’re thinking about: the fruit and veg aisle. Ideally we should concentrate on the edges of the supermarket and avoid all the processed rubbish in the middle aisles. Better to eat real food than slightly ameliorated versions of cr*p food.
 
Most supermarket websites have nutrition information available on the product pages, some websites you can even filter for dietary requirements so you could check the website and make a list before you go saving you time, that's the approach I took as I wouldn't expect to find many aisles dedicated to different needs as it would be time consuming etc
 
I am sure we would all love a personalised supermarket aisle which only contains items we would buy/like/suitable for any medical conditions and all clearly stated with the exact number of carbs for one of our portions.
This may be possible with online shopping and is likely to be your "what you have bought on the past" list but not in a physical store.
Furthermore, supermarkets want to push new products to you and some products are discontinued so you will still need to look elsewhere in the store.
 
I have been saying this for a while now. The same with restaurants putting vegan dishes on but not low carb. The comment on supermarkets I totally agree with. I am used to checking labels but most people are not and it would be helpful if packaging said which are lower carb. I am certain that, thanks to the modern diet,there are more people with diabetes or pre-diabetes than there are vegans so I am unsure why supermarkets choose to pander to the vegan population instead. Perhaps the media have something to do with it as they seem to push down our throats every five minutes.
 
To be fair the supermarkets have nothing to do with the packaging, that's the individual manufacturer's choice
 
And not everyone with diabetes eats low carb.
There are multiple ways of managing diabetes (and multiple types). We chose to manage our condition in the way it suits us ... and some "chose" not to manage it.
I would be pretty upset if my supermarket ignorantly labeled an aisle the Diabetes Aisle.
 
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I do think it is a shame that the 'Traffic light system' doesn't give Total carbohydrate rather than the 'sugar' as it misleads people into thinking things are OK.
But people want 'cheap' foods and any additional requirement will inevitably increase prices. You see that in the products labelled vegan, gluten free, dairy free etc.
 
The media don’t push veganism down our throats. That’s an offensive thing to say. January is Veganuary, hence the mentions of vegan diets.

As far as low carb goes, low carb is anything under 130g carbs a day. So people might classify foods differently depending on how many carbs they’re limiting themselves to. Moreover, carby foods are pretty easy to spot and tailor a diet to.

People with diabetes eat a wide variety of diets not just low carb.
 
I shop online and it gives me plenty of time to compare and work out what's good or not.

Even if you still shopped in person you could work on a list before going 🙂

Traffic light carbs would be brilliant for on the spot decision making.
 
I think there is also a need for separation of meat and vegan products. As a vegetarian, I try to avoid the meat aisles or at least look away. The sight of raw meat makes my stomach turn and I know vegans who have stronger reactions.

High carb food is typically packaged in such a way that you can't see much of it.
 
I’d hate for a food aisle in my local Tesco to have a diabetic aisle and like @grovesy said to have products labelled diabetic was banned a few years ago. Before Christmas in school (food technology) we had to write out the traffic light system for some foods and I replaced sugar with carbs.
 
Inka said:
The media don’t push veganism down our throats. That’s an offensive thing to say. January is Veganuary, hence the mentions of vegan diets.

As far as low carb goes, low carb is anything under 130g carbs a day. So people might classify foods differently depending on how many carbs they’re limiting themselves to. Moreover, carby foods are pretty easy to spot and tailor a diet to.

People with diabetes eat a wide variety of diets not just low carb.
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I was not intending to offend you or anyone else on this Forum. My apologies if that is how you felt when you read my post. I personally have no objection to anyone being vegan, vegetarian, or any other diet as long as I am not forced to do the same. I have, however, felt recently that I am being made to feel guilty for eating meat, fish and dairy products (by the media, not by anyone on here and certainly not by any friends of mine who eat differently to me) . I already have had problems with my blood sugars which, thankfully, for the time being at least, I have sorted out. Therefore, personally I prefer to have a wide range of foods and not to cut anything out but, rather cut down on high carb foods which are probably going to upset my blood sugars.

Just for the record one of my friends is a vegan and another is a vegetarian and we "live and let live" so to speak. In fact, I have had a vegan meal and enjoyed it but it would not appeal to me personally to eat like that all the time.
 
I do not think it would be a good idea to have a "diabetic aisle" either. Low carb yes as anyone can choose those foods if they wish.
 
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