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Food Labels & Diabetes - new petition!

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
trophywench said:
Oh - so to eat at Subway I can only do it if I go online? Why can't the staff tell me then if it's that easy?
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Because they are lazy and can't be bothered.🙄
 
Vince_UK said:
I cannot open the petition by the way,it is blocked. I guess a proxy signature is unacceptable.
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HI Vince, what error were your getting? Or what device and browser are you on? Might be an issue that we need to fix 🙂
 
Hannah DUK said:
HI Vince, what error were your getting? Or what device and browser are you on? Might be an issue that we need to fix 🙂
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I am in China Hannah and the link is probably blocked
 
Thanks for all the support on this everyone 🙂 Interesting to hear how unclear labelling affects all of you at the moment too - definitely would be a boost to get that clear and consistent carb information on packaged foods, and available in restaurants, takeaways etc.

On the discussion about traffic light labelling, appreciate not everyone will find the traffic lights that useful for managing diabetes, but there is some quite strong evidence they help people generally make healthier choices, which is why we've included them in the petition. So we can keep the system as simple as possible, we're calling on the carb content to be shown separately to the traffic lights, in a clear and consistent format (which as people have mentioned certainly isn't the case now).

The petition will be open for another couple of weeks so please keep signing and sharing everyone 🙂
 
May I also add that it can be very difficult to read the nutritional info on some packets because it's either underneath the seal or you have to peel a label off.
 
I’m sure hiding the full info is a deliberate ploy by the manufacturers, so they can hide all the ingredients you’ve never heard of, and certainly wouldn’t put in food at home.
 
Sorry but I won't be signing the petition as I don't believe in the traffic light system. Carbs should be listed as prominently as fats and proteins and sugar listed within the Carb number. There is no need to list calories at all as they are of little value (not all calories are equal etc)
 
Hannah DUK said:
My apologies Vince! Thanks for trying, not an issue I can solve in that case!
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Thanks Hannah, it is just so frustrating here at times, I am actually surprised I can still access this forum to be honest.
 
@Hannah DUK - Are you contacting local DUK groups to tell them about this? I'm active, in a successful and active group and haven't heard about this yet (aside from this on here). Would we expect to hear from our local DUK contact? Not everyone is a forum member, or a member of DUK, but I'm sure some might like to boost the numbers?

I'm quite happy to mail my contacts within the group, but surely that's not an opportunity to be missed.
 
I am with others about the value of carb counting rather than calorie counting. It is the reduction in carbs (not just sugar) that had the biggest impact on my postmeal spikes in BG and led to a weight loss.

You mention having the carbs listed for a portion as prepared. I really don’t want to weigh my food once it is prepared, I want to weigh the ingredients. A pet hate of mine is pasta packets, where I have to do multiple calculations to work out how much to use for my own limit of 30 g of carbs. If they tell you the carbs per portion they need to specify what size a portion is when weighing th ingredients, not what it will weigh after being cooked. Rant (nearly) over.

Like Sally I get fed up with the focus on ‘sugar’. It is any carbs that will add to weight gain.

I have absolutely no idea about calories, as it is enough to do checking carbs at each meal. Like Mike, I think a focus on all carbs would help many people and ensure that they realised that all carbs matter.

I am interested to know how you determined the three foci that you list. I know that you say it is from the conversations, but I suspect that a lot of Practice nurses offer advice about sugars, rather then carbs, and the diet companies are keen to focus on calories and sell their ‘special foods’.

Ps I will now do the survey.
 
Yes, my main complaint would be the ‘portion’ size, or with bread, the per slice information. And how do you figure out on the hoof the carbs when you are told the carbs per 100g on a 175g item, as is fairly common. The manufacturers use this technique to confuse folk into thinking it is lower carb than it really is.

And what, might I ask, is a portion of crisps? :confused:
 
Just done that too.

I found the traffic lights system very useful as a quick look at the sugar & salt content.

As a type 2, I was taught to keep an eye on sugars & salt (sodium) & not carbs, as I'm finding out now as a new Diabetes UK member, that I need to do: my hospital diabetic team still advises a diet based on starchy carbs.
 
Lan Fong Tang said:
Just done that too.

I found the traffic lights system very useful as a quick look at the sugar & salt content.

As a type 2, I was taught to keep an eye on sugars & salt (sodium) & not carbs, as I'm finding out now as a new Diabetes UK member, that I need to do: my hospital diabetic team still advises a diet based on starchy carbs.
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All carbs raise our blood sugars. Actually, things like white bread can be worse than sugar. Luckily, things are slowly changing and GP's are finally giving out better advice.
 
I think that the pest thing to do is to have a standard nutriotion facts label. For instance most foods sold at Lidl have this format, with a lot of useful information put in a clear way
https://static.openfoodfacts.org/images/products/20327132/nutrition_en.7.full.jpg
The only problem could be the daily allowance in percentage, because is an one size fits all that of course is not because a 150 cm tall tailor has to eat a lot less thana 200 cm tall farmer.
 
There have been some changes though in the guidelines by my hospital diabetic team in the 17 years since I was there after diagnosis. The blood sugar levels considered to be Hypo, Hyper & normal have changed which took me a while to get my head around. The sugar levels, worryingly?, have been relaxed a bit. 17 years ago less than 2g/100g of sugar was low sugar & more than 10g/100g was high sugar. Now it's 5g/100g & 15g/100g respectively.
 
AndBreathe said:
@Hannah DUK - Are you contacting local DUK groups to tell them about this? I'm active, in a successful and active group and haven't heard about this yet (aside from this on here). Would we expect to hear from our local DUK contact? Not everyone is a forum member, or a member of DUK, but I'm sure some might like to boost the numbers?

I'm quite happy to mail my contacts within the group, but surely that's not an opportunity to be missed.
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Hi @AndBreathe - sorry for my delay on responding to this! Thanks so much for offering your support. Yes, we have circulated this throughout our networks, it was mentioned in our our enews and the enjoy food enewsletter, plus it was shared with many of our campaign involvement networks, such as diabetes voices.
But please do feel free to share this with any groups that you are actively a part of, as clear, consistent, and compulsory labeling has the potential to help everyone.

...Perhaps we are just too quick on the forum - you heard it here first! :D
 
Lanny said:
Just done that too.

I found the traffic lights system very useful as a quick look at the sugar & salt content.

As a type 2, I was taught to keep an eye on sugars & salt (sodium) & not carbs, as I'm finding out now as a new Diabetes UK member, that I need to do: my hospital diabetic team still advises a diet based on starchy carbs.
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Hi I'm saddened to hear that starchy carbs are still being recommended which will, of course, worsen the diabetes. Does anyone really know what the word 'starchy' REALLY means? At my visit last year to the original Jordan's Mill in Beds (and they should know) there was a pretty picture of a wheat grain with the white powdery stuff inside labelled 'Starch'. This is the bit left after all the good stuff is removed for white flour. Since when has that been good for us?
 
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