Are carbohydrates bad for people with diabetes?

Here's everything your need to know about the relationship between carbs and diabetes and some healthy ways to include carbs in a diabetic diet.

Carbs aren't inherently bad. They're simply a category of plant-based organic compounds that includes sugars, starches and gums.

• They are a primary source of fuel for humans and many other animals.
• Most plant-based foods, including grains, fruits and vegetables, are made up mostly of carbs and water. Your body needs them in ample amounts to function.

The issue is that some carbs are much better for you than others.

• Fresh vegetables, fruit and whole grains are great for your weight, your heart, your general health and even for your diabetes.
• Refined carbs are the problem foods. These are carbs that have had the fibre stripped out of them at a factory to make them lighter and easier to digest; they often also contain refined sugars. Think white bread, white pasta, cakes, cookies and crackers.
• More and more, researchers are revealing that our love affair with "bad" carbohydrates is one of the main reasons that people gain weight and develop heart disease.
• Recent research has found that refined carbs are the number one problem food for diabetes.

That's too hard. White bread, white rice and potatoes are all simple carbs that many of us can't do without.

• But you should limit them as much as you can.
• And when you eat them, have them with foods that slow their digestion, such as acidic foods (lemon or vinegar) or fats (olive oil or a little butter).
• But if there's one major food adjustment to make to lead to lower weight and better diabetes control, it's to greatly reduce intake of simple carbs. That's tough, because many cookies, cakes, pastas and treats are made with white flour. Your goal is to find tasty versions of complex carbs, which are those made with whole wheat or alternative grains.

If you eat like the healthy people in the Mediterranean do, no more than 50 percent of your calories should come from complex carbs.

• That's half of what you eat, so it's not going to be too hard a sacrifice!

Keep this guide in mind and take control of your diabetes by reducing the simple carbs in your diet.