Cultural Diets
The WORLD FOODS book offers insight into cultural foods and carbohydrate awareness for our communities. This book has been produced by the North West London Diabetes Transformation Programme and Carbs & Cals.
Introduction
The resource contains 750+ photos of African, Arab, Caribbean & South Asian foods.
As well as clearly showing the amount of carbohydrate in each portion, it also represents the carbs using a unique ‘blood glucose icon’ system, educating patients on the link between carbs in food and the portion’s possible effect on their blood glucose level.
‘Blood glucose icon’ system
Explanation of new ‘blood glucose icon’ system used in the book - each icon represents 5g carbohydrate (roughly one teaspoon of sugar), visually showing how each portion of food may affect the blood glucose levels.
Why should I reduce my carbohydrate intake?
In African, Arab, Caribbean and South Asian communities, the traditional diet often contains up to 60% carbohydrate. Given that carbs have such an impact on blood glucose levels, it may be wise to consider reducing your carb intake and replacing with more protein foods. For people at high risk of type 2 diabetes, this can be a way to help improve day-to-day blood glucose levels.
For those at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the same principles apply - reducing carbohydrate intake can be a way of minimising the risk of developing the condition.
Portion sizes
Up to 3 portion sizes are shown for each food, with the nutrient values and blood glucose icons clearly displayed next to each portion. (Each blood glucose icon = 5 grams of carbohydrate)
Scroll through the images for more examples.
Examples of what you might learn in making some low carbohydrate meal swaps
Healthy meal swaps