A healthy diet is essential for the estimated 207,000 Irish people with diabetes, however many of these struggle with shopping for food, especially when it comes to reading labels, Diabetes Ireland has said.

In an effort to tackle this, the national charity, which offers support and education to those with diabetes, has launched an information leaflet aimed at helping people to understand the ‘traffic light' food labeling format that is starting to appear on a lot of pre-packaged supermarket products.

This type of labeling is colour coded and it shows at a glance if a food is high (red), medium (amber) or low (green) in fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt.

Generally, the more green lights, the healthier the food. However there is more to this for people with diabetes. For example, if they pick a food with a green sugar label, this suggests that the effect on blood glucose will be minimal. However, people with diabetes must also take note of the amount of carbohydrates, as this directly affects blood glucose levels.

"There is confusion between carbohydrates and sugars, with most people only considering sugars to be important. However, both sugars (on the traffic light content label) and the amount of total carbohydrate (on the full package content label) need to be considered by people with diabetes when making food choices," explained Sinead Hanley, a dietician with Diabetes Ireland.

The charity acknowledged that this can be difficult to understand and so it hopes the leaflet will help people to make the right food decisions.

"With limited access to dietetics services, many Irish people with diabetes do not realise the importance of understanding carbohydrates for their long-term diabetes management, or receive guidance on how to shop effectively, causing confusion as to what foods are suitable for a healthy diet," Ms Hanley noted.

She added that the leaflet will help make shopping easier and will lead to ‘all the family having access to healthier food options'.

The leaflet can be downloaded here or call 1850 909 909 to request a hard copy.