At least nine in 10 people in Ireland believe that those with diabetes need to follow a special diet, which is simply not the case, according to Diabetes Ireland.

New research, which was carried out on behalf of Diabetes Ireland to mark World Diabetes Day (November 14), found that a massive 94% believe that people with diabetes must consume a special diet.

However, the charity emphasised that this is not the case. Those with diabetes should follow the same healthy eating guidelines as the rest of the population, it said.

The research also found that 54% of people think that those with diabetes should cut sugar out of their diet completely. However again, this is untrue.

"Having a diagnosis of diabetes does not mean the person needs to follow a ‘special diet' or cut sugar completely from their diet. Clearly there is a misconception in Ireland around diabetes and sugar across the board," commented senior dietician with Diabetes Ireland, Sinead Hanley.

She said that for people with diabetes, good blood glucose control can be achieved through ‘healthy balanced meals, regular physical activity and medication as required'.

To help those with diabetes, Diabetes Ireland, in conjunction with Safefood, has launched a new online healthy eating section on its website diabetes.ie, containing 60 recipes. All are easy to cook and economical.

"The role and importance of healthy eating as a preventative measure cannot be emphasised enough. It's also important that the eating habits of all the family, partner, children and grandchildren help support the person with diabetes," commented Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan of Safefood.

Some 191,000 people in Ireland have diabetes and over 56 million people are affected throughout Europe. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) forecasts that this will increase to almost 69 million people by 2035.