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Diabetes

We have a team of Dietitians who work across the Health Board and are trained to provide high quality, evidence-based dietetic care for people with diabetes. 
 

What do we do?:

  • Help manage diabetes with advice on diet to help control blood glucose levels and achieve/maintain a healthy weight to reduce the risk of diabetes complications later on
  • Offer a range of options and make a plan to support people in making dietary changes to achieve their goals
  • Support people of any age if they or a family member have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes or other types of diabetes
  • Provide education on carbohydrate counting and matching insulin doses with meals for those people with type 1 diabetes
  • Work as part of the healthcare team
  • Provide education and information about diet for people newly diagnosed with diabetes. This may be one-to-one or as part of a group education programme
  • Support people in using technology such as Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps

For more information on what diabetes Dietitians do visit the British Dietetic Association .
 

Newly diagnosed with Diabetes

The Diabetes UK website has lots of useful information for people newly diagnosed with diabetes with Type 1Type 2 and Gestational
 
 

Courses and Education for people with Diabetes

Please note that due to Covid-19 face to face courses are currently suspended but are being replaced with remote courses offering a mixture of online learning and/or facilitated small group video sessions.

 
Type 1 Diabetes
DAFNE (Dose adjustment for normal eating)
A programme for people with type 1 diabetes to learn how to match insulin to the food eaten to keep blood glucose levels in target. Also covered are other aspects of diabetes management such as illness, travel, exercise and avoiding diabetes complications. There is a maximum of 8 participants on the course which is run by a diabetes Dietitian and diabetes specialist Nurse.
 
DAFNE Course runs for 5 days. The remote course runs over 5 weeks with 1-2 video calls per week. Any member of the diabetes team can refer people to this course
 
Type 2 Diabetes

DAS (Diabetes Awareness Session)
DAS is a 2 hour taster session providing first-line information for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It includes an overview of what diabetes is, the role of carbohydrates, blood glucose and advice on diet and weight management. 

This course is currently suspended due to Covid-19. A remote course is being trialled. We recommend you visit the Diabetes UK Website for people newly diagnosed with type 2
 
X-PERT Diabetes
This is a programme for people with type 2 diabetes. It is a fun way of learning about and understanding diabetes and wellbeing. Using visual aids and discovery learning, people will be supported to make their own informed decisions. The X-PERT Course runs for 6 weeks with a 2.5 hour session every week.  There are usually between 10 – 20 participants and the course is run by a diabetes Dietitian and diabetes specialist Nurse. Your GP, practice Nurse, diabetes Nurse or Dietitian can refer you.
 
 

Online Learning

The Learning Zone is a free online course run by Diabetes UK. It is a mix of videos, quizzes and interactive tools giving advice on what to eat and tips for managing diabetes day-to-day.
 

Very low calorie diet programme 
This is a new service to help people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes move towards diabetes remission.  Further background information is available on the Diabetes UK website. There are limited places available on the programme. To be considered for a place on the programme you will be between 18 & 75 years of age, have a Body Mass Index  between 27-45kg/m2 and will have received a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes within six years.

If you are interested, please speak to your GP, Consultant or Diabetes Nurse to be referred.

Very Low Calorie Diet: Targeting Type 2 Diabetes Remission

 

Useful Website Links

 

Diabetes UK      
This is the leading charity supporting people with diabetes in the UK.  On their website you’ll find a range of information about living with diabetes including advice about diet and useful recipes.  The website also provide some useful information about coping with illness and information about aspects of diabetes care when you travel abroad. Also pregnancy is an important time when you want to look after your diabetes and health in the best way possible. There is also a page dedicated to Covid-19 issues.  

A series of short videos reviewed by clinicians and patients to help people to understand and better manage their condition. Includes videos on type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes and videos for the BAME community including videos in Punjabi, Hindi, Somali and Polish
 

British Dietetic Association Food Fact Sheets (BDA)     
This is a library of Food Fact Sheets written by UK Dietitians on a number of different aspects of diet.  There are Fact Sheets about both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.  These are free to download from the BDA site.  

Carbs and Cals - Book, App & Videos       
A series of books with photographs of different portion sizes of everyday foods to help you identify the nutritional content, including the amounts of carbohydrate and calories, in the food you eat. Your Dietitian may have taught you to calculate the carbohydrate content of your meals and these resources may help make this easier for you. Includes World foods and Very Low Energy diet books. Also available as an app and recently launched YouTube Channel.
 
Carbs Count E-Book           
This book provides information about the carbohydrate content of foods and is provided in a downloadable format on the Diabetes UK Website. 
 

Runsweet.com       
Written by health professionals and sports people who have diabetes, it provides lots of advice on managing blood glucose levels when participating in different types of sport. This is aimed mainly at those with type 1 diabetes. 

Extod.Org (Exercise for Type 1 Diabetes) 
Written by health professionals, this website is aimed at providing advice and guidance to people with type 1 diabetes on safely and confidently managing blood glucose levels before, during, and after exercise.

Adult Weight Management Service    
Within Aneurin Bevan University Health Board we have a specialist service for people needing additional support to lose weight.