If you do decide to follow a low-carb diet, it’s important to know all the potential benefits and how to manage any potential risks. Low-carb meal plan We've included the values of fibre and protein too to help you make sure you are meeting your nutritional requirements. We know lots of people in the UK aren't eating enough fibre, so it's important to try and include good sources in your diet every day.

A low-carb diet isn’t for everyone. The evidence shows they can be safe and effective in helping people with type 2 diabetes manage their weight, blood glucose (sugar) levels and risk of heart disease in the short term. And it is a good idea to get your limited carbs from healthy high-fibre carb foods, such as pulses, nuts, vegetables, whole fruits and whole grains. You can help make sure you're getting the calcium you need by including unsweetened milk and yoghurt in your diet too. Our low-carb meal plan aims to help you maintain a healthy balance while reducing the amount of carbs you eat. Varying amounts of carbohydrate are shown each day to help you choose which works best for you. This meal plan has taken nutritional information from our recipes and the sixth edition of Carbs and Cals, unless otherwise stated.

Important points about this meal plan

This meal plan outlines daily food intake for one person, but it's still important to remember to drink regular fluids. This includes plain water, plain milk, and tea or coffee without added sugar. Disclaimer: every effort has been taken to make these meal plans as accurate as possible, but there will be some variation in nutritional values. Speak to a dietitian or your diabetes healthcare team if you have questions about your individual dietary needs. Monday

But how low is low-carb? There are different types of low-carb diets. Generally, low-carb eating is when you reduce the total amount of carbs you consume in a day to less than 130g. This is especially important if you treat your condition with insulin and diabetes medications that increase the risk of hypos (low blood sugar levels). Reducing your carbohydrate intake and changes to your body weight may mean your insulin and diabetes medication needs to be adjusted. Important points about this meal plan One of the main benefits of following a low-carb diet is weight loss. For people with type 2 diabetes, this helps to reduce HbA1c and blood fats such as triglycerides and cholesterol. For people who don’t have diabetes, losing weight can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and a low-carb diet is one option to help you do this. For people with type 1 diabetes However, there’s no evidence that following a low-carb diet is any more beneficial in managing diabetes than other approaches in the long term, including a healthy, balanced diet. There is no strong evidence that following a low-carb diet is safe or beneficial, which is why we don’t recommend this diet for people with type 1 diabetes.

Here we’ll explain what we mean by low-carb, what the benefits are of low-carb eating when you have diabetes, and share a low-carb meal plan to help you get started if this is the diet for you. We’ll also explain how to get support to manage any potential risks, especially if you manage your diabetes with medications which put you at risk of hypos. Lunch: Two slices of medium wholemeal bread with grated cheddar, vegetable oil-based spread, tomato and cucumber