Make it compulsory for restaurants to display carbohydrates on their menus for Diabetics
This petition had 7,850 supporters
A lot of Type 1 diabetics are Dafne trained, which means they inject themselves with insulin after calculating how many carbohydrates are in each meal they consume.
Most diabetics know their insulin to carb ratio because it has been worked out for them by their diabetes care provider. For instance, some diabetics may need to inject one unit of insulin for every 10 grams of carbs they consume whereas others may have to inject more than 1 unit for every 10 grams. When working this out for food that has a label, this process is fairly easy.
However, a lot of diabetics struggle when they are eating out because they may order an item from the menu and have no idea about the carbs it contains. For example, a curry in one restaurant may have a different number of carbohydrates than a curry in another restaurant, since it may be prepared using a different method or with different ingredients.
It is even more complicated if a Type 1 diabetic is eating at a buffet restaurant, as they would need to google every item they consume or second guess how many carbs are in each item.
You may be thinking, why is it so important for a person with diabetes to inject the correct amount of insulin? If a diabetic injects too much insulin they are likely to have a 'hypo' which means their blood sugar will drop below the normal range (which is 4 to 7). If this happens and the low blood sugar is not treated, the person may become unconcious. An extremely low blood sugar is dangerous and could lead to the sufferer going into a coma or even dying.
On the other hand, if a person incorrectly guesses how many carbohydrates are in a meal and under injects, their blood sugar could rise. As you may already be aware, high blood sugars are the leading cause of many health issues including: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks and strokes. In addition, poorly controlled diabetes can lead to other serious issues such as kidney failure, nerve damage, blindness and amputations.
A simple solution to help diabetics keep their diabetes in check - regardless of their age, gender, colour or background - would be to provide them with the carbohydrate content of each food and drink item on a menu in every restaurant, cafe or bar.
If this information is readily available for diabetics, they can enjoy eating out without having to worry about second guessing the carbohydrates in their meals and it will also help parents whose children are diabetic. Moreover, this information would help Type 2 Diabetics who treat their diabetes by controlling their diet or taking tablets, since they will be aware of the carbohydrate content in their food. Another problem that this method could solve could be obesity; people will feel encouraged to make healthier decisions about what they are consuming.
Please support this petition. A simple change could make a huge difference to the millions of people who are battling diabetes in the United Kingdom.
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Ess Nayyar needs your help with “Theresa May MP: Make it compulsory for restaurants to display carbs in food on their menus for Diabetics”. Join Ess and 7,849 supporters today.