How to eat for type 2 diabetes
Cookbook author and restaurateur Katie Caldesi dives into the low-carb diet
When Katie Caldesi’s husband, Giancarlo, was first diWagnosed
with type 2 diabetes over a decade ago, the couple “didn’t take it seriously”.
Caldesi and her husband are restaurateurs, so food is a massive part of their daily life – and they initially didn’t consider making any major changes to Giancarlo’s diet.
“We didn’t take it seriously, we just thought, ‘Oh well, lots of people have that’. It’s just one of those things,” Caldesi, 60, says.
Giancarlo, now 72, was told to cut back on his sugar, so he stopped taking it in his coffee,
“But there wasn’t much [more] information available at that time,” Caldesi says.
But then he got “much worse”, she remembers. “He was told he was gluten intolerant, he had all sorts of aches and pains, he had terrible gout, terrible arthritis.”
This spurred him to give up gluten – no mean feat for a pasta- loving Italian – which Caldesi says “probably saved his life”. From there, the couple went on a journey to discover the lowcarb diet. In 2015, Giancarlo’s type 2 diabetes had been turned into pre-diabetes, and by 2017 he was in remission.
Caldesi doesn’t have type 2 diabetes, but she says she’s benefited from a low-carb lifestyle. “You have more energy,” she says.
“Many years ago as a secretary I used to have a highcarb lunch, and I used to have a slump after lunch at my typewriter and think that was normal. But it’s not normal to have a dip mid-afternoon – there’s no need for your body to feel like you need a nap.”
Know that starch is sugar This is the first point Caldesi wants everyone to know: “Starch breaks down to sugar, and I still think most people don’t realise that.”
Use alternatives
When Giancarlo first had to give up gluten, Caldesi says she “started experimenting” with his favourite recipes, finding a low-carb option.
“I remember giving him his favourite ragu recipe, which is his father’s, sort of like a bolognese – a meaty Tuscan ragu,” she recalls.
“I remember giving him that on ribbons of white cabbage, that really looked like tagliatelle” – and he loved it.
Don’t make things restrictive Instead of cutting out all the things you love, Caldesi emphasises the importance of replacing less healthy food with something delicious – that might be slightly better for you.
She particularly realised this when slowly shifting her children onto a low-carb diet.
Don’t worry if you fall off the wagon
Going all-in on the low-carb diet can be daunting, so Caldesi doesn’t want you to stress if you don’t stick to things 100% of the time.
lThe Diabetes Weight-Loss Plan by Katie Caldesi is £22.