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Dietary therapy has long been recognised as a corner stone in the
management of diabetes. The dietitian educates patients about the
dietary aspects of the management of diabetes and helps them apply
this to their own dietary habits and lifestyle.
Who we provide a service to
Dietary advice is based upon Diabetes UK's Dietary Recommendations:
An update for the 1990s. This recommends that all people
who have diabetes should have access to a dietitian at their annual
review appointment and that regular dietary review is vital for
good diabetic control.
People who have diabetes should, therefore, be offered an appointment
with their dietitian at their annual review and also referred
to a dietitian if, for example they:
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are newly diagnosed with diabetes
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are overweight and motivated to lose weight. In this context,
being overweight is defined as having a body mass index (BMI)
of greater than 27 in males, and greater than 26 in females.
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require pre-pregnancy counselling
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are undergoing a change in treatment for their diabetes eg
starting insulin.
Why we provide a service
We provide a service to enable people who have diabetes to manage
their conditions, thereby keeping healthy and preventing complications
later in life.
The dietitian will:
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advise the patient to eat regular meals
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ensure appropriate snacks are taken, depending on the patients’
insulin or drug regime.
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work with the patient to maintain a diet with reduced fat
intake and increased complex carbohydrate intake, in line with
National Guidelines
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adjust the patient’s diet to moderate or reduce the
levels of refined carbohydrate.
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monitor the patient’s body weight and encourage and
educate them to do so themselves, providing support and advice
to achieve weight reduction where necessary.
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Help the patient to avoid low blood-sugar levels (called hypoglacaemia).
The dietitian works with the patient to set targets for weight
loss that are realistic, achievable and desired by the patient.
DAFNE ( Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating)
Addenbrooke’s is one of the leading centres nationally
to implement DAFNE for its patients who have type 1 diabetes.
DAFNE is taken from the late Dr Michael Burger's research in
Dusseldorf, Germany and this type of intensive education training
programme has been used successfully in Germany for over 22 years.
In 2000, DAFNE was researched in the UK by three centres: North
Tyneside, Sheffield and King's College London. Following the successful
results of the trial, it was rolled out to a further seven centres
through out the UK, including Addenbrooke’s in 2002.
The course is delivered on a monthly basis by a combined team
of a dietitian, nurse and doctor. It teaches patients who have
type 1 diabetes to self manage their insulin regime to fit around
their lifestyle and food choices, but still achieve good glycaemic
control and reduce their risks of developing long-term complications.
The diabetes specialist dietitians are all trained DAFNE educators
and one is the Addenbrooke's DAFNE co-ordinator. She trains other
educators (such as diabetes specialist nurses and dietitians from
other Trusts nationwide) to run their own DAFNE courses. She also
sits on the national DAFNE Executive Board.
Also on this website:
Diabetes services at
Addenbrooke's | South
Cambridgeshire Diabetes Network: Patient
information
For further information contact: The Department of Nutrition & Dietetics,
Box 119, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ; Tel: 01223 216
655; Fax: 01223 216 824 | 
