You are the best people to help with this, so please, please give me your feedback.
The following was an email just sent to another diabetic organisation, but we also need advice and feedback from the people affected by this discrimination, like my niece:
My niece is Type 1 diabetic, and it has come to my attention that, despite the vast and rising numbers of diabetics in this country (as well as people dieting for aesthetic and other health reasons) they are extremely poorly catered for in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants.
Because of this, we have conducted some initial investigations into the availability of diabetic products on sale in various establishments, but, it seems, only certain specialist health food shops sell quality diabetic food options with any sort of regularity - a fact I find extremely alarming and discriminatory, especially considering the percentage of the population involved. As we live in Surrey (hardly the back of beyond) this is even more worrying.
Although we are at the very beginning of our research, we have already had useful data from a nationwide restaurant chain that very recently introduced a low-sugar (not sugar free, though) option to their puddings menu, and our local branch confirmed that they sell out of that desert very quickly and cannot keep up with demand (indeed, it was my niece's bitter disappointment at missing out on this option and having to watch the rest of us tuck guiltily into fruit crumble and custard that led to this investigation).
My local supermarkets carry no or poor products for diabetics - although gluten-free seems to be well catered for, surprisingly (given the numbers genuinely affected by wheat and gluten allergies), and those that do carry diabetic chocolate, biscuits and ice-cream, for example, stock products with unhealthy but commercially cheap versions of sweeteners.
With the advent of Stevia (the natural, organic version, not the commercially adulterated and possibly carcinogenic product), we see a real opportunity to supply diabetics with options that the rest of the population take for granted when they shop or eat out. We are investigating ways to get better products for diabetics into the high street and supermarkets at a more competitive cost, and looking into the possibility of producing a range of diabetic desserts for the catering industry (ones that do not substitute sugar for an equally unhealthy product).
This is, obviously, a huge undertaking. What we would seek from you is feedback from your members on their experiences of products currently available - both good and bad - in shops and restaurants nationwide and, if we can get this underway, also provide support and pressure when dealing with reluctant supermarkets, high street shops and restaurant chains. We anticipate reluctance to stock more expensive but healthier, natural Stevia products, for example, in favour of cheaper options with bigger profit margins. This could require an educational campaign to explain why the healthiest option should take precedence over the cheaper option, for example, and members could add their collective muscle to push this information onto the powers that be.
As you are at the forefront of diabetic news in the UK, perhaps you are aware of a similar movement, or groups with a similar interest that may wish to liaise with us? Any ideas would be welcome at this stage, to be honest, as this is a mammoth task and we are very much at the grass roots stage. However, I feel that this is a disgraceful situation that needs to be urgently addressed, and was even more upset by my niece's apathetic acceptance of the situation as her lot in life, so I feel very passionately about it.
Please know that your assistance, advice and potential involvement in this matter would be very much appreciated.
I am awaiting feedback from the organisation I sent the email to, but would like to know your experiences of trying to buy diabetic products and eating out in general. Also, as we are soon going to be putting together some recipes for puddings, what types of pudding would you most like to see offered in restaurants and cafes?
I'd also like to hear from you guys about how much you know about Stevia - the good and the bad versions - and if you would be happy to pay a small amount more for a product (we're talking pence, here) if it contained natural, organic Stevia over a cheap commercial and potentially dangerous sugar substitute? And do you feel it's about time you had the same rights as others when going out to eat, and should be able to have at least one alternative to the usual high-sugar puddings?
I'm focusing on puddings and confectionary, right now - but if their is anything else you think should be addressed at the same time (fast food options, for example), then I would really like to hear about it, too.
Thank you so much for you help and suggestions in this matter.
The following was an email just sent to another diabetic organisation, but we also need advice and feedback from the people affected by this discrimination, like my niece:
My niece is Type 1 diabetic, and it has come to my attention that, despite the vast and rising numbers of diabetics in this country (as well as people dieting for aesthetic and other health reasons) they are extremely poorly catered for in supermarkets, cafes and restaurants.
Because of this, we have conducted some initial investigations into the availability of diabetic products on sale in various establishments, but, it seems, only certain specialist health food shops sell quality diabetic food options with any sort of regularity - a fact I find extremely alarming and discriminatory, especially considering the percentage of the population involved. As we live in Surrey (hardly the back of beyond) this is even more worrying.
Although we are at the very beginning of our research, we have already had useful data from a nationwide restaurant chain that very recently introduced a low-sugar (not sugar free, though) option to their puddings menu, and our local branch confirmed that they sell out of that desert very quickly and cannot keep up with demand (indeed, it was my niece's bitter disappointment at missing out on this option and having to watch the rest of us tuck guiltily into fruit crumble and custard that led to this investigation).
My local supermarkets carry no or poor products for diabetics - although gluten-free seems to be well catered for, surprisingly (given the numbers genuinely affected by wheat and gluten allergies), and those that do carry diabetic chocolate, biscuits and ice-cream, for example, stock products with unhealthy but commercially cheap versions of sweeteners.
With the advent of Stevia (the natural, organic version, not the commercially adulterated and possibly carcinogenic product), we see a real opportunity to supply diabetics with options that the rest of the population take for granted when they shop or eat out. We are investigating ways to get better products for diabetics into the high street and supermarkets at a more competitive cost, and looking into the possibility of producing a range of diabetic desserts for the catering industry (ones that do not substitute sugar for an equally unhealthy product).
This is, obviously, a huge undertaking. What we would seek from you is feedback from your members on their experiences of products currently available - both good and bad - in shops and restaurants nationwide and, if we can get this underway, also provide support and pressure when dealing with reluctant supermarkets, high street shops and restaurant chains. We anticipate reluctance to stock more expensive but healthier, natural Stevia products, for example, in favour of cheaper options with bigger profit margins. This could require an educational campaign to explain why the healthiest option should take precedence over the cheaper option, for example, and members could add their collective muscle to push this information onto the powers that be.
As you are at the forefront of diabetic news in the UK, perhaps you are aware of a similar movement, or groups with a similar interest that may wish to liaise with us? Any ideas would be welcome at this stage, to be honest, as this is a mammoth task and we are very much at the grass roots stage. However, I feel that this is a disgraceful situation that needs to be urgently addressed, and was even more upset by my niece's apathetic acceptance of the situation as her lot in life, so I feel very passionately about it.
Please know that your assistance, advice and potential involvement in this matter would be very much appreciated.
I am awaiting feedback from the organisation I sent the email to, but would like to know your experiences of trying to buy diabetic products and eating out in general. Also, as we are soon going to be putting together some recipes for puddings, what types of pudding would you most like to see offered in restaurants and cafes?
I'd also like to hear from you guys about how much you know about Stevia - the good and the bad versions - and if you would be happy to pay a small amount more for a product (we're talking pence, here) if it contained natural, organic Stevia over a cheap commercial and potentially dangerous sugar substitute? And do you feel it's about time you had the same rights as others when going out to eat, and should be able to have at least one alternative to the usual high-sugar puddings?
I'm focusing on puddings and confectionary, right now - but if their is anything else you think should be addressed at the same time (fast food options, for example), then I would really like to hear about it, too.
Thank you so much for you help and suggestions in this matter.
