Philosophy
A restaurant guide that assigns ‘lumps’ in observance of a clearly defined rating system for diabetes-friendliness. For the quality of the food, we refer users to the points in the annual Gault Millau guide.
Restaurant staff are to have a rudimentary understanding of diabetes.
As a diabetic you should be able to rely on the discretion of waiters.
As soon as aperitif is served, restaurants should place bread on the table to limit the risk of hypoglycaemia.
Restaurants should provide finger wipes for people to wipe their fingers for the purpose of self-checks (i.e. whereby you no longer need to withdraw to the toilet to check your blood sugar level).
If a meal is served later than expected, due to problems in the kitchen for example, and dinner guests are made to wait longer than expected, restaurants should notify you and offer an appetiser or some bread to keep up your blood sugar level if need be.
As and wherever possible, restaurants should lay on high fibre foods by serving a small platter of raw greens or a larger portion of vegetables.
Sauces should be served separately.
For dessert, restaurants should allow diabetics (at no extra charge) to switch to an entremets or an alternative dessert containing few carbohydrates.
Restaurants should comply with all the 1 sugar lump rules
Restaurants should specify the amount of carbohydrates alongside a number of dishes on the menu.
Restaurants should provide ZUCSU with the ingredients to calculate the amount of carbohydrates
Thereby enabling anybody who places a premium on a healthy diet to accurately appraise the dish and adapt their individual treatment. The amount of carbohydrates is to be expressed in grams as the basis for diabetics to adapt their insulin or medication intake.
Restaurants should comply with all the 1 and 2 sugar lump rules.
Here, the menu is calculated as a whole, whilst information is available regarding the overall glycaemic index to enable diabetics to decide whether they should inject either before, during or after the meal. Diabetics are aware of their insulin sensitivity and will decide for themselves when is best suited for them to inject.
This not only provides the required information regarding the composition of the meal but also gives diabetics an idea of the best time to self-administer insulin.
Restaurants should also provide such information when serving drinks and cocktails.