Pakistan has the highest rate of diabetes in the world. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 34.5 million Pakistani adults were living with diabetes in 2024, an age-adjusted prevalence of 31.4 per cent, or nearly one adult in three. About 9.3 million remain undiagnosed, while more than 10 million others have impaired fasting glucose, which often precedes diabetes. Without stronger prevention, the number of affected adults could double to approximately 70 million by 2050. Diabetes increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, vision loss, nerve damage and amputation. Food is one area where every family can begin to act.

For Pakistani families, meals commonly include roti or rice, daal, sabzi, salan and dahi. Diabetes advice should accommodate these familiar foods while encouraging healthier portions and combinations.

What we eat and how much we eat remain central to diabetes management, but the order in which we eat may also help. Begin with vegetables, optionally accompanied by plain dahi or raita, followed by protein such as chicken, fish, eggs, lean meat, daal or chana. Finish with a modest portion of roti or rice rather than eating it first.

Starch in roti, naan and rice breaks down into glucose during digestion. People with diabetes may struggle to regulate this glucose, and large carbohydrate portions can cause substantial blood sugar rises. Small clinical........

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