Raw foods, and those that had been baked or grilled, were considered indigestible, as were any vegetables that grew under the ground. Foods of low digestibility were considered unsuitable for elderly, debilitated, or young people. Thus, the
recommendation for diabetic patients to bake or grill foods rather than fry them may not accord with cultural perceptions of digestibility.
The structured vignette study showed almost universal agreement that strong foods, solid fat, and ghee should be avoided in diabetes. All 18 agreed that Mr Ali should not eat spicy foods because of his diabetes and that a person with diabetes should eat a different diet from the rest of the family.