Hi. I've just seen your post. My levels are normally between 12-14 and I'm starting to get worried about this. I'm a newly diagnosed type 2. I have cut out sugars and most potatoes. I have found that bananas and bread push up my levels. I'm still learning and self testing is helping but it sometimes gets me down when i think I'm trying my hardest.
Need to get levels down.
- Thread starter Winchesters
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Winnie53
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Welcome to the forum @Winchesters. There are a number of different diets for those of us with type 2 diabetes, mentioned in my above post. Which type of diet do you think would work best for you? LCHF - (meat, fish, healthy fats, non-starchy vegetables, and berries)? Vegetarian? Both work. Or another diet? There is no wrong answer. 
[ @Winchesters This post was transferred here from a different topic. Today, I copied my longer, more informative post and posted it here too. Scroll down to read it. - Winnie53]
[ @Winchesters This post was transferred here from a different topic. Today, I copied my longer, more informative post and posted it here too. Scroll down to read it. - Winnie53]
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ButtterflyLady
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daisy1
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@Winchesters
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members which will give you some advice on diet. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hello and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members which will give you some advice on diet. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hello and welcome! I am newly diagnosed too, are you on medication? My levels were at 18 last week, this week they seem to be around 10-11. As of Monday I began the LCHF diet and I am on 1 tablet a day at the moment (upping to 2 next week).
There's really helpful info on the LCHF diet in another forum if you are interested.
There's really helpful info on the LCHF diet in another forum if you are interested.
Winnie53
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@Winchesters because your post and my reply to your post was moved here, the information you may have been responding too was lost. Here it is again - (I was replying to the original poster of the other topic, but much of this information may be relevant to you as well)...
Slinger As a type 2 diabetic, I found it very helpful to test and test often - (fasting, 2 hours post meal, and other times as needed) - still do after almost 6 months. I live in the US. To control costs, I switched from test strips that cost 88 cents in store (and 68 cents online) to test strips that cost me 18 cents. This was important for me because ever time I tested, I was adding up the daily cost. Now I feel able to test guilt free. Eventually, I'll probably evolve to testing only 2 to 3 days a week, 4 times a day. Just not ready yet. I still need that feedback loop to stay on track.
So I encourage your friend to consider finding the cheapest strips available in the UK, and buy the meter that uses those strips. I test 4 to 9 times a day depending on whether or not I have any blood glucose spikes.
I also walk daily. Initially walking didn't have a lot of effect on my glucose levels, but now, if I have a big spike in blood glucose, I can drop my glucose levels 20 - 60 points mg/dL by walking 1 mile. Today, I walk 1 to 3 miles a day.
What most helped me to reduce and stabilize my blood glucose - (my HbA1c was 9.9%, now 5.5%) - was the low carbohydrate diet explained in chapters 9-11 of the book, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, 4th Edition. It's an excellent resource.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dr-Bernstei...UTF8&qid=1438189792&sr=8-22&keywords=diabetes
Information can also be found on how to get started on the low carbohydrate (LCHF) diet in the non-member area of the website here... http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
For many reasons, I personally believe the low carbohydrate (LCHF) diet is healthiest choice for those with diabetes, type 2 and type 1.
If, however, your friend is vegetarian, and does not eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy, here are two diabetes books that might be more helpful (for a vegetarian)...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neal-Barnar...d=1438190002&sr=8-1&keywords=diabetes+Bernard
http://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Diabete...UTF8&qid=1438189767&sr=8-21&keywords=diabetes
And here's a discussion forum more appropriate for vegetarians who have type 2 diabetes...
https://www.drmcdougall.com/connections/discussion-board/video/
Dr. McDougall has written many books. This is his most recent, though not specifically written for vegetarians who have type 2 diabetes, it might also be more helpful...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starch-Solu...qid=1438190299&sr=8-1&keywords=john+mcdougall
When I crossed over to diabetes in 2006, no one told me about any of these diets, so I just continued to eat "healthy", and over the 10 years that followed my blood glucose levels continued to rise.
Learning about the low carbohydrate (LCHF) diet in February of this year was a huge game changer for me. Whether your friend tries the LCHF diet or the Bernard, Fuhlman, or McDougal diets, there's lots of support here too. Here's a link to the Low-carb Diet forum here... http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/low-carb-diet-forum.18/ There are a few vegetarians there doing the LCHF diet on the Low-carb Diet forum, but I don't know how they do it.
Slinger As a type 2 diabetic, I found it very helpful to test and test often - (fasting, 2 hours post meal, and other times as needed) - still do after almost 6 months. I live in the US. To control costs, I switched from test strips that cost 88 cents in store (and 68 cents online) to test strips that cost me 18 cents. This was important for me because ever time I tested, I was adding up the daily cost. Now I feel able to test guilt free. Eventually, I'll probably evolve to testing only 2 to 3 days a week, 4 times a day. Just not ready yet. I still need that feedback loop to stay on track.
So I encourage your friend to consider finding the cheapest strips available in the UK, and buy the meter that uses those strips. I test 4 to 9 times a day depending on whether or not I have any blood glucose spikes.
I also walk daily. Initially walking didn't have a lot of effect on my glucose levels, but now, if I have a big spike in blood glucose, I can drop my glucose levels 20 - 60 points mg/dL by walking 1 mile. Today, I walk 1 to 3 miles a day.
What most helped me to reduce and stabilize my blood glucose - (my HbA1c was 9.9%, now 5.5%) - was the low carbohydrate diet explained in chapters 9-11 of the book, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, 4th Edition. It's an excellent resource.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dr-Bernstei...UTF8&qid=1438189792&sr=8-22&keywords=diabetes
Information can also be found on how to get started on the low carbohydrate (LCHF) diet in the non-member area of the website here... http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
For many reasons, I personally believe the low carbohydrate (LCHF) diet is healthiest choice for those with diabetes, type 2 and type 1.
If, however, your friend is vegetarian, and does not eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy, here are two diabetes books that might be more helpful (for a vegetarian)...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neal-Barnar...d=1438190002&sr=8-1&keywords=diabetes+Bernard
http://www.amazon.co.uk/End-Diabete...UTF8&qid=1438189767&sr=8-21&keywords=diabetes
And here's a discussion forum more appropriate for vegetarians who have type 2 diabetes...
https://www.drmcdougall.com/connections/discussion-board/video/
Dr. McDougall has written many books. This is his most recent, though not specifically written for vegetarians who have type 2 diabetes, it might also be more helpful...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Starch-Solu...qid=1438190299&sr=8-1&keywords=john+mcdougall
When I crossed over to diabetes in 2006, no one told me about any of these diets, so I just continued to eat "healthy", and over the 10 years that followed my blood glucose levels continued to rise.
Learning about the low carbohydrate (LCHF) diet in February of this year was a huge game changer for me. Whether your friend tries the LCHF diet or the Bernard, Fuhlman, or McDougal diets, there's lots of support here too. Here's a link to the Low-carb Diet forum here... http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/low-carb-diet-forum.18/ There are a few vegetarians there doing the LCHF diet on the Low-carb Diet forum, but I don't know how they do it.
4ratbags
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- Type of diabetes
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Hi and welcome to the forum. It takes time to get your head around all the information ect but Winnie53 has provided a vast range of reading material. I like many others here follow LCHF which I find great, I love my food and I have boundless energy so it is a great option. Dropped my HbA1c from 11.9% down to 5.4%. The most important thing no matter what type of diet you choose to follow is to reduce your carbohydrates. I found using an app to calculate carbs is great as sometimes you dont realise the amount of hidden carbs that can be in your food. Its great that you have a meter and you are using it to gauge the affect different food is having on your BS.
