Baked beans

[Geordie_P]

Davy, I don't eat beans coz I think even without the sauce they're too carby for me, BUT my Dad, who is also diabetic has had at least a tin a day for the last 20 years (he was diagnosed when he was 50 something, now he's 70 something), and along with whatever medication he's been on, he's been in pretty tight control. His food choices are exactly like yours- baked beans, potatoes, sausage-no need for variety. I think as long as you keep testing and make sure you're not getting excessive raises, you might be OK with beans.

 

[Nigelh]

Test yourself and see how they effect you.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Thank you @miahara I can see the carbs on that chart and was hoping that the fibre might justify the carbs, but maybe as , suggested earlier I might find some similar beans with a lower carb amount, also cooking myself I can remove all sugar and like you I don't have salt at home. In fact I have no salt, pepper or vinegar even though I love salt and vinegar on my chips from the shop... (well, I used to, I have a healthy fryer now and chips(fries) are a small rare treat) I do have various sauces but these have all been replaced by a very low calorie mayo, I don't even like ordinary mayo but I have been using 1 tablespoon of mayo a day as a substitute for 1 teaspoon of spread. (quantity over quality)

Hmm as for green vegetables, I don't know how I would be able to get them into my system. I only eat potatoes, beans and peas (garden peas now that I'm not liking to replace the processed peas that I didn't mind) no other vegetables or seafood except corn on the cob and someone told me once that corn is not good. I thought about making a fruit drink and slowly add some veg until the taste became unbearable but I found out fruit juice is not good (thankfully before I bought a juicer). It's a shame Veg doesn't come in tablet form.

I really cannot thank everyone enough for all the input, I really appreciate it and at 58 I feel like I'm back at school, but this time with great teachers telling me the answers

Don't try to force yourself to eat green vegetables if you really don't like them not a good idea you will dread mealtimes if you do that. Just try smaller amounts of the veg you do like it is still important to enjoy food

 

[paganlass]

My mum has been diabetic since 1997 and she also loves beans. She has Heinz reduced sugar n salt beans and finds that for her personally they don't spike her bg to much. She only has them once a week tho and only 2 tablespoons.

 

[Mckinney55]

Hello everyone,

I'm Dave and as I'm newly diagnosed... I'm here in the... newly diagnosed section

Apart from baked beans, potatoes and occasionally peas I do not eat any other veg.

I no longer crave the chocolates, jellies, licorice and boiled sweets that I ate in vast quantities, nor do I crave white bread (as much as I did and do love white bread) or pastry and cakes.... (I have found pastry is a trigger food for spikes) but, if I could only eat 1 food for the rest of my life it would be baked beans.
I always knew beans are good for fibre and assumed they kept me feeling full for longer as they must take longer to break down and digest but now I'm led to believe they are bad for me, and my 2 to 3 tins per day is now 2 to 3 tins per week.

Are beans THAT bad? is it the sauce? is there a way I can increase my intake? can I make baked beans but with a healthy sauce? or will beans be one more thing that I still control?

Out of interest I don't eat any seafood either.

I believe the problem is in the sauce. Most tinned beans have an excess amount of sugar added to the sauce doing the manufacturing process. This is a common practice with the majority of processed foods.
Potatoes are a fairly high carbohydrate food that are reported to give sugar spikes as well.

Sent from my MI MAX using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[Resurgam]

When I tested after one potato my BG was high and stayed high for a long time. It was not a spike but an elevation which lasted about 16 hours. I am just so sensitive to carbs - I knew that from losing weight, now I can see what happens to BG.
Well done on the omelette. after a few more they will look better - I must have done thousands in my time so I have it off to a fine art - you do need patience to cook it slowly, or rather, gently - otherwise it can end up a bit leathery outside whilst runny inside

 

[DavyG]

Baked beans seem to take longer to raise my BG but I find that if I have them as a last meal, my BG is a little higher in the morning. I think that making my own now with reduced tomato, no sugar or salt will definitely help and adding bacon lardons will make it very tasty.

 

[Denise20088]

Hello everyone,

I'm Dave and as I'm newly diagnosed... I'm here in the... newly diagnosed section

Apart from baked beans, potatoes and occasionally peas I do not eat any other veg.

I no longer crave the chocolates, jellies, licorice and boiled sweets that I ate in vast quantities, nor do I crave white bread (as much as I did and do love white bread) or pastry and cakes.... (I have found pastry is a trigger food for spikes) but, if I could only eat 1 food for the rest of my life it would be baked beans.
I always knew beans are good for fibre and assumed they kept me feeling full for longer as they must take longer to break down and digest but now I'm led to believe they are bad for me, and my 2 to 3 tins per day is now 2 to 3 tins per week.

Are beans THAT bad? is it the sauce? is there a way I can increase my intake? can I make baked beans but with a healthy sauce? or will beans be one more thing that I still control?

Out of interest I don't eat any seafood either.

Hello Dave I am a baked bean lover too. Have you tried testing your glucose levels after eating beans it may be you can eat some depending on how they affect your levels.Test your BG 2hours after food and see what happens.

 

[SWUSA_]

Hello Dave I am a baked bean lover too. Have you tried testing your glucose levels after eating beans it may be you can eat some depending on how they affect your levels.Test your BG 2hours after food and see what happens.

Welcome @Denise20088-I see you are very new to the forum but have "eating to your meter" down already-good job. I am going to tag @daisy1 for you with some information we give newcomers. I am not sure that DavyG has seen this either yet so it is for both of you.

 

[Jogreen21]

Ive not tested since early morning but had to do it tonight and I'm devastated its 17-9
I had my egg early today then eatly tea I tried some roast chicken breast, and now 17-9 why oh why oh why.ive kept everything in my tummy.no vonitting and my body treats me like this.whats the point???

 

[SWUSA_]

Ive not tested since early morning but had to do it tonight and I'm devastated its 17-9
I had my egg early today then eatly tea I tried some roast chicken breast, and now 17-9 why oh why oh why.ive kept everything in my tummy.no vonitting and my body treats me like this.whats the point???

Steady on, your body is probably confused and trying to adjust. What did your doctor say about it when you called last? Isn't this lower than you were spiking to before? I seem to remember higher PPD numbers from you before- And did you wait at least two hours after you ate to test? Remember that you will spike then go down again after a meal-this takes several hours and may take longer than usual when you have had a severely abnormal eating pattern before. It takes time for anyone to stabilize and it takes time for most of us to get consistently in range numbers. You will get better-you are getting better already although it may seem hard to see right now while you are in the middle of it.

 

[daisy1]

@Denise20088 @DavyG

Hello and welcome to the forum Here, as mentioned above, is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to answer.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 well over 220,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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 blood glucose 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.

 

[Pinkorchid]

Ive not tested since early morning but had to do it tonight and I'm devastated its 17-9
I had my egg early today then eatly tea I tried some roast chicken breast, and now 17-9 why oh why oh why.ive kept everything in my tummy.no vonitting and my body treats me like this.whats the point???

We can all react in different ways to what we eat even from day to day. Suddenly for no apparent reason we will have a high BG level with something we have been ok with before and it probably will be ok the next time we have it is just a blip that our crazy bodies do sometimes. Most of us have no idea what our BG levels did before we had diabetes but we probably had some pretty high levels then

 

[Terryrhino]

@DavyG
Nothing to add other than hello and I'm glad you've found the forum it's brilliant here !!
Also I love how much you love beans!!!! you've made me chuckle thank you

 

[Ledzeptt]

@DavyG

I've just seen this blog post; it's relevant, but not sure if the tips will help you: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-dietitian-eat-healthy-hate-veggies/?bb=disable

 

[DavyG]

Thanks everyone, I've been away because my PC broke but I'm back
@Ledzeptt Thanks for that, I have been trying to hide some vegetables but it's difficult, I did think about putting them in a fruit drink but obviously fruit juice is out, so maybe a smoothie is an option. I was hoping they'd come in tablet form as the smell, taste and texture are all nauseating to me. And hiding small flecks in potato is not ideal even though I can use it as an excuse to eat creamy buttery mashed potato (I'm just doing my Homer simpson drool now )

Hi @Terryrhino Yes this site is amazing, one moment I was getting either no information and feeling lost and then I found this place and I feel "safe" again.
I made my first batch of beans and Masterchef will not be calling me any time soon. I didn't have any sugar alternative and just made the sauce without... it was bearable (he says with tears in his eyes ) no it was too watery and I hadn't softened the beans enough .... okay it was like gargling a sip of tomato soup with a mouthful of marbles but I tried and I will get better and it didn't have as much effect on my BG as I thought (although they loosened a few teeth ) But in this epic battle of me vs the bean... the bean is going down

@Pinkorchid yes I often thought that my body must have had lots of spikes over the years because of my love of all things bad to eat that taste so good.... If I liked it I could eat it in any order or even together, steak and trifle, only one plate?... no problem put it on the steak well, I would say that those times my BG spiked but returned to normal very quickly but as you say we didn't monitor our BG then. But now it shocks me a little when something spikes but takes a long time to drop down again.

@daisy1 Thank you for that information At present the question that is often in my mind (and probably other peoples minds) is... when is a spike unacceptably high or too long? I see the guidelines and I am taking as much care as possible to keep my BG as low and as stable as possible. I realise that from time to time certain things will cause a spike but as a type 2 would an additional metformin help lower the spike or reduce the length of time it takes to lower the spike?

I ask because I used to eat lasagna in vast quantities, now, I know pasta and cheese sauce are not something that should really be on my plate but I'd had a few days of very good levels and put a 3 inch by 3 inch square of lasagna on my plate and 2 hours later I was over 15, I expected a spike but not sure if that is a little bad, bad or very bad? also after 5 more hours it was 9.5. So I'm guessing pasta is something that spikes and takes a long time to come down and goes on my "tiny tiny tiny amount on special occasions" list

 

[Avocado Sevenfold]

@DavyG One of my kids is not a fan of green veg, but he likes this powder mixed with water. Only 3.2g of carbs per serving and it tastes really good (in my opinion). We stock up when it is on offer in Holland & Barrett

https://bioglansuperfoods.co.uk/product/411/

 

[DavyG]

@Avocado Sevenfold I've put some on the shopping list, it will not hurt me to try. If I can get them into me without seeing, smelling or tasting the vile indescribable things I'll be making progress.

 

[Resurgam]

If it is the texture, you might like the results from a Nutribullet. I got one in Tesco at a very good price recently. Obviously I don't put in the amount of fruit which is in the recipes that come with it, but salad stuff seems to work - I added chopped non pickled beetroot for sweetness - peas are sweet too, as is carrot, once you have been low carbing for a while. The result is very smooth.

 

[DavyG]

@Resurgam I almost bought a nutribullet.... because before I came to this site... everything I thought was the right food turned out to be the wrong food, I threw away butter and my frying pan and deep fat fryer and bought lots of cereal and fruit juice, then I thought I'd make fresh fruit juice.... then I came here and found I CAN eat butter and fry food and eggs but I cannot eat things that I thought are healthy like cereals and fruit juice.... I would have been in a lot of trouble if I had started drinking 3 pints of fruit juice each day. I have tried every vegetable except leeks, shallots as I know all onions taste awful... but I really cannot stand the taste of vegetables they're quite repulsive to me. I would have tried to slip some in with a fruit juice but now I know that the fruit would undo any good that the veg would do.

I am going to try the supergreens powder and hopefully be able to tolerate the taste or disguise it. I'm not a great believer in powdered or dried anything as I always think fresh is best but in this case it may be my only option. With all the help and advice here I'm making so much progress and seeing that progress is a great encouragement.