Diet Do's and Dont's

AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Hi,
Newly diagnosed (Type 2) and quite concerned about the whole thing. Particular issues are foods that I can (and can't) eat to keep control of my blood sugar levels. Also is soda water (no flavour or sweetener) with sliced lemon/lime, with an occasional lager or medium glass of white wine(2 or 3 times a week) OK as a standard daily drink?
For info, I was diagnosed on 6 Feb but my doctor did not really tell me anything about my levels or what to do .. all I have is a few further tests over the coming weeks and an appointment with the dietician but this is not until 23 March. Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks ...
 
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Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome.

Soda water is fine. So is any drink that doesn't have sugar or fruit sugars in it. So be VERY careful to avoid full sugar drinks and fruit juices. Some of us find that the artificial sweeteners used in fizzy drinks can raise our blood glucose. Others of us are fine with them. Probably best to avoid them until you know which group you fall into. :)

Lager (and all beers) have quite a lot of carbs in them.
Dry wines and dry spirits are much better for us.

To understand how food affects our blood glucose, why not sign up for the Low Carb Programme. There is a link in my signature at the bottom of this post. It is free, and gives you a brilliant foundation in how to manage your blood glucose with diet.
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi and welcome,

I agree with the above. I would also urge you to make sure you ask for and get print outs of all your test results. This is so you can study them all at leisure and understand where you are starting from. You will have very regular blood tests from now on and will need to be able to look back and see how and where you are improving or not improving. It is also likely, if you are in England, that your surgery puts these results on line as they were told to do before April 2016. You have to register to use this service by completing a form at your surgery. Knowledge is power - and it isn't just our blood glucose results that are important but also the other tests results that we have. (cholesterol, lipid breakdown of cholesterol, liver and kidney functions and other things)
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@AM1874

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new Members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help you.


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 well over 147,000 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why :)
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. I agree with the other posts and wine is usually OK. Be careful with the dietician as they tend to churn out non-evidence based and bad advice with regard to carbs and fat - it's a big issue. Follow the diet advice on these forums and that normally means low carbs and enough protein and fat to keep you feeling full. Veg is fine of course and most fruits but avoid the tropical ones.
 
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Art Of Flowers

Well-Known Member
Messages
956
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
When I was first diagnosed with Type 2 I started to carefully read all the ingredients of the food I was eating. It is surprising just how much sugar there is in food, for example my Jordan's Country Crisp cereal was 24% sugar and some Powdered Chai Tea I was drinking every morning was 50% sugar. Drinks like Drinking Chocolate have massive amounts of sugar so should be avoided.

Having cut out the sugar, I then realised that I also needed to cut out carbohydrates as well as these rapidly get turned into blood glucose. So, I cut out breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and also stopped drinking orange juice.

The question is "what can you eat?". There are lots of recipes on sites like Diet Doctor and The Blood Sugar Diet. I have lost about 6Kg since being diagnosed Type 2 and my blood glucose levels have dropped from around 13 to 6.5.
 
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miahara

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,019
Type of diabetes
Type 3c
Treatment type
Insulin
The book - Reverse Your Diabetes by Dr David Cavan, provides an excellent explanation of what diabetes is and how to manage it.
The title of chapter 1 probably provides the most important message - First of all: do not worry, take control.
 

wiseowl_123

Well-Known Member
Messages
893
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Bullies & Cauliflower cheese
Good morning @AM1874 and welcome to the forum ,you will get so much help and sound advice here,from all the members who have first hand knowledge of diabetes,they changed my life for the better,and I have made some new friends;)
 

FreddieC

Member
Messages
7
When I was diagnosed my physician told me to be careful with the kind of drinks and beverages I take. He insisted that I should go for drinks that are low in calories such as water, milk, and carrot juice.
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
When I was diagnosed my physician told me to be careful with the kind of drinks and beverages I take. He insisted that I should go for drinks that are low in calories such as water, milk, and carrot juice.

That's interesting. Have you ever tested what milk and carrot juice do to your blood glucose? They send mine sky high. All the carbs.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
When I was diagnosed my physician told me to be careful with the kind of drinks and beverages I take. He insisted that I should go for drinks that are low in calories such as water, milk, and carrot juice.

Low in calories is one thing, low in carbs is quite another.