Help!! Husband Newly Diagnosed type 2, what do I feed him??

[Mazzer]

The posts so far have given a lot of useful information. Just be careful with NHS dieticians as many are way out of date with their knowledge and only understand 'low fat and low salt'. Carbs are the problem for us as any meter reading after a meal will prove. Nuts, bacon, quality sausages and protein and a sensible level of fat are fine. Just choose fruit with some thought. If you low-carb you don't have to have high fat as fat is not relevant to diabetes; you just need enough fat and protein to give you the calories you need. I have 85% dark chocolate and the labels show just how low the carb level is compared with popular milky types

Hi Daibell, someone suggested raspberries or strawberries with melted dark chocolate and double cream, haven't tried it yet, but is sound really yummy.

 

[daisy1]

I am sure Daisy will be on to give you some basic information to help you.

Hi Skippy and welcome to the forum

Here is the information which Andrew referred to and I hope you will find it useful. Carry on asking questions and someone will help, as you have already seen.


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 70,000 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

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 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.

 

[Happy talk]

Thankyou

The posts so far have given a lot of useful information. Just be careful with NHS dieticians as many are way out of date with their knowledge and only understand 'low fat and low salt'. Carbs are the problem for us as any meter reading after a meal will prove. Nuts, bacon, quality sausages and protein and a sensible level of fat are fine. Just choose fruit with some thought. If you low-carb you don't have to have high fat as fat is not relevant to diabetes; you just need enough fat and protein to give you the calories you need. I have 85% dark chocolate and the labels show just how low the carb level is compared with popular milky types[/QUOths

A good website for what to eat is http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf - real food, not processed

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Hi all,
My husband has been diagnosed as type 2 for less than a week. I have read some on the posts on here and find all the info very confusing. My question is what do I feed him on a day to day basis including snacks? He doesn't like milk and veg but likes some types of fruit, he loves nuts and cheese. Can he still eat things such as Nutella, sausages, bacon? Can I bake him some sugar free biscuits? What about the diabetic chocolate and sweets available to buy?
Thanks in advance
Skippy84

Ummm...{cough}....slightly less? ;-)

You haven't said how old he is, nor what his BMI is, nor if he is athletic or sedentary.

From what you say he will potentially have some things to give up, and some new things to try.

Not liking "veggies" could be a problem if you mean all green veggies - because non-white veggies (i.e not parsnips, potatoes, wheat or rice) are usually the best thing to bulk out a low carb high fat diet and supply the bulk and roughage which make you feel full and keep the inner workings working.

The good news is that a "full English" (without toast, fried bread, fried potatoes) is a really healthy start to the day.

In fact, when I get stuck into the 5:2 diet my morning and evening meals are egg, bacon, mushroom, tomato.
600 Kcals and keeps you feeling full

Why don't you post a little more information, including what his normal diet is?
We can then suggest which parts to build on, and which parts to reduce or modify

Hope this helps.

Cheers

LGC.

 

[Skippy84]

Ummm...{cough}....slightly less? ;-)

You haven't said how old he is, nor what his BMI is, nor if he is athletic or sedentary.

From what you say he will potentially have some things to give up, and some new things to try.

Not liking "veggies" could be a problem if you mean all green veggies - because non-white veggies (i.e not parsnips, potatoes, wheat or rice) are usually the best thing to bulk out a low carb high fat diet and supply the bulk and roughage which make you feel full and keep the inner workings working.

The good news is that a "full English" (without toast, fried bread, fried potatoes) is a really healthy start to the day.

In fact, when I get stuck into the 5:2 diet my morning and evening meals are egg, bacon, mushroom, tomato.
600 Kcals and keeps you feeling full

Why don't you post a little more information, including what his normal diet is?
We can then suggest which parts to build on, and which parts to reduce or modify

Hope this helps.

Cheers

LGC.

My husband is 34, yes he is overweight (don't know his BMI, but he's about 25 stone ish) and before this diagnosis he was referred to the NHS Health Trainer Service and is awaiting an appointment. He is aware he needs to loose weight and is taking his best steps to do this.

His diet varies if he's working he has a mcdonalds breakfast with a coffee, he will have a sandwich or some other convenience food eg KFC then when he comes home i cook a meal for us both. When he's on rest days he will have a sausage or bacon sandwich or Belvita breakfast biscuit, lunch would be a ham toastie or something like that, then something like chili con carne and roast potatoes or curry and roast potatoes or fajitas or gammon and roast potatoes. He's not a fan of rice or pasta or mashed/boiled potatoes, it tends to be bread he eats, if he's hungry he will get a nutella sandwich as a snack. He also has a very sweet tooth, am going to get some almond and coconut flour to try the recipes people have suggested.

When he's not at work he drinks either carbonated water, tap water, flavored no added sugar water or no added sugar dilute juice. When he's at work he has several coffee's a day, his job involves a lot of time sat in a car so this doesn't help either.

He doesn't like any veg apart from onions and mushrooms. Very tricky to find him healthy stuff to eat!

 

[Andy12345]

i was very similar food wise, what i will say is i hated all veg, and i do mean hated it! but when you change your eating habits your tastes change, i like most if not all veg now (even sprouts wow) i have no idea why this happens, im sure i cant be the only one this has happened with, i googled everything for example "best way to cook aparagus" and followed the different recipes, its amazing how different veg cn taste when cooked properly, for example i used to have spagetti bolognaise once a week, now i have mine with leek with chinese five spice, it amazing, far better than the pasta ever was, what im trying to say is, its just a case of making the effort to make the veg better, maybe you do this already

 

[Kat100]

I have eaten veg for. 52 years with a strict veg diet....still got db though....
Love to know that people are finding better and good ways to cook there veg ...

 

[orac1952]

Hi I have been diabetic now for about 18 months and I am on a very low carb diet you have to check all labels on foods it's a huge learning curve I've learned so much by coming on here and taking advice....but my way is not everybody's way of trying to control this but if you want to know what my diet is I am willing to share information with you.



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[modesty007]

First my own low carb fake nutella recipe (to be used on occasions);
200 g roasted hazelnuts, 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder (without sugar and additives), your choice of sweetener I'm usually using erythritol 2-3 tsp, 3-4 tbsp coconut oil. Start by grinding the hazelnuts (like making hazelnut flour), mix in the sweetener and cocoa powder, then end by adding enough coconut oil to make it smooth and spreadable.
Some low carb bread http://lowcarbhealthyfat.com/category/recipe-bread/

 

[Magilly666]

Eat what u like but moderation , I have found low carbs give me better blood glucose control.

 

[Totto]

I'm newly diagnosed too. Also discovered have an enlarged liver so I'm struggling to find foods to eat as must things that are low in fat are high in sugars. I'm getting quite depressed with it all and although insulin keeps being increased my sugars are always in double figures and I'm eating nothing bad at all. Any suggestions would be greatfully received x


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

No reason to avoid fat but cut down on carbs and you will probably reverse your enlarged liver to normal in a couple of months. Test frequently as low carb high fat tends to normalise bg fast and you may have to cut down or even stop insulin. So eat fat but not carbs. You will probably loose any excess weight you might want to loose and get better cholesterol readings too. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is caused by carbs, not fat.

 

[Totto]

My husband is 34, yes he is overweight (don't know his BMI, but he's about 25 stone ish) and before this diagnosis he was referred to the NHS Health Trainer Service and is awaiting an appointment. He is aware he needs to loose weight and is taking his best steps to do this.

His diet varies if he's working he has a mcdonalds breakfast with a coffee, he will have a sandwich or some other convenience food eg KFC then when he comes home i cook a meal for us both. When he's on rest days he will have a sausage or bacon sandwich or Belvita breakfast biscuit, lunch would be a ham toastie or something like that, then something like chili con carne and roast potatoes or curry and roast potatoes or fajitas or gammon and roast potatoes. He's not a fan of rice or pasta or mashed/boiled potatoes, it tends to be bread he eats, if he's hungry he will get a nutella sandwich as a snack. He also has a very sweet tooth, am going to get some almond and coconut flour to try the recipes people have suggested.

When he's not at work he drinks either carbonated water, tap water, flavored no added sugar water or no added sugar dilute juice. When he's at work he has several coffee's a day, his job involves a lot of time sat in a car so this doesn't help either.

He doesn't like any veg apart from onions and mushrooms. Very tricky to find him healthy stuff to eat!

I think your husband might benefit from LCHF. It often works spectacular for weight loss and normalises blood glucose.

This is a link to my beloved Diet doctor on the topic of weight loss success stories: http://www.dietdoctor.com/category/weight-loss/weight-loss-stories

And a link to how to do it: http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

About diabetes, food and how to get to normal bg readings http://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes

 

[mine]

i wants to share my experience, effectively drop from 10.7 to 4.6 in 5 days and kept there for 15 months. i drop my medication 9 months ago. hba1c was 4.4 - 5.4 - 4.7 in 3 separate test.

it was tough and i have to spend money on tests. i admit , i am stingy and do not wants to spend money on chronic disease just yet.

 

[Bebo321]

Hi all,
My husband has been diagnosed as type 2 for less than a week. I have read some on the posts on here and find all the info very confusing. My question is what do I feed him on a day to day basis including snacks? He doesn't like milk and veg but likes some types of fruit, he loves nuts and cheese. Can he still eat things such as Nutella, sausages, bacon? Can I bake him some sugar free biscuits? What about the diabetic chocolate and sweets available to buy?
Thanks in advance
Skippy84

Great that you're seeking advice! There is an awful lot of conflicting information out there.
You will get some excellent advice and support from this forum, although you may like to 'cherry pick' what advice you take - what works for some may not work for your husband. So don't feel as though you have to take everything on board.
If it helps Team Blood Glucose have put together some basic advice around diet on their website - just giving the facts rather than dictating what you can and can't eat. Take a look at their Type 2 diabetes kit bag - it will hopefully give you a bit of a helping hand. www.teambloodglucose.com

Oh, you mentioned diabetic chocolate - just go for high cocoa chocolate as a treat (85+%) instead. It's actually remarkably low in carbs (though I wouldn't recommend scoffing a whole bar in one sitting!) Nom nom nom.....

Lots to learn, but you're going about it the right way - asking for help from the people who already successfully manage their diabetes.
Well done - your husband is lucky to have you looking out for him. Report back soon!

 

[mine]

I am curious if we could stop using sugar and start using lot of chilli for seasoning like the indian do.

 

[this is too difficult]

Im new here but have had great success with sharwoods green thai curry paste lots of chicken breast and Pearl barley instead of rice. sounds weird tastes great.

 

[jack412]

First my own low carb fake nutella recipe (to be used on occasions);
200 g roasted hazelnuts, 2-3 tbsp cocoa powder (without sugar and additives), your choice of sweetener I'm usually using erythritol 2-3 tsp, 3-4 tbsp coconut oil. Start by grinding the hazelnuts (like making hazelnut flour), mix in the sweetener and cocoa powder, then end by adding enough coconut oil to make it smooth and spreadable.
Some low carb bread http://lowcarbhealthyfat.com/category/recipe-bread/

homemade nutella recipe,- you're my new best friend,

 

[Skippy84]

Hi all again. We saw the diabetic nurse 2 days ago, lots of leaflets given, a referral to DESMOND education session. Blood results that prompted the diagnosis were 60 something?!! Equivalent to approx 7.7. (Hope this makes sense!!) he's also had sciatica for the last 2 weeks and has had to be in bed so no snacking along with correct meals he's lost approx 5kg in weight
Thanks again all

 

[this is too difficult]

another sciatica? Is this common among us?

 

[Blaize]

Sounds like you have a tough job on your hands his meals definitely need to change fast food is very very bad too much salt!!

Definitely go into all appointment that you can with him especially the dietician.

He's gonna have to start trying new foods and cutting down his bread consumption and moving to a more healthy type.

Hope your doing okay it's a big change in your life too and I do hope he turns himself around.