Help with foods to lower hba1c

Yolkey

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
I'm pretty new to this but in September I had a blood test and my reading was 45. I was advised to lower it and loose weight. I followed the slimming world diet and lost the weight( just over 2.5 stone). I thought I had done well with my diet( dropping virtually all sugar) which changed radically.
After a second test my reading was 43, obviously I hoped for lower but I'm guessing it's the carbs in things like whole grain bread and jacket potatoes etc.
I'm hoping to find a book or other guide about what to eat as I've dropped below my ideal weight, it's driving me to despair and my possibly my wife too who says I should relax more over it( I'm very regimented). If I'm honest I don't want it to go from prediabetes to diabetes and I'm struggling (without the right knowledge) to find the right direction to go..
 

Alzebra

Well-Known Member
Messages
604
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @Yolkey welcome to the forum. Whilst I realise that you are prediabetic, I'm going to tag @daisy1 for her newbie guide to Type 2 as it will all be relevant info for you. In terms of a book, I love The Real Meal Revolution, it's got lots of information and some brilliant low carb recipes based on eating real food not 'diet' meals. Good luck!
 

Stallen

Well-Known Member
Messages
385
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Grumpy folk
After dropping starchy carbs bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cereals, and other high carbs,

In under 3 months my hba1c went down by 11 from 52 to 41.
 
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daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Yolkey
Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information which we give to new members and I think this would be the kind of info you want. 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.
 

4ratbags

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,334
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Have a good read of daisys post above as it contains some great information. You can make a start by cutting down portion sizes of anything with obvious carbs like bread, potatoes, pasta ect and then if need be you can cut them out completely.
 

ab.er.rant

Active Member
Messages
26
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
I'm hoping to find a book or other guide about what to eat as I've dropped below my ideal weight, it's driving me to despair and my possibly my wife too who says I should relax more over it( I'm very regimented). If I'm honest I don't want it to go from prediabetes to diabetes and I'm struggling (without the right knowledge) to find the right direction to go..
I'm feeling the same way - being unsure of whether I'm doing it correctly. My wife thinks I'm worrying too much too. She believes the diet change (lots of veges now, no rice, no noodles, still a bit of whole grain bread) will help. But its difficult to discard that feeling of uncertainty.
 

Helss

Active Member
Messages
44
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I'm feeling the same way - being unsure of whether I'm doing it correctly. My wife thinks I'm worrying too much too. She believes the diet change (lots of veges now, no rice, no noodles, still a bit of whole grain bread) will help. But its difficult to discard that feeling of uncertainty.
Me too. I'm between results, with borderline HbAC and fasting test, so I'm going to have a glucose drink one tomorrow. Then another week until the results get to my GP. All I want to do is get on with knowing what's going on, so I can get some control over my diet. It's stressful and exhausting but I also feel the need to control so I don't get to a worse level of Type 2 or Type 2.
 

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,575
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Me too. I'm between results, with borderline HbAC and fasting test, so I'm going to have a glucose drink one tomorrow. Then another week until the results get to my GP. All I want to do is get on with knowing what's going on, so I can get some control over my diet. It's stressful and exhausting but I also feel the need to control so I don't get to a worse level of Type 2 or Type 2.
Get yourself a meter and start testing your blood sugar levels. It's the only way to find out what foods cause your sugars to spike. Once you have that info you can start building yourself a diet of foods that are kinder to your system. If you get control of that then for the most part you can control your condition.
 
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Helss

Active Member
Messages
44
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Get yourself a meter and start testing your blood sugar levels. It's the only way to find out what foods cause your sugars to spike. Once you have that info you can start building yourself a diet of foods that are kinder to your system. If you get control of that then for the most part you can control your condition.
Yes, I have a meter, but I have lost confidence in using it and sorting out my diet, since my GP gave me a dire warning about not doing anything drastic until all the test results are in, as she said it would be different advice depending on whether I am pre-d or Type 2 full blown. Quite frankly I then got ill, then I had my birthday and all in all it's only this week I feel like picking it up again.

And to rant further, I didn't get the GTT today as I should have made an appointment, but no one told me that was needed!

I know, once I know the deal that I will take this on myself fully to make the best of whatever this is that I can. But until my GP gives me a diagnosis I'm stuck. And I hate being like that, because it's not in my nature :)

I have already discovered that I can tolerate small quantities of brown / wild rice, Burgen bread and small amounts of fruits and veggies, thank goodness.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Yes, I have a meter, but I have lost confidence in using it and sorting out my diet, since my GP gave me a dire warning about not doing anything drastic until all the test results are in, as she said it would be different advice depending on whether I am pre-d or Type 2 full blown. Quite frankly I then got ill, then I had my birthday and all in all it's only this week I feel like picking it up again.

And to rant further, I didn't get the GTT today as I should have made an appointment, but no one told me that was needed!

I know, once I know the deal that I will take this on myself fully to make the best of whatever this is that I can. But until my GP gives me a diagnosis I'm stuck. And I hate being like that, because it's not in my nature :)

I have already discovered that I can tolerate small quantities of brown / wild rice, Burgen bread and small amounts of fruits and veggies, thank goodness.

The reason why you shouldn't change your diet before your GTT is because that is to test reaction to glucose. You don't want your body to get used to low carb now or you will definitely fail the test. When low carbing, a sudden increase in glucose (such as the drink they give you) will affect your results because your pancreas will not be ready for it - it will be expecting low glucose so won't be able to cope. It is important . So between now and then, eat normally.
 

Helss

Active Member
Messages
44
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
The reason why you shouldn't change your diet before your GTT is because that is to test reaction to glucose. You don't want your body to get used to low carb now or you will definitely fail the test. When low carbing, a sudden increase in glucose (such as the drink they give you) will affect your results because your pancreas will not be ready for it - it will be expecting low glucose so won't be able to cope. It is important . So between now and then, eat normally.
Thank you - I just wish my GP could be as straightforward. I'm lower carb than I was, but that's partly because I've given up crisps, cakes and chocolate ;-) I've reduced my carb portion size too, but if I added it all up I probably aren't in the lowish carb range. Unfortunately, because I wasn't warned the test would be necessary, I started to low carb a few weeks ago but have bounced back a bit from that. I suppose time will tell now. I know I'm borderline at least.
 
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