New member -Newly diagnosed - diet advice

[DeanK]

Hi to all, I am 46, male, not overweight, just had a routine screening and got news that i am probably T2 diabetic. I had a fasting reading of 16 (uk) nearly 290 (european). Doc put me on high dose metformin 850mg x 3 p.day and a strict diet change and I am managing my sugar levels for a about 5 weeks. I have had a love of biccies, cakes etc in the past which has no doubt contributed to this situation greatly. Struggling a bit and managing to stay around 8.3 (150 euro- which is a worry), currently and thinking my diet is still not doing the trick. I am pretty much on low carbs high protein and moderate fat I would say.

I have a question over porridge oats and fruit. I saw a post that oats can be very difficult for some, and I eat them religiously for breakfast as I thought they were magical for DB sufferers. Also there seems to be mixed messages about fruit some saying that certain fruit is ok green apples (sour) pears, melon, berries but all seem to have some degree of sugar level so what quantities are ok? i tend to eat one apple a day after a meal and mainly nuts (almonds/Walnuts) for snacking and the occasional Sugar free biscuit. I don't have easy access to berries right now otherwise would eat some. I am wondering if my quantities are a problem although i am eating moderate sized amounts, balancing fish, meat (low fat beef mince) /chicken as best I can. I enjoy salads and some cheese as well. carbs are mainly low GI rice, brown pasta, no potatoes and occasional w/wheat bread.I don't drink much other than tea (w/skimmed milk), water and a small glass of pure Apple juice in the morning.

Any ideas that I can use/ incorporate to try to manage the diet better much appreciated.

many thanks. Dean

 

[daisy1]

Hi Dean and welcome to the forum

Basically you need to cut down on the carbohydrates. Here is the information we give to new members which I hope you will find useful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to answer 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 30,000 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 ... rains.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 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.

 

[Netty70]

Hi dean
Welcome to the forum
Get yourself a blood sugar tester them you can see what foods are good for you and what aren't
My DN advised me to stay away from grapes and mango
Good luck


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[DeanK]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. I have a blood glucose meter and am only required to test infrequently right now per docs instructions (weekly) but as you say some random after meal testing might expose what is really keeping me on the high side. I am due a visit shortly and will get an update, meantime I will try alternate foods and see what works. Grapes and Mangos are a no-no I tried grapes during one week and had a high sugar reading.

Any alternate breakfast suggestions, other than oats. i read Raisan bran or bran flakes are alternates, what are many of you eating in the morning?
Dean

 

[charon]

Hi DeanK,
I too was told not to test more than once a day and not to change my diet much, just cut out sugary things. Was also told I would get worse and suffer complications - probably true if I followed their advice.

I tested before and after every meal, now only if I have something different
My staple diet is low carb and if I stick to that my bg stays below 6 - but I am flexible about things.
No porridge or weatabix or any breakfast cereal.
Once bg was under control I experimented. An apple is ok but more than one is not. A banana sends it higher than I like.

Bacon and eggs
Salad with meat/fish
Meat/fish with greens.
Raspberries, blueberries, double cream.

Snacks - walnuts, almonds, pistachios, spring onions.

Exercise

This has also improved my cholesterol profile a lot - that might be due to the exercise but the connection with eating fat is as clear as once thought.

Good luck.


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[DeanK]

Charon,

Thanks for this, I like the sound of your diet, it appeals to me, especially double cream with the fruit! I need to experiment and take some readings but I think its just a case of portion control and finding what works, like you.

really appreciate the response.

Dean

 

[whompa73]

I was only diagnosed a week last friday but by cutting down to probably 30 to 50grams carbs a day sometimes less and staying away from things with sugar in my bg levels with help of matformin have come down massivly. I have gone from being/feeling realy ill to feeling the best I have in over a year and loosing weight too. I had some unpleasant classic diabetic symptoms and got to the piont the week before I was properly diagnosed that I only go out of bed to go to work I was that knackard. You have to be strickt but is worth it

 

[Patch13]

Dean

If you want to find out about the carb content of foods then the Carbs and Cals book is useful as it gives visual images and how much carbs and calories are in each dish. It has bread, fruit, etc which you can easily look up. This is also available as an iPhone app.

Alternatively you could look up carbs on the Internet if you are unsure how much something contains.

I also have a set of scales that tells you the carbs, protein, fat, calories and salt content of food. It means you have to weigh things but I find them useful.

I personally eat very little fruit and when I do it is usually berries as they have the least carbs in.
Remember that low fat products often have high quantities of carbs - so it is always advisable to look on the labels.

Hope that helps
Patch13


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[DeanK]

Whompa73,

Thanks for your comments its similar to me. I was just not feeling right really tired like you, although I could not tell what was wrong, I have a pretty stressful job and put it down to that, then had my screenings and got the news. I pretty much avoid anything with added sugar so am on the right track. Am thinking the key is managing the Carbs better, portion wise, as you suggest. yeah getting my head around the being strict part takes some doing after years of doing whatever. keep up the good work yourself.

Dean

 

[DeanK]

Patch13,

Sounds like good advice, I try to be pretty good with this but seems like I need to be more vigilant. thanks for the suggestions. Dean

 

[Daibell]

Hi. You have had lots of good advice already ref diet; just watch out for the carbs and not just sugar. Before I went onto insulin I set myself a 150gm/day max target and still stay near it. Be aware that if you aren't overweight and as you are still fairly young for T2 there is a very small possibly of late onset T1 (LADA or T1.5). Hopefully you aren't LADA but if your sugars start rising despite low-carbing then see the GP again.

 

[Randburg]

Hi, Ive been looking at the advice, and no one has mentioned how many carbs is low
Are there details as to what Low Carb quantity does to lower Glucose levels.
I was diagnosed about a year ago, and all is well Asb level 5.3. but i want to loose some additional weight and am looking at cutting Carbs, but dont know to what level to loose both weight and keep sugar low
Any suggestions ? :idea:

 

[charon]

If you look at my initial diet above it is almost carb free. I lost a couple of stone like this without feeling hungry. Then it a matter of adjusting things to stop losing weight.

Everyone is different so you have to find something that suits you but cutting down to minimal carbs should help weight and bg as long as portions are not excessive.


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[whompa73]

I would surgest to try for under 30 grams but be flexable and alow 60 grams if need be. This I what I am doing .dont forget this is an inital boost to get itt under control onec you have you'll then be able to tune it best for you but the knowlage to do that will take time so be strict with yourself. It is easyer to be strict that stay on a half cocked course. Good luck mate . If you want pm me it my help both of us to have a diet buddy

 

[elaine77]

Hi Dean I'm with Daibell, if you are cutting carbs right down and only using low GI carbs and you are still having high readings then you may need further blood tests to test for LADA. I was wrongly diagnosed as a type 2 despite having a BMI of 23 and only being 26, they ran further bloods and I'm autoimmune on the long and winding road to insulin....

If the diet changes work though then that's brilliant and good luck!


Diagnosed with GD in 2010, Completely disappeared postpartum. Re-diagnosed December 2012 with type 1.5 diabetes, age 26, BMI 23 currently controlled by only Metformin, 500mg twice a day.

 

[Yorksman]

Struggling a bit and managing to stay around 8.3 (150 euro- which is a worry), currently and thinking my diet is still not doing the trick.

That's already an improvement. It doesn't go back down to normal all in one go but your levels will go down steadily over the weeks and months if you keep it up. I had difficulty with porridge so I just ate less. As I lost weight and did more exercise, it became less of a problem. You can get whole oats which are not as refined as some brands. They are slow release.

Also, if you are eating less food and losing weight, even slowly, your body will break down fats and dump glucose into your blood. You're left wondering why your BGs have gone up when you haven't eaten anything more than a piece of lettuce garnished with raw onion. Just keep up with whatever your doing, be patient and you'll see things improve slowly.