Newly diagnosed

[Hoofe1]

Hi I am newly diagnosed type 2 and am struggling what amount of sugar is acceptable to eat, as theres sugar in almost everything. Please help

 

[DevonVee]

You need to learn that all carbs and protein turn to blood glucose. Sugar refined carbs do it the fastest so cause huge spikes in blood sugar. Slower release comes from complex carbs. What a lot of people on this forum have done is switched to higher fat diets as fat does not convert to glucose . You need to look at cutting out the refined stuff first then see what effect the rest has. Everyone is different which is why a lot of us blood test even though the NHS does not support this unless you are on insulin or other drugs that effect your insulin levels. We look at what foods we can tolerate and how much.
Don't panic though and read lots before deciding your best approach. A lot of us are not prepared to just swallow pills and wait for the condition to get worse and many have reversed their condition and achieved control.

 

[Alison Campbell]

Hi @Hoofe1 welcome to the forum tagging @daisy1 for some new member information for you.

I remember reading food labels and feeling very confused when first diagnosed. There is no set levels as we all tolerate sugars and carbohydrates differently . I just have to avoid things that raise my blood glucose levels.

 

[Prem51]

Hi @Hoofe1 and welcome to the forum. T2 diabetics should not eat any sugar, or at least as little as possible. But we also need to avoid or limit starchy carbohydrates which turn to sugar in our bodies. The main ones to avoid are bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and beer.
You will have to start checking the nutrition advice labels on food packaging. You should try to only eat foods which are less than 5 gms of carbohydrates per 100 gms, ie 5%, and preferably less than 3 gms of carbs per 100 gms.
Adopting a Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) approach to eating has helped many of us on here to reduce our blood sugar levels, Have a read round the threads to see how it works, and ask any questions you want to.

 

[urbanracer]

Hi @Hoofe1 welcome to the forum tagging @daisy1 for some new member information for you.

I remember reading food labels and feeling very confused when first diagnosed. There is no set levels as we all tolerate sugars and carbohydrates differently . I just have to avoid things that raise my blood glucose levels.

Member daisy1 is no longer performing the moderator role @Alison Campbell , in the signature of every moderator's postings there are links to the same information though.

EDITED:- I stand corrected and daisy1 is still posting the links to newbies so you can keep on tagging her.

 

[urbanracer]

Welcome to the forums @Hoofe1

 

[Bluetit1802]

You need to learn that all carbs and protein turn to blood glucose.

This statement is somewhat misleading.

All carbs do convert to glucose once inside the system, but only a small percentage of protein might do. That is, the protein that our bodies don't use for cell building and repair etc. It certainly doesn't all convert to glucose, so we can eat meat, fish, eggs, cheese and all other protein sources in normal quantities. What we can't eat in normal quantities are starchy carbohydrates such as bread, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes, flour and some other root vegetables. We also need to be careful with fruit and milk.

As said earlier, you need to learn to read nutrition labels on all packaged food, and how to count the carbs in grams that you eat. How many grams you eat is up to you, but if you buy a blood glucose meter (and I strongly urge you to do this) your meter will teach you how many grams per meal your body can cope with.

Have a good read round the forums, and if you have any questions, just ask.

 

[hooha]

Hi I am newly diagnosed type 2 and am struggling what amount of sugar is acceptable to eat, as theres sugar in almost everything. Please help

Hi sounds like you like sugar . Try getting rid of the sweet tooth. Eat lots of vegetables and salads. Use zero calorie mustard it's great. Check out the low carb high fat people on line. Once you start cutting out starches and sugars it gets easier.For years I made a fuss about getting the right milk in my tea and coffee -now I take them both black - I got used to it and now I LIKE it ! I don't miss sweets, prefer a salty plate of anchovies and cheeses.

 

[daisy1]

@Hoofe1

Hello Hoofe1 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.


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.

 

[DevonVee]

This statement is somewhat misleading.

All carbs do convert to glucose once inside the system, but only a small percentage of protein might do. That is, the protein that our bodies don't use for cell building and repair etc. It certainly doesn't all convert to glucose, so we can eat meat, fish, eggs, cheese and all other protein sources in normal quantities. What we can't eat in normal quantities are starchy carbohydrates such as bread, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes, flour and some other root vegetables. We also need to be careful with fruit and milk.

As said earlier, you need to learn to read nutrition labels on all packaged food, and how to count the carbs in grams that you eat. How many grams you eat is up to you, but if you buy a blood glucose meter (and I strongly urge you to do this) your meter will teach you how many grams per meal your body can cope with.

Have a good read round the forums, and if you have any questions, just ask.

Thank you
I was trying to think straight but travelling back with the children scrambles the brain

 

[TallLeeds]

Look up 'Low Carb LCHF Keto Eating' online. Literally thousands of recipes....STOP eating sugar....empty the cupboards and start again! Whatever you had in there is Bad for you. Start again. It's actually very easy to change but your head and attitude have to be in unison...no point lying to yourself..noone suffers but you. Good luck