Type 2 Reading food labels

MilaMILA

Member
Messages
11
Hi there,
I was told to eat foods that have less than 5grams per 100grams ADDED sugar.
Was wondering how you guys read food labels and what you are going for.

ADDED sugar/ or total carbs / or "of which" sugars
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Neither - the amount of sugar is not relevant - it is the amount of carbohydrate - so we ignore the traffic lights and have to get out the magnifying glass to read the back of the packet to find the carbs.
In the USA the fibre can be deducted, as the total carbs include it, in the UK it is recorded separately so the number is the net carbs already.
 
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Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Probably - I can eat the protein rolls from Lidl, which are not exactly bread but they are delicious.
I avoid all other grains, potatoes, starchy veges and sweet fruits - I can manage berries and melon without doing double digits, but there are a lot of things I can eat and enjoy.
 
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daisy1

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

Hello Mila and welcome to the Forum :) To help you along, here is the Basic Information, mentioned above, which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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.
 

AM1874

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,383
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Not much
Aaaah, thank you. So bye bye bread then? This one will be hard... thank you!
Hi @MilaMILA .. and welcome

Not as hard as you might think ...;)
I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the info that you received from @ daisy1
You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following websites ...
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds
Low Carb 10-week Programme

If you are considering testing, try the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter or: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. I have been using both for comparative purposes since Feb 16th. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the two packages above. My surgery will not provide the strips etc on prescription .. but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Aaaah, thank you. So bye bye bread then? This one will be hard... thank you!
Hi. I still have bread but not too much and it's low-GI multigrain. It's still carbs but doesn't spike BS quite so much.
 

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,576
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi. I still have bread but not too much and it's low-GI multigrain. It's still carbs but doesn't spike BS quite so much.

But for someone trying to do diet controlled without meds that may not be such great advice? Maybe?
 

Robbity

Expert
Messages
6,683
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I always look for total carbs (on our UK labelling) and ignore the "of which sugars" bit, as sugars are just a type of carbs under another name. I also try to avoid any foods that have added sugar or starchy fillers (e.g. burgers or sausages), which are usually IMO quite unnecessary, so I also look at ingredients (and their percentages) on any packaged/processed food labels as well as the carb content. Any carbs in my diet will wherever possible come mainly from natural sources such as low carb veggies, berries and nuts, and full fat dairy products (which may contain minimal carbs). My aim is to eat as few carbs as possible but still eat a healthy diet that is sustainable long term.

Robbity