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Newly diagnosed

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TedBartlett

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Newly diagnosed type2. My husband been told no fruit or veg no bread pasta or rice. He's living off chicken & eggs and nuts. Only list 1kg this week but in worried he can't keep this up! Please help xx
 
TedBartlett said:
Newly diagnosed type2. My husband been told no fruit or veg no bread pasta or rice. He's living off chicken & eggs and nuts. Only list 1kg this week but in worried he can't keep this up! Please help xx
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Hi...It's tough at first to know what the hell to eat. First up - does he have a meter? It's important he tests regularly..more than the doctors advise (they don't want us getting stressed by readings). I strongly advise he keeps a diary of what he eats and when, and that he records readings before eating and 2.5 hours after eating. That way he will quickly figure out what works and what doesn't (the post meal reading should be very similar to the premeal..if not the grubs got too many carbs in it. there are other opinions, obviously, but I'd definitely say NO bread, pasta, rice or spuds..no biccies, no cakes...etc. No cereal - it's brutal! The good news he can eat some fruit and plenty of veg! the problem is only with high or "simple" carb foods as carbs turn into sugar in the blood and have the same impact as sugar. I am on a very low carb diet, and that is working (as you can see from my "signature" below. there's a lot of stuff on low carb diets on the site - explore.
I eat : slices of smoked cheese (no carbs at all) and dried bacon slices for brekkie. boiled eggs of omelettes are good too. BUT - so is bacon! A fry up is fine (but check the meter to see). I eat steak, ham, bacon, pork, chicken, 90% meat sausages. All low or complex carb veg is not only ok - its crucial...as a rule..if a veg grows above ground its cool. I eat broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, samphire, cabbage etc etc. As for fruit..avocado is a fruit made for diabetics! It can even have a small reducing effect, and it is great for the health generally. I often have 5 or 6 strawberries with an avocado and mayo for lunch. I even have a beer with dinner. Red wine works for some people. Note that asparagus can lower the blood sugar level a bit...I eat plenty of it. Coffee and tea are fine - avoid too much milk (and NO SUGAR). Check the labels for what's in every 100g..if the carbs are 10g or less per 100g - it's low carb....enjoy it! Whoever said no veg was talking rubbish. I'm sure someone will disagree with me - but many, many would not. As an afterthought - I allow myself an ice lolly after dinner if my pre-meal level is ok (ok..so its 2 lollies), and many people find that a wee shot of whisky, vodka or gin can have a good effect..this is because the liver deals with alcohol first and so the glucose thing is delayed. So - meter, record and relax. I hope he enjoys his next pile of veg and meat. Oh - and, of course, fish is good too - particularly oily fish. Salon and tuna are no problem at all. Explore. Good luck. Paul
 
Hi and welcome. Your husband has been partly mis-informed. Almost any amount of veg is OK but avoid too much of the root veg as they can be high in carbs; have raw root when you can as it's lower-GI. A sensible amount of fruit is fine but avoid tropical fruit due to the high sugar (fructose) content. Veg and fruit have fibre which is very important. Sugar and white flour-based foods are largely empty carbs.
 
Hi @TedBartlett and welcome to the forum! I found it hard to know what to eat for the first couple of weeks after being diagnosed. I was eating just wholemeal bread tinned salmon and mayo sandwiches.
But finding this forum has been great for learning about what can be eaten. There are a lot of useful suggestions and recipes on here. My suggestion is that you try the LIDL High Protein rolls if you have a LIDL near you. LIDL rolls.jpg
 
TedBartlett said:
Newly diagnosed type2. My husband been told no fruit or veg no bread pasta or rice. He's living off chicken & eggs and nuts. Only list 1kg this week but in worried he can't keep this up! Please help xx
Click to expand...
Does you husband having a blood sugar monitor. Unless he can keep a food diary and register his numbers then he is not going to know what he can eat. It is essential for until he gets to know what he can and cannot eat.

Fruit and vegetables can be eaten and the testing of blood sugars will tell him which ones are suitable for him. Temperate fruits are the ones to try rather than tropical ones as their sugar content is not too high. You will also find that if fruit is eaten as a dessert rather than a snack then the impact will be less.
Vegetables above ground are usually better but you can try root ones to see what effect they have. You are going to get a higher reading eating a plate of carrots than you are if you use a small portion and add other vegetables to the meal.

There are some breads that people have found suitable including Bergen Soya and Linseed, Hovis seed sensations, Nimble and the rolls that are mentioned in the post above.
I will tag @daisy1 to give you some basic information, which includes levels to aim for and when to test, which will help you and please ask any questions when you are not sure. It is all about your response to foods as we vary in our results.
 
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Oh dear your husband has been defineitely given some over the top information.
At the beginning it is simplest to start by using rules of thumb that fall on the side of caution which with can then be eased back with experience of self-testing and reading reliable nutritional from the internet and packaging labels.

You clearly know the foods that must be completely avoided potatoes, all cereal products including bread, rice, couscous. pasta, tropical fruit and all breakfast cereals.

Vegetables that grow above ground are OK I find leafy and other salad vegetables are seem to have a moderating effect on the way the a meal raises blood sugar levels.

Vegetables that grow below ground can be very bad (particularly potatoes) but many other root vegetables can be eaten in much smaller portions.

Fruit that doesn't need a Mediterranean or tropical to grow is generally OK in but slightly smaller portions ie; a Kids Fun Sized Apple not a full sized fruit. Many of us on the forum enjoy berries and cream as a dessert. Grapes have a high concentration of sugar so best avoided.

Fish (especially oily fish) , Meat, Eggs and Nuts are fine but keep to normal sized portions.

The amount of oils and fats (good or bad) has to increase in the diet to compensate for the loss of calories from sugars and other carbohydrates.
Beware the coatings on some super market or fast foods --- such as fish or chicken.
I eat mainly Italian style but without the pasta so lots of olive oil, tomatoes, leafy salads and cheese with meals.
 
I would caution against your husband eating any bread particularly in the early stages it can cause blood glucose levels to rise sharply and stay elevated for hours.

After almost a year on a low carb diet with my body controlling by blood glucose level better I find I can now eat smallish portions of some breads (mainly flat breads) without problem but other breads even wholegrain or wholemeal continue to cause my blood glucose levels to go into double figures. .

Be aware that apparently similar breads from different big brand makers can be made from different proportions of ingredients. I have found even seemingly minor variations from the same brand can have very different effects on my blood glucose level.

I found the key to success low carbing was self-testing of blood glucose level, it enables the type 2 diabetics to learn which foods work best for the individual.
 
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Bacon & Eggs are one of the best things in a diabetics life -- but most us like some veg.:wacky:
 
I suspect his issue is "low carb flu". Going from a high carb diet to a zero carb diet with no transition will generally make you feel terrible until your body adjusts.
 
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