Found out today

Unreal

Newbie
Messages
3
Hello, my first time here because this morning I visited my G.P to get blood test results and yes, was told I was Prediabetic just slightly over the high line.
He told me to cut out bread, pastry, cakes, crisps, red meat that is all I was told, I am married and my wife is registered disabled but insists on helping me (I am her carer too) now as much as she can.

What kind of things can I eat is it the way they are cooked or what happens, it is a complete new thing for me and my wife and came here hoping someone could help me out please.
 

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,576
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Your doctor is partly correct cut out the "
bread, pastry, cakes, crisps,

but leave the red meat in and add some above ground veg, eggs , butter, cream and bacon.
I'd suggest checking out the www.dietdoctor.com website for some low carb meal ideas.
I'll also tag in @daisy1 for the amazingly useful guide to lowering blood sugar by dietary changes alone.
And wish you a warm welcome.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello and welcome.

Do you know the actual level of the test you had that puts you in the pre-diabetes range? If not, you need to know. You can ring your surgery and ask the receptionist for a print out of your results. You most likely also had cholesterol, liver and kidney function tests. It is also important to know these, and they will be on the print out. Anything you don't understand you can ask on here.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to buy a blood glucose meter and plenty of test strips. This will help you with your food choices and give you chance to tweak your diet accordingly. We can also help you with this.

I'm tagging @daisy1 who has an informative post for new comers and well worth reading it, taking particular note of the role of carbohydrates. Meanwhile, look at the list of foods that you can enjoy, and a list of ones to avoid or seriously reduce.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodlist
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/foods#foodtoavoid

There is absolutely no need to avoid red meat, and absolutely no need to eat low fat products. Full fat real fats are best, real butter, cream, cheese, full fat Greek yogurt and so on. Just avoid carbs as far as you can. This includes the wholemeal varieties. We also need to be very careful with fruit and fruit juices.

Have a good read round, and ask all the questions you have.
 

Antje77

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
19,284
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
You've got better advice than many from your doctor, only ignore the red meat part. It's fine if you like it :)
Take your time reading around, you're not in a hurry!

Good luck!
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Hello and welcome to the forum. Have a wander around and ask as many questions as you like.
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
You might like to swap to a low carb bread - I get a very low carb Protein bread from Asda - it is expensive but only 4 gm of carb per slice, so far less than 'normal' bread. There are other breads which are rather higher, but might suit you better - I am really sensitive to carbs and people vary a lot in which foods cause spikes and which do not.
Meat, fish, shellfish and other sea food, eggs and cheese are all low carb, though I do smile at the adverts for things which are described as 100 percent something - prime fish or chicken, but which have a thick coating of batter or breadcrumbs - they are on my 'to be avoided' list.
I have various kitchen 'toys' which are very useful - the halogen oven with timer and temperature control, a slow cooker, the Tefal Actify, a temperature sensing grill, the induction hob which can sit on a table top is handy and portable.
Reducing carbs can mean a loss of fuel for the body, but we do well on fats - if not better. I buy chicken thighs rather than fillets, fattier mince - just add mushrooms to absorb it, I fry eggs after cooking bacon.
The advice on saturated fats and low fat everything is proving rather problematic in that it seems to be producing more problems whilst not curing what it is supposed to.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Unreal
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.


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 600,000 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 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.
 

Goonergal

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
13,466
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@Unreal welcome to the best place for diabetes support and information. Great advice above - stick around and you’ll be on top of this in no time.
 
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Juicetin

Well-Known Member
Messages
350
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
@Resurgam would you be kind enough to specify the exact bread you get from Asda please, there are several by me and I am interested. Many thanks.
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
The brand is Schneider Brot. The most obvious lettering is Protein Bread - carbs are.7.9 g per 100g. It is a brown brick rather than the usual loaf shape, in clear plastic.
 

Unreal

Newbie
Messages
3
Just like to thank everyone for the very warm welcome I have been given.

It has really helped me knowing that others are prediabetic as this is something that has come as a surprise to me, not knowing about this and what to do, what do I have to give up. So many questions but am sure with your help I will get my head round this somehow.

Thanking you all for helping me