Potatoes

[bernard41]

I have been told I should only eat new potatoes not old. Is this correct? if so why?

 

[bulkbiker]

I wouldn't eat any kind.. not sure there is much difference in carbohydrate level between them.
Who told you that nugget?

 

[bernard41]

as type 2 I know I should eat some carbohydrate so a little potatoes. However I cannot find any reference to old or new. the nugget referred to was told to me by a long term diabetic I know. He claimed to have been told by his diabetic nurse

 

[Rachox]

On my carb counter app potato is 17.5g carbs per 100g, while new potatoes are 16.1g (that is raw in their skins for both), so it does save you much by getting new ones.

 

[bulkbiker]

as type 2 I know I should eat some carbohydrate

Who told you that?
Depending on your medication of course.. but there are no essential dietary carbohydrates so there is no need to eat any (although its quite hard not to have a few).

 

[Rachox]

Just noticed you’re new to the forum Bernard, so welcome. Here is a link to our useful info post:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
The notion of having to eat carbohydrates is now old thinking. Have a read of the post in the link. Can you please also tell us what meds you’re on as that has a bearing in carbohydrates consumed too.

 

[bernard41]

I have not heard of not eating carbs as the new thinking. Thank you for the information. However I am told carb count varies by the variety. But I find no indication comparing old and new. Also I am told the Glycaemic index is more important than the carb count. I am still learning about my condition but read confusing information

 

[bernard41]

Hi Rachel. I amazed by your weight loss program. Info please. I am trying to loose weight. It is not easy. I am on Metformin 2*500mg morning and evening. Thank you for the useful link

 

[Guzzler]

I have not heard of not eating carbs as the new thinking. Thank you for the information. However I am told carb count varies by the variety. But I find no indication comparing old and new. Also I am told the Glycaemic index is more important than the carb count. I am still learning about my condition but read confusing information

Insulin Resistance makes the Glycaemic Index redundant. A carb is a carb.

 

[miahara]

Here's the data on spuds from the Diogenes index. Columns are CHO/100g : GI : GL.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I have not heard of not eating carbs as the new thinking. Thank you for the information. However I am told carb count varies by the variety. But I find no indication comparing old and new. Also I am told the Glycaemic index is more important than the carb count. I am still learning about my condition but read confusing information

Hi Bernard,

The glycemic index isn't exactly relevant to T2's.... It is, however, to T1's who have to decide whether to split a dose of insulin because the carbs take longer to hit the blooodstream as glucose. For T2's, a carb is a carb is a carb, and we have problems processing those. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ Here's a quick-start guide about what a T2 can safely eat to get you started, if you choose this path and your meds and doc allow it. Then you can dive into Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code and Dietdoctor.com, as well as diabetes.co.uk (NOT .org!).

But if you want to get into remission, spuds are basically out.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[bernard41]

Now I am totally confused. My health care professionals tell me to go for low GI foods so that the carb release is slow enough for my pancreas to make enough insulin to cope. Then you tell me any carb is bad! Wow no wonder diabetics don't know what to do!

 

[bulkbiker]

Now I am totally confused. My health care professionals tell me to go for low GI foods so that the carb release is slow enough for my pancreas to make enough insulin to cope. Then you tell me any carb is bad! Wow no wonder diabetics don't know what to do!

Do your HCP's have T2?

We do (or did have) and have found that reducing carbs to a minimum has worked really well in reducing HbA1c levels and putting T2 into remission.

 

[bernard41]

Many thanks Miahara. I can now see that old spuds compared to new are virtually the same carb content but old have a higher GI when cooked. However as I am now told GI is unimportant to a type2 I assume all carbs must be cut out.

 

[bulkbiker]

all carbs must be cut out.

Certainly won't do you any harm..
Are you taking any medication for T2?

 

[Mr_Pot]

Insulin Resistance makes the Glycaemic Index redundant. A carb is a carb.

Glycemic Index is not a precise measurement. It varies between individuals and when foods are eaten in combination but it is not a useless concept. If we are trying to avoid glucose spikes then eating foods that take time to digest are better than foods with the same amount of carbs that hit the bloodstream quickly. Of course it is not a substitute for not eating the carbs at all, but it helps. So if you are going to eat potatoes, then it is better to eat hard waxy new potatoes rather than fluffy mashed old potatoes. Personally I don't eat potatoes at all.

 

[carol43]

@bernard41 What everyone else has said. I haven't had potato, bread or anything that contains flour, pasta or rice since I was diagnosed in 2015 (was diabetic in 2011 but no doctor told me) Look at my signature, all done on lowcarb/healthy fat.

 

[Antje77]

Do you use a meter to check your blood sugar before and after eating? It's very useful to find out what foods you can eat without getting high bg.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Now I am totally confused. My health care professionals tell me to go for low GI foods so that the carb release is slow enough for my pancreas to make enough insulin to cope. Then you tell me any carb is bad! Wow no wonder diabetics don't know what to do!

It IS confusing... I was obese and went to the hospital's dietician. She told me to add 6 slices of brown bread to my daily eating. Soon after that I was morbidly obese and diabetic. As a T2, I was sent back to her and to another dietician, but as I was diagnosed over the summer while they all were on holiday, I'd done a lot of reading and had implemented the new way of eating. My HbA1c was by then already in the normal range and I was off all diabetes meds and statins. Plus, i was losing weight, rapidly. They told me to go for good carbs. Both of them. If I'd done what they told me, I'd be on insulin now. (And who knows, a toe or two short.). I'm the only one in my GP's practice who does this, as all the other patients get sent to the same dieticians and they need more and more meds as time goes by. my GP gave me carte blanche: I can ask her to order whatever tests I want, and I keep her in the loop about what I'm eating. I'm her guinea pig, and happily so.

I'm the only one in the practice who has reversed her T2. The NHS is catching on slowly, but the Dutch version of it is still absolutely clueless. It's slow going. But I've been off of meds for almost three years now, and my HbA1c and finger prick tests are in the normal, healthy range. I'm not the only one either. Loads of people here have done it. It doesn't cost anything extra, so you don't have to buy special shakes or protein bars or whatever... Just eat less to no carbs and you're on the road to a happier, healthier life.

But, anyway, about conflicting advice: Don't listen to strangers on the internet, or friends whose medicine cabinet is overflowing. Listen to your bloodglucose meter. It'll tell you exactly where you're at and what food is doing to you. If you test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite, you want your bloods to not have risen more than 2.0 mmol/l. Your meter isn't going to try and sell you anything, convince you of anything, or have any ulterior motive. It'll just tell you the way things are and where you stand. It's objective and it will cut through all the information you're getting. Want to know whether your friend is right about the spuds? Have some, and test. (With slow carbs, test at the 1, 2, and 3 hour mark to make sure). It makes things a lot less confusing if there's something you can absolutely depend on.

Good luck,
Jo

 

[Guzzler]

Glycemic Index is not a precise measurement. It varies between individuals and when foods are eaten in combination but it is not a useless concept. If we are trying to avoid glucose spikes then eating foods that take time to digest are better than foods with the same amount of carbs that hit the bloodstream quickly. Of course it is not a substitute for not eating the carbs at all, but it helps. So if you are going to eat potatoes, then it is better to eat hard waxy new potatoes rather than fluffy mashed old potatoes. Personally I don't eat potatoes at all.

As I said (clearly) add Insulin Resistance into the mix and the GI is pretty much unworkable at least long term. The method used to initially measure GI was formulated using subjects who were young, fit, healthy non Diabetics (and as far as I can remember the subjects were exclusively male). Thereby making each calculation on the index non applicable to those with Insulin Resistance In My Opinion.