I have been diagnosed as borderline diabetic type 2. I have just completed my tests/screenings for the first time. I don't get anything to check my levels & have only to be going by how I feel to know how things are for me. My doctor said on a routine appointment that she went on to a course. If you lose a stone then you will no longer be diabetic! I am told diet & exercise are the key. I have a few health issues which led me to diagnosis, though am also being told I'm not bad enough for it to be my diabetes! I'm nearly 13 stone & I am blindly trying to work out what foods.. I've been told yes to carbs & by someone else no! I have not a clue! All I know is type 2 Diabetes is seen as creating the issue yourself & meaning you need to lose weight & you can be cured! Tick the boxes & cross the t's as it were & then you've beaten diabetes it seems!
Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I feel!
- Thread starter Lozzybabyw
- Start Date
spendercat
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 277
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Cruelty. I am kind.
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
Borderline is only borderline. Eat carefully and you nay never develop full blown diabetes. Eat badly and you very well might. If you feel ill when you eat food that is bad for you that will help you a lot. Good clue. You are being sensible to try to take steps now, because later may be too late.
It would be easier to get a cheap blood monitor and testing strips (and no - they will not give them to you on the NHS! Go to Boots and ask for their cheapest) and find out what your blood glucose is actually doing. You only need to test for as long as it takes to work out what to avoid. A few weeks should do it.
Probably your blood glucose will go up above 7.7 an hour after you eat and come down to normal levels two hours after you eat. That would be a sign that your First Phase insulin release is weakening. It is usually diagnosed as borderline or just plain NOT Diabetic. If your level on wakening in the morning is higher than 7.7 that is slightly more serious, and if it is over 7.7 two hours after a meal you are diabetic. OK? If you get those sort of results go back to the doctor.
Basically, avoid starchy food like bread, potatoes and rice as much as possible. Eat your greens, be moderate with fruit, avoid sweeties and sweet drinks completely (yes, I do mean chocolate). Alcohol in moderation is fine and may even help if you have a heavy meal (As St Paul said, take a little wine for thy stomaches sake!)
Diet is essential, exercise may or may not help, depending on your body. Lots of diabetics are unable to exercise for various reasons, but still control their blood sugar through diet alone. I have not heard of anyone controlling it through exercise alone.
A sensible controlled carbohydrate diet would probably benefit everyone. Take a look at the Paleolithic crowd, they are not diabetic but they swear by a plain diet. They say, eat nothing yout great grandmother would not recognise as food
Borderline is only borderline. Eat carefully and you nay never develop full blown diabetes. Eat badly and you very well might. If you feel ill when you eat food that is bad for you that will help you a lot. Good clue. You are being sensible to try to take steps now, because later may be too late.
It would be easier to get a cheap blood monitor and testing strips (and no - they will not give them to you on the NHS! Go to Boots and ask for their cheapest) and find out what your blood glucose is actually doing. You only need to test for as long as it takes to work out what to avoid. A few weeks should do it.
Probably your blood glucose will go up above 7.7 an hour after you eat and come down to normal levels two hours after you eat. That would be a sign that your First Phase insulin release is weakening. It is usually diagnosed as borderline or just plain NOT Diabetic. If your level on wakening in the morning is higher than 7.7 that is slightly more serious, and if it is over 7.7 two hours after a meal you are diabetic. OK? If you get those sort of results go back to the doctor.
Basically, avoid starchy food like bread, potatoes and rice as much as possible. Eat your greens, be moderate with fruit, avoid sweeties and sweet drinks completely (yes, I do mean chocolate). Alcohol in moderation is fine and may even help if you have a heavy meal (As St Paul said, take a little wine for thy stomaches sake!)
Diet is essential, exercise may or may not help, depending on your body. Lots of diabetics are unable to exercise for various reasons, but still control their blood sugar through diet alone. I have not heard of anyone controlling it through exercise alone.
A sensible controlled carbohydrate diet would probably benefit everyone. Take a look at the Paleolithic crowd, they are not diabetic but they swear by a plain diet. They say, eat nothing yout great grandmother would not recognise as food
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
Good advice about avoiding starch as well as sugar. Would say that chocolate is OK if something like 85% plain. Only need a square as quite rich. A 100g bar has lasted me 2 months. You get used to it. Before diagnosis I would easily eat 2 packets of big Twix in a row.
Keep checking labels. I fancied a bit of plain with ginger today but the carb count is higher. Exercise can make you feel better and gets easier as you lose weight but can either raise blood sugar or suppress blood sugar levels. Test and see what it does for you.
Good advice about avoiding starch as well as sugar. Would say that chocolate is OK if something like 85% plain. Only need a square as quite rich. A 100g bar has lasted me 2 months. You get used to it. Before diagnosis I would easily eat 2 packets of big Twix in a row.
Keep checking labels. I fancied a bit of plain with ginger today but the carb count is higher. Exercise can make you feel better and gets easier as you lose weight but can either raise blood sugar or suppress blood sugar levels. Test and see what it does for you.
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
I dont know about type 2 being curable? If you are borderline and not full blown type 2, well can you really say it is curable?
I would definitely test too. you cant always rely on how you feel. I feel great at the moment, healthier than I have been for years, losing weight well, eating well. I did my bloods before dinner and they were still in the mid teens. Its great if you can genuinely feel it, but just saying it may not be massively reliable all the time! You wont get strips on prescription (I do, but most type 2's dont) but you can get some cheap monitors with cheap strips. It cant hurt just to double check your results match how you feel!
I dont know about type 2 being curable? If you are borderline and not full blown type 2, well can you really say it is curable?
I would definitely test too. you cant always rely on how you feel. I feel great at the moment, healthier than I have been for years, losing weight well, eating well. I did my bloods before dinner and they were still in the mid teens. Its great if you can genuinely feel it, but just saying it may not be massively reliable all the time! You wont get strips on prescription (I do, but most type 2's dont) but you can get some cheap monitors with cheap strips. It cant hurt just to double check your results match how you feel!
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
As others have said. The only way you will know for sure what your blood sugars are at any given time of the day is to test. The only way you will understand what foods effect your blood sugars is to test.
By restricting the intake of foods, either by eliminating them from your diet or eating smaller portions which won't raise your sugars very much, you accomplish a couple of things... #1 you lower the burden placed on your body's ability to deal with the sugars created by the foods you eat #2 perhaps lower your caloric intake and lose weight. Many people find that low carb dieting makes loosing weight much easier. As a general rule the foods that should show up on your radar as potential problems are #1 All Sugars #2 All grain products to include rice and oats and #3 foods that contain starch. That would be root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. Be aware that many processed foods have a lot of all three... things like gravy mixes, potato cakes, soups etc. When I started I declared all three as my enemy. No sugars, grains or starches... Zero. That helped me to quickly understand what my baseline sugars were. Then I started to experiment with ... say... a half a slice of Bergen bread ( Many swear by the Soya and Linseed but I have found Chia and Sunflower to work better for me.... Then I tried 25grams of whole wheat pasta or similar amounts of brown rice (basmati seems to favour me)
As for testing. It can be expensive if you are unable to get help from the NHS. As for me, they give me enough to test about 2 times a day. I make up the rest. To understand how your diet effects you. You should test when you first get up... known as fasting. This gives me a baseline for breakfast which I eat shortly after. Keep in mind that the first (fasting) test can be erratic and can be effected by things like you meal the previous evening or a bad nights sleep. After breakfast you should test 2hrs after you 'start' eating your breakfast. You should test just before every meal and 2 hours after the start. Record all of this information. If you have a program like excel you can enter it into their. When testing for your reaction to various foods you should look at the difference between your before reading and you 2 hour reading. Personally I do my best to keep that reaction under 1.5 mmol/l. Others use a different standard... others are unable to meet that standard... only you will know how your diet will work for you. I also use a little free program (windows based) http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Mis ... ware.shtml. It does a good job of showing you what your results look like in a graph form....
Anyway... Even if you are only pre diabetic, these things and the things people above have said should help you get a good understanding of you blood sugars and perhaps help you feel better than you have in a while....
Hope this helps
Kenny :thumbup:
As others have said. The only way you will know for sure what your blood sugars are at any given time of the day is to test. The only way you will understand what foods effect your blood sugars is to test.
By restricting the intake of foods, either by eliminating them from your diet or eating smaller portions which won't raise your sugars very much, you accomplish a couple of things... #1 you lower the burden placed on your body's ability to deal with the sugars created by the foods you eat #2 perhaps lower your caloric intake and lose weight. Many people find that low carb dieting makes loosing weight much easier. As a general rule the foods that should show up on your radar as potential problems are #1 All Sugars #2 All grain products to include rice and oats and #3 foods that contain starch. That would be root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. Be aware that many processed foods have a lot of all three... things like gravy mixes, potato cakes, soups etc. When I started I declared all three as my enemy. No sugars, grains or starches... Zero. That helped me to quickly understand what my baseline sugars were. Then I started to experiment with ... say... a half a slice of Bergen bread ( Many swear by the Soya and Linseed but I have found Chia and Sunflower to work better for me.... Then I tried 25grams of whole wheat pasta or similar amounts of brown rice (basmati seems to favour me)
As for testing. It can be expensive if you are unable to get help from the NHS. As for me, they give me enough to test about 2 times a day. I make up the rest. To understand how your diet effects you. You should test when you first get up... known as fasting. This gives me a baseline for breakfast which I eat shortly after. Keep in mind that the first (fasting) test can be erratic and can be effected by things like you meal the previous evening or a bad nights sleep. After breakfast you should test 2hrs after you 'start' eating your breakfast. You should test just before every meal and 2 hours after the start. Record all of this information. If you have a program like excel you can enter it into their. When testing for your reaction to various foods you should look at the difference between your before reading and you 2 hour reading. Personally I do my best to keep that reaction under 1.5 mmol/l. Others use a different standard... others are unable to meet that standard... only you will know how your diet will work for you. I also use a little free program (windows based) http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Mis ... ware.shtml. It does a good job of showing you what your results look like in a graph form....
Anyway... Even if you are only pre diabetic, these things and the things people above have said should help you get a good understanding of you blood sugars and perhaps help you feel better than you have in a while....
Hope this helps
Kenny :thumbup:
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
Thank you all I have a healthy diet but the sugar is always a problem for me.. The idea of being cured scares me as it isn't all about diet to why diabetes.. It seems a label type 2's are getting! I am borderline but am diagnosed as diabetic already. I have had to go for the tests etc as normal I just don't test other than the doctors when requested or have to have meds. I know I am lucky in that. I wrote off for the tester & it came with a doctors prescription note.. My doctor says I don't need to test still! I've worked out when my sugar is high.. I fall asleep! Concentrating helps me stay awake but not reading or tv! I exercise when I can but 2hrs of a school run each day minimum. I've always eaten quite healthily but sugar seems to be in everything! I can't afford a special diet so do my best to do fruit& veg, meat& carb now& again.. Though carbs are in everything too. I rarely eat processed foods &no fizzy drinks.. Cinnamon helps , it seems in a coffee or my porridge.. Despite all this I still feel ill a lot of the time:-( I get dizzy though happy the confusion is not so bad.. Though my eyes go blurry! I had the eye screen& all ok
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Thank you all
I have a healthy diet but the sugar is always a problem for me.. The idea of being cured scares me as it isn't all about diet to why diabetes.. It seems a label type 2's are getting! I am borderline but am diagnosed as diabetic already. I have had to go for the tests etc as normal I just don't test other than the doctors when requested or have to have meds. I know I am lucky in that. I wrote off for the tester & it came with a doctors prescription note.. My doctor says I don't need to test still! I've worked out when my sugar is high.. I fall asleep! Concentrating helps me stay awake but not reading or tv! I exercise when I can but 2hrs of a school run each day minimum. I've always eaten quite healthily but sugar seems to be in everything! I can't afford a special diet so do my best to do fruit& veg, meat& carb now& again.. Though carbs are in everything too. I rarely eat processed foods &no fizzy drinks.. Cinnamon helps , it seems in a coffee or my porridge.. Despite all this I still feel ill a lot of the time:-( I get dizzy though happy the confusion is not so bad.. Though my eyes go blurry! I had the eye screen& all okSent from the Diabetes Forum App
spendercat
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 277
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Cruelty. I am kind.
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
You are getting regular tests by your doctor. S/he must be quite concerned about you.
Are you worried by the association between diabetes and obesity and the media myth that it is a self inflicted illness? It is nonsense. One in five diabetics are normal weight. Most obese people are not diabetic.
Being diabetic is not the end of the world, it is more about not eating things than having a special diet. Many people control it well by taking medication and being careful about what they eat.
You are getting regular tests by your doctor. S/he must be quite concerned about you.
Are you worried by the association between diabetes and obesity and the media myth that it is a self inflicted illness? It is nonsense. One in five diabetics are normal weight. Most obese people are not diabetic.
Being diabetic is not the end of the world, it is more about not eating things than having a special diet. Many people control it well by taking medication and being careful about what they eat.
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
I have health complications with breathing& heart rate &excess sweating.. these cause issues when I exercise though I do keep it up. 2 years ago my body was giving me hell& I couldn't hardly walk due to back & feet issues. I walked up steep hills everyday 2hours on a school run& everywhere else I had to go. My body decided it wanted to give up.. pain excruciating in back& my feet & swollen I couldn't wear shoes.. I ended up moving away &pushed myself, was on top form going to the gym 3 times a week & had given up smoking too..swim aerobics etc i felt great though that crazily gave me the weight gain! That's when my breathing heart & sweat started then was taking over.. I walked everywhere too.. No transport & no choice. I spent a year proving that it wasn't anxiety & that the whole issue itself was sending me anxious. I had other medical probs creeping up too & diagnosed! I was on heavy pain killers & meds that didn't agree with me! I was healthy eating except I was craving food like never before! I held back a lot but some times I'd eat & not notice until after.. I had confusion, tiredness exercising & also walking down the road.. falling asleep! though sleep issues for years it had never been like that!
Now I take a lot of meds but not for diabetes..I still make sure I exercise & I'm losing weight& then it comes back on. However hard I try! I have the other things under control, though I am still so confused with what I should be eating.. At the moment I base 3 meals porridge breakfast a cuppa soup lunch& meat with salad or veg dinner.. Fat free yoghurts in between & fruit if i'm active;-) I have gone to red milk & am trying to get used to Splenda instead of sugar! It's not nice:-( i have cut out bread too & potatoes only if very active in the day. I have eaten relatively healthy for 9yrs from when I had my child!
The doctor said because I eat healthily on the main, that is why it remains at the lower scale.. I use an app called fitness pal & tells me exactly whats in my food! Carbs & Sugar are in everything! I was only diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in October. I changed the doctor & all of a sudden the suggestion of blood test then fasting ones.. I was diagnosed diabetes type 2. I think because it was only October is why they checked so soon. Since that I saw one of the doctors that threw anxiety tablets at me for an appointment nothing to do with diabetes... Though she saw I was now diagnosed diabetic.. She told me she went to a conference on diabetes the day before & learnt a lot.. Then told me it is possible to cure it! She then told me if I lost a stone then I would not have diabetes anymore!! That doesn't ring true to me. Though a lot of people seem to think for type 2 the problem is the weight. I am lucky & I know just hearing other people's battles.. How lucky I am. It's carb, no carb,sugar none & test & see! I can't test.. My doctor says i don't need to. I'm thinking of trying to find a way because I think I do need to. I thank you all so much for your help & advice I read it all & take it in. I also wish for you to find easier paths to help you feel better too. Hugs
Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
I have health complications with breathing& heart rate &excess sweating.. these cause issues when I exercise though I do keep it up. 2 years ago my body was giving me hell& I couldn't hardly walk due to back & feet issues. I walked up steep hills everyday 2hours on a school run& everywhere else I had to go. My body decided it wanted to give up.. pain excruciating in back& my feet & swollen I couldn't wear shoes.. I ended up moving away &pushed myself, was on top form going to the gym 3 times a week & had given up smoking too..swim aerobics etc i felt great
though that crazily gave me the weight gain! That's when my breathing heart & sweat started then was taking over.. I walked everywhere too.. No transport & no choice. I spent a year proving that it wasn't anxiety & that the whole issue itself was sending me anxious. I had other medical probs creeping up too & diagnosed! I was on heavy pain killers & meds that didn't agree with me! I was healthy eating except I was craving food like never before! I held back a lot but some times I'd eat & not notice until after.. I had confusion, tiredness exercising & also walking down the road.. falling asleep! though sleep issues for years it had never been like that! Now I take a lot of meds but not for diabetes..I still make sure I exercise & I'm losing weight& then it comes back on. However hard I try! I have the other things under control, though I am still so confused with what I should be eating.. At the moment I base 3 meals porridge breakfast a cuppa soup lunch& meat with salad or veg dinner.. Fat free yoghurts in between & fruit if i'm active;-) I have gone to red milk & am trying to get used to Splenda instead of sugar! It's not nice:-( i have cut out bread too & potatoes only if very active in the day. I have eaten relatively healthy for 9yrs from when I had my child!
The doctor said because I eat healthily on the main, that is why it remains at the lower scale.. I use an app called fitness pal & tells me exactly whats in my food! Carbs & Sugar are in everything! I was only diagnosed with diabetes type 2 in October. I changed the doctor & all of a sudden the suggestion of blood test then fasting ones.. I was diagnosed diabetes type 2. I think because it was only October is why they checked so soon. Since that I saw one of the doctors that threw anxiety tablets at me for an appointment nothing to do with diabetes... Though she saw I was now diagnosed diabetic.. She told me she went to a conference on diabetes the day before & learnt a lot.. Then told me it is possible to cure it! She then told me if I lost a stone then I would not have diabetes anymore!! That doesn't ring true to me. Though a lot of people seem to think for type 2 the problem is the weight. I am lucky & I know just hearing other people's battles.. How lucky I am. It's carb, no carb,sugar none & test & see! I can't test.. My doctor says i don't need to. I'm thinking of trying to find a way because I think I do need to. I thank you all so much for your help & advice
I read it all & take it in. I also wish for you to find easier paths to help you feel better too. Hugs Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
spendercat
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 277
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Cruelty. I am kind.
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
Its weird the way some people, including doctors, think diabetes is absolutely weight related. Its genetic. There are 16 genes involved in diabetes, the more of them you are born with the more likely you are to develop the condition. Many of them ARE triggered environmentally, by exposure to some food groups or chemicals etc. The idea that you can lose a stone and your diabetes goes away - poof - is sheer fantasy. You either have suffcient Beta cells for your body mass or you have'nt. If your mass becomes lower your pancreas MAY be able to cope, but would always need careful nurture with the right sort of diet, or it may fall below the necessary size again.
Your diet seems healthy enough to me, but you may be stressing it with carbohydrate surges you are not aware of. Fruit juices? Fizzy drinks? Chocolate?
You seem to suffer from a generalised health situation, the heart rate and sweating are often associated with adrenalin surges, and these made my life a misery in my 30s. They seemed to be a form of ME and gradually faded over a 10 year period. They were not anxiety, because I am not anxious, but by golly they made me feel ill. Diabetes is a doddle compared to that.
Its weird the way some people, including doctors, think diabetes is absolutely weight related. Its genetic. There are 16 genes involved in diabetes, the more of them you are born with the more likely you are to develop the condition. Many of them ARE triggered environmentally, by exposure to some food groups or chemicals etc. The idea that you can lose a stone and your diabetes goes away - poof - is sheer fantasy. You either have suffcient Beta cells for your body mass or you have'nt. If your mass becomes lower your pancreas MAY be able to cope, but would always need careful nurture with the right sort of diet, or it may fall below the necessary size again.
Your diet seems healthy enough to me, but you may be stressing it with carbohydrate surges you are not aware of. Fruit juices? Fizzy drinks? Chocolate?
You seem to suffer from a generalised health situation, the heart rate and sweating are often associated with adrenalin surges, and these made my life a misery in my 30s. They seemed to be a form of ME and gradually faded over a 10 year period. They were not anxiety, because I am not anxious, but by golly they made me feel ill. Diabetes is a doddle compared to that.
trotskyite
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 104
Re: Diabetes2 curable! I know when food bad by how bad I fee
lozzybabyw
Your Doctor should be given great respect for doing something others would not, that is, updating their knowledge with professional development.
Quote1
"As an association (DiabetesUK) we promote self-care. Type 2 diabetes can be reversed at home"
Quote2
Banting Memorial Lecture 2012
"Is diabetes with normal BMI reversible? Yes: if you show me a person of normal BMI who has classical Type 2
diabetes, I shall show you a relatively fatty liver"
It is now known through various studies, published recently, that, in type 2 diabetes, the beta cell is inherently healthy and is stymied in its insulin production by stored fat and metabolic processes. The problem with 1st phase insulin production coupled with insulin resistance in body tissues lead to a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
When weight(fat) loss occurs to a certain (individuals genetically determined) level insulin production and insulin resistance normalizes and blood glucose returns to the normal level. Effectively those people who do this are cured however as diabetes will come back if you put fat back on to your genetically determined level at which you get type 2 some would say you have "only" reversed or put diabetes into remission. I think this distinction is nonsense as you would not tell an obese person who has lost weight that they are still obese as they will probably put the weight back on. Most will but some will not. These "some" will have affected a cure for themselves and can eat what they wish (like me) and always keep to a normal blood glucose.
However if I or you went back to a hyper-caloric diet be under no illusion you would become a type2 diabetic again after time.
lozzybabyw
Your Doctor should be given great respect for doing something others would not, that is, updating their knowledge with professional development.
Quote1
"As an association (DiabetesUK) we promote self-care. Type 2 diabetes can be reversed at home"
Quote2
Banting Memorial Lecture 2012
"Is diabetes with normal BMI reversible? Yes: if you show me a person of normal BMI who has classical Type 2
diabetes, I shall show you a relatively fatty liver"
It is now known through various studies, published recently, that, in type 2 diabetes, the beta cell is inherently healthy and is stymied in its insulin production by stored fat and metabolic processes. The problem with 1st phase insulin production coupled with insulin resistance in body tissues lead to a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
When weight(fat) loss occurs to a certain (individuals genetically determined) level insulin production and insulin resistance normalizes and blood glucose returns to the normal level. Effectively those people who do this are cured however as diabetes will come back if you put fat back on to your genetically determined level at which you get type 2 some would say you have "only" reversed or put diabetes into remission. I think this distinction is nonsense as you would not tell an obese person who has lost weight that they are still obese as they will probably put the weight back on. Most will but some will not. These "some" will have affected a cure for themselves and can eat what they wish (like me) and always keep to a normal blood glucose.
However if I or you went back to a hyper-caloric diet be under no illusion you would become a type2 diabetic again after time.
