To eat or not to eat

Lousee_Lou

Newbie
Messages
2
Hello, I'm a newbie here and don't know if this has been posted before, so I'm sorry if it has. I have a relative who has type 1 diabetes and seems to eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and adjusts their insulin accordingly. I may be wrong but I thought you had to be careful about what to eat and when to eat it, and I didn't think you could just adjust your insulin whenever you wanted. Is my relative right and can you just eat what you want? Or are they putting their health at risk? I'm concerned because this person already has numerous unexplained health problems and has a young family.
 
Messages
6,107
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I can only speak from the point of view of a type 2. Apart from some helpful pills the only control I have is with the food I eat. Because of this I have to watch what I eat and test to see what the effect is and then put it right next time. There is not a lot I can do if I get the food wrong.

I would expect that a type 1 has greater flexibility since they can alter the dose of insulin to suit but I suppose I am about to be told that it's not that simple. Your relative might just be good at it.
 

Sarah69

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,441
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anything healthy!
I'm a type 2 on insulin. I eat mostly what I want too and adjust my insulin to the carbs I'm eating. Anybody can eat food when they want too, just being diabetic doesn't mean I have to eat at certain times!! I eat just 3 meals a day no snacks.
 

smidge

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,761
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Lousee_Lou!

It's a 'yes' and 'no' answer really. As a Type 1, technically you can eat what you want and adjust your rapid-acting insulin to cover it. I adjust my rapid-acting to cover the carbs in each meal. However, if you keep eating sugary foods like cake chocolate etc or starch carbs like bread, potato, rice, cereal and pasta in large amounts, you will need to take large doses of insulin to cover it. This will most likely cause weight gain and usually will cause unstable blood glucose (BG), swinging from high to low. Very few Type 1s can successfully eat whatever they want and maintain good stable BG. Most have to reduce carb to some extent and eat it in smaller portions. Some, like me, choose to cut the most obvious carbs and eat a low-carb diet to keep our BG stable. The vast majority of Type 1s do not meet the NICE guidelines for 'safe' BG levels and put themselves at high risk of serious complications. In the end, every Type 1 has to decide for themselves how they will manage their condition and how much risk of complications they are prepared to take.

Smidge
 

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
Lousee_Lou said:
Hello, I'm a newbie here and don't know if this has been posted before, so I'm sorry if it has. I have a relative who has type 1 diabetes and seems to eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and adjusts their insulin accordingly. I may be wrong but I thought you had to be careful about what to eat and when to eat it, and I didn't think you could just adjust your insulin whenever you wanted. Is my relative right and can you just eat what you want? Or are they putting their health at risk? I'm concerned because this person already has numerous unexplained health problems and has a young family.


Much like non-diabetics we have to be careful what we eat so having diabetes and injecting insulin is no exception.

The flexibility of modern insulin regimes does give us the opportunity to eat when we want and miss meals should we choose, depending what insulin he takes he's eating plan may not necessarily mean he has to keep to strict meal times, if he is eating frequently throughout the day and injecting insulin to cover the food then it's likely he'll experience more hypo's due to the stacking of the insulin doses, if his weight increases he will also find that he needs more insulin to cover his food.

As I say injecting insulin to cover our food doesn't mean we can eat what we want, a good healthy diet is essential to long-term health and what we put in our mouths today may have repercussions years down the road, if he is struggling with his diabetes management then I suggest he seeks help from his diabetes care team.
 

Lousee_Lou

Newbie
Messages
2
Thank you all for your responses to my question, I really appreciate them. I'm just concerned about my relative's health as they have, so far, numerous unexplained health problems. They are being tested for a number of conditions at the moment, but so far only a couple of answers have been given. I have often thought that it might be their diet to blame for some things, as they do tend to eat lots of carbs in quite large amounts, and they definitely have a sweet tooth and eat a lot of sugary foods. However, we're hoping something conclusive comes from these tests, as they have been going through a tough time.

Thank you again :)
 

volaer

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Don't like pricking...
Simple, cut off extra sugar intake. That's the only solution to that. Sugar
Is very addictive, but of you are able to overcome that addiction, it will do you a lot of good.


Sent from the Officially Diabetic
 

donnellysdogs

Master
Messages
13,233
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People that can't listen to other people's opinions.
People that can't say sorry.
Please dont think about recommending a cut out of sugar as above posting suggests...

Type 1's have occasions of needing sugar... Telling a non diabetic person enquirying on how to help a type 1 -------' to cut out sugar ' could well put type1's at risk of not being treated correctly for hypo's.
 

volaer

Active Member
Messages
33
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Don't like pricking...
Type 1 is a different thing just to clarify of course. My father is type 1. If sugar is low, u can eat something that has sugar like chocolate. Not too much though, depends on the situation. But for type 2, cutting of extra sugar is advisable. Pls note, i am referring about extra sugar not the regular sugar intake from food that we regularly eat.


Sent from the Officially Diabetic
 

donnellysdogs

Master
Messages
13,233
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
People that can't listen to other people's opinions.
People that can't say sorry.
Diabetics dont have or need to be on a diet of lettuce leaves...
Type 1's can give themselves a bit more freedom on eating than type 2's. That's because we can take extra injection qtys that will allow us to eat the same as everybody (non diabetic)..should we wish. It can make our levels fluctuate and seing with our levels, bit when I have non diabetics eating with me.. Friends .. Family.. I am the minority.. So I have learnt how to eat the same as them on eating with friends and family.

It really depends just what your relative is eating and their lifestyle too... Eg.. They may have come back frim gym and needing a bar of chocolate or something sweet... Or they may just on othe hand be sat in front of tv and pigging out on a bar of chocolate...

People make assumptions about diabetes.... If you gave a little more insight it may help to know whether your relative is ignoring his/her diabetes

I just do not want to condemn a fellow type 1 to having assumptions made about his/her eating and health problems without knowing more details...

Same with other health issues... They may have other health issues... Huge qty of issues can be linked to diabetes, but it is wrong to assume without knowing what the other health issues are that they are linked in anyway to diabetes.