Pre diabetes

[PollyBee]

hi, yesterday I was told by a new ( to me ) GP that I was pre diabetic after I had had a routine blood test ( I have treatment for high blood pressure and cholesterol ) I would like advice on foods to lower my blood sugar and perhaps help prevent going on to diabetes. I do need to lose a couple of stones in weight and need to exercise more. I am reasonably fit and active for a 70 year old , have the usual aches and pains but would really appreciate any tips. Thank you in advance Polly

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome,

I will tag @daisy1 who will post some good advice for beginners. Have a good read round the forum and take note about the role of carbohydrates in both blood sugar and weight issues. Reducing major carbs such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals and flour will help enormously. No need to reduce the dietary fats at all.

Good luck, and ask as many questions as you like.

 

[JenniferW]

I was told I was at that stage almost 10 years ago and wish that back then someone had spelled out what the implications were. For a long time I tried various different changes in my diet and increased my exercise levels. But with only annual blood tests, i really felt there was no encouragement or support to treat the condition seriously. I think NHS attitudes have changed a bit since then, though. With this hindsight, I'd say the more you can teach yourself about all this, the better.

Have you read David Cavan's 'Reverse your diabetes'? He argues for a particular dietary pathway, but more than that I value the book for the super-intelligible explanations of the condition.

I'd suggest you learn to carb-count, to assess your current diet, and then you can see what you could do to decrease your daily intake of carbs. I'd also suggest buying and using a meter as part of that.

I'd also recommend building more exercise into your everyday routines. Exercise has a specific effect on lowering blood glucose levels (a positive one).

And keep using this website! I've had all sorts of help and answers to questions from people here.

 

[daisy1]

@PollyBee

Hello Polly and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members to help get you started on your new diabetes way of life. Carry on reading the forum and you will learn a lot about how to look after yourself and hopefully not progress to full diabetes. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.

 

[4ratbags]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Getting diagnosed as pre diabetic is like getting a wake up call and I'm sure with a few dietary and lifestyle changes you will be able to get under 40 in no time. Have a good read of daisy's post above as it contains some great information and it should point you in the right direction. If you have any questions just ask, we are a helpful bunch.

 

[seadragon]

As far as food goes I'd recommend looking in to the low carb high fat lifestyle - see the threads on it in the food section. snack on nuts and cheese (though if you embrace the low carb life you may lose the need for snacks.
My other tip would be to take a 15 min walk after every meal if you can - it does seem to have a really positive effect (i.e a lowering effect) on post meal blood sugar levels. Alternatively a 20 minute walk twice a day is good.

 

[Sudidi]

Having been recently diagnosed with prediabetes, I have read the above, but I could really do with some help on portion sizes. I imagine that I need to control the portion sizes of carbs like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes but have no clue as to the amount. Do I understand correctly that I can eat any amount of non-root vegetables, meat and cheese or are there limits for these too?

 

[Alan S]

Having been recently diagnosed with prediabetes, I have read the above, but I could really do with some help on portion sizes. I imagine that I need to control the portion sizes of carbs like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes but have no clue as to the amount. Do I understand correctly that I can eat any amount of non-root vegetables, meat and cheese or are there limits for these too?

Your meter can guide you to the right portion sizes for you (click on it): Test, Review, Adjust

 

[JenniferW]

Having been recently diagnosed with prediabetes, I have read the above, but I could really do with some help on portion sizes. I imagine that I need to control the portion sizes of carbs like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes but have no clue as to the amount. Do I understand correctly that I can eat any amount of non-root vegetables, meat and cheese or are there limits for these too?

I think with low-carb / non-root vegetables they have a sort of inbuilt limiting factor and it would be hard to seriously over-eat on them. But with meat and cheese, it's very easy to go over the top as regards the sheer calories, regardless of the low-carb nature of them. But what would be appropriate portion size for you might not be the same as for the next person. It depends on your weight and whether it's the weight you want to be. And I'd say it's the overall total in any day that matters - in carbs and maybe also in calories, and definitely to get a good mixture of all the nutrients any body needs.

 

[Lau89]

Hi Polly,
I hope you find the advice you need on here just diagnosed myself so this forum looks great for advice and support