A question for Type 2s.

Hi Katalyna, I too have heard lots of talk of cinnamon being good for BG levels, Not sure what it does but I have it on yogurt/ eggs and other foods too. Good luck

It didn't do anything for me, but there is a oft quoted trial in India that showed it did have some effect. I am afraid most info on Cinnamon is anecdotal. There are probably threads on this forum under Alternate Therapies. Search for mention using the forum search facility. Also I think WebMD.com has a review on it.

Personally I found another herb called Bitter Melon, and another called Gymnema Sylvestre had better effect.

PS Cinnamon added to Meatball sauce is amazing.

Hi can you give us a rundown of your diet.

I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the newcomers welcome information.

Please read the information and then read the low carb forum and success stories thread.

Supplements aren't the answer to getting your blood glucose levels down.
They might help but in the long run its what you put in your mouth that matters.

What will help is reducing your carbs and sugar, reducing your plate size and increasing your exercise if you can.

By the way, green tea is good for your blood, loads of antioxidants.

Katalyna said:

Interesting. I ask because I had run out of my Glipizide and my sugars just went NUTS. Seriously. Almost a 28 on my BGM. And I counted up the grams of sugar and it should NOT be that high.
I was reading about how to lower blood sugars quickly. And a lot of sites were saying cinnamon, green tea, seeds, etc. So was just wondering if it was worth forking out that much for cinnamon PILLS. Hah.
Got an appt with the doc tomorrow to get a new prescription for my Glips. I CAN NOT wait.

Click to expand...

I note you said you count grams of sugar. If you read other threads here, you will find that it is better to count carbs instead of sugar, since (a) sugar is just one type of carb, and (b) it is carbs(and protein) that shows up as blood glucose.

Restricting carbs is a very effective and quick way of reducing bgl levels, much more than just cutting out sugar.

Katalyna said:

Oh I know. But I will never live a life without carbs. If I got rid of that all I'd be eating is ham, chicken and tuna!
What I had eaten on the day my sugar was that high was:
Half a 95g can of tuna (0.7g) with maybe 20 plain crackers. About 6g
1 cup of tea, 2 sugars (yes I know!) 8g (((
and 2 bran muffins with margarine. Doesn't have the list of stuff on it so no idea.
Those were the foods I counted the grams of sugar etc.

I know what I SHOULD be doing, but when you have depression and anxiety etc on top of everything else (inc PCOS)? It's hard to get out of bed, let alone the house.

Click to expand...

I don't want to upset you, but what you're eating word probably put me in hospital.
Welcome to my world!
All I can eat is meat and salad veg, with a little bit of this and that which is very low carb.
I have to eat like this, to feel well, to work and support my family.

If you feel ill, because of what you are eating, then why eat it?
If you can't eat it, it's like putting poison in your body, you can tolerate some but go over that, then you are ill.

I have had anxiety and mental health problems because of my condition. It can be better, and eating low carb will help with your health.

Apologies if I offended you, but, you need to get control of your condition.

Do you eat veg ? There are lots of good things to eat besides protein Carbs turn to sugar so your 2 muffins give you a sugar hit
CAROL

Katalyna said:

Oh I know. But I will never live a life without carbs. If I got rid of that all I'd be eating is ham, chicken and tuna!
What I had eaten on the day my sugar was that high was:
Half a 95g can of tuna (0.7g) with maybe 20 plain crackers. About 6g
1 cup of tea, 2 sugars (yes I know!) 8g (((
and 2 bran muffins with margarine. Doesn't have the list of stuff on it so no idea.
Those were the foods I counted the grams of sugar etc.

I know what I SHOULD be doing, but when you have depression and anxiety etc on top of everything else (inc PCOS)? It's hard to get out of bed, let alone the house.

Click to expand...

If you are right about the 20 crackers, then I estimate your 'menu' to be around 100g carb equivalent, which is not particularly low carb. Cinnamon would not help much in dealing with a meal like this. The reports I saw was perhaps a drop of around 1mmol/l, which was significant, but not very effective.
I am using a low carb diet, and although some items have gone off my menu, I and my family still eat well and a varied diet, and it is not rabbit feed. We actually prefer some of the LC meals to the normal diet we used to have, And its real food.

But no one is forcing you to change your diet, Its your call. I just hope I can save you splashing out on something that probably will not help much. Also, although I have lived 30+ years with a bi-polar partner, I cannot offer any advice about the other problems you mention.

Katalyna said:

If you're not even diabetic why are you on here?
Most of us are adults and most of us know what we should and shouldn't eat. No need to hit us over the head with it.

I only eat 2 meals a day, have done for years since I can't eat a ton of food.
Not an over eater or an emotional eater either.
Unlike my mother!

Click to expand...

Not quite sure who you were responding to but please don't be unpleasant.. it's unnecessary and rude.
This is a friendly helpful forum which has made a great difference to my and a lot of people's lives and health. If you don't want to listen to advice that is up to you. But being unpleasant is not the answer to any of your problems.
Thanks
Mark

Katalyna said:

Most of us are adults and most of us know what we should and shouldn't eat.

Click to expand...

I think you already have the answer. Sorry you don't like it. That's life. I cannot help you any further
Bye

I'm rather cynical when it comes to a alternative treatments nowadays. This sounds weird considering that I had a holistic therapies diploma and have been involved in the alternative world for years. However what I have observed is huge claims and poor results. I have not tried the cinnamon myself, but would advise caution whenever claims are made for ANYTHING!


Sent from my iPad using DCUK Forum mobile app

Katalyna said:

If you're not even diabetic why are you on here?
Most of us are adults and most of us know what we should and shouldn't eat. No need to hit us over the head with it.

I only eat 2 meals a day, have done for years since I can't eat a ton of food.
Not an over eater or an emotional eater either.
Unlike my mother!

Click to expand...

No, I'm not diabetic, I have reactive hypoglycaemia!
This means I have an intolerance to a lot of food groups, mainly anything with carbs and sugars.
I react to carbs and sugars the way you do, but my body reacts different after.

I did say I didn't want to offend and I apologised after if it was too harsh!

I also answered your question just like an adult.

If you don't heed the advice, that's your decision.

I know what's it like to have mental problems and maybe this will help you.
But I suspect not.

I will help you if you help yourself!

Best wishes.

@Katalyna

Hello Katalyna and welcome to the forum Here is the information, mentioned above, which we give to new members and I hope it will be useful to you when you read it. Have a look in particular to advice on carbs and read the Low-Carb Forum. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


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 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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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.