Advice please

[IndigoLaFaye]

At my BP check last year the nurse warned me to start thinking about cutting back on my sugars as they are creeping steadily towards pre-diabetic.

Well addressing that didn’t go well as I’ve had a stressful year and to be honest without seeing something concrete about my health I find it really hard to get my mind in a place where I don’t eat the chocolate/biscuit that I want.

I know it’s a bit controversial but when I saw the Zoe program offering help and support and a Libra CGM I signed up and I’m on day four now. I know it can be a bit inaccurate.

My fasting levels are showing as around 4.4 which I believe to be good. After a meal I tend to get two spikes, which I was reading last night is good as it represents the two stages of dealing with glucose in the blood (I can’t remember what it was called).

However, most of my spikes are sharp, fairly high (between 7-9) but they usually end after 3-4 hours. Today for lunch I had an egg mayo Pitta, that spike was different as it took ages to start and was very elongated, I also felt quite tired - this surprised me as I thought the reading was “good”. What does a long curve mean?

So far I’ve learnt that baked potato, beans and salad (10.1!) and battered cod, chips and mushy peas (8.4) are (unsurprisingly) sometimes foods. Full Sunday lunch was just about okay with a peak of 7.8. (I think this is classed as okay from my reading but I’m welcome to be told otherwise).

I know that the aim is to keep the spikes to a minimum and try to keep things as flat as you reasonably can. So with that in mind, and I know it’s personal preference but, to keep diabetes at bay, how many times a week are sometimes foods okay to have? What does the long curve with the Egg pitta mean and why would it make me tired?

Thanks!

 

[catinahat]

The egg and mayonnaise probably had very few carbs, depending on the mayo, some brands have more carbs than others.
The main source of carbs and the reason your levels went up would have been the pitta. The fat in the mayo and egg would have slowed the digestion of the carbs causing a slightly lower but longer blood sugar rise.
You felt tired because the energy you were supposed to get from all those carbs was locked up in your blood until your insulin managed to deal with it.
So I think it's fairly safe to say that pitta bread is doing you no favours , an extra egg and some salad would have been a better choice than the pitta

 

[IndigoLaFaye]

The egg and mayonnaise probably had very few carbs, depending on the mayo, some brands have more carbs than others.
The main source of carbs and the reason your levels went up would have been the pitta. The fat in the mayo and egg would have slowed the digestion of the carbs causing a slightly lower but longer blood sugar rise.
You felt tired because the energy you were supposed to get from all those carbs was locked up in your blood until your insulin managed to deal with it.
So I think it's fairly safe to say that pitta bread is doing you no favours , an extra egg and some salad would have been a better choice than the pitta

Thankyou for your detailed reply, that’s really interesting!

 

[In Response]

Bear in mind the Libre is not always accurate.
The advice fir someone with diabetes would be to double check anything I double figures, disregard readings the first day the sensor is applied (many apply it the day before activating) and double check at least once a day with finger pricks.
if you have no finger prick meter, the sensor is useful for trends but nit absolute values.
So the jacket pirate may cause a spike but not necessarily as high as Libre says, for example.

 

[Paul_]

Hello and welcome.

I don't know why health professionals keep talking about sugars when it comes to prediabetes and diabetes, it constantly baffles me. The letter for my diabetes training sessions, provided by the NHS, recommended I consider "reducing boiled sweets and sugary fizzy drinks".

For the avoidance of any doubt, it's all carbohydrates that affect blood glucose levels. Starches and sugars break down into glucose during digestion. So higher carb items include breads, pasta, rice, potatoes, beans, legumes, most fruits....plus all the sugary stuff you've already heard about. Doesn't matter if these are wholewheat, wholegrain, brown or white, they're all carbohydrate rich. That's not to say some don't have beneficial qualities to health, but for blood glucose levels and those with insulin resistance, they're what cause the most problems.

The advice you've received above from others is really good, sound advice. Stick around here, it's helped me so much in the last 5 weeks since my type 2 diabetes diagnosis. The people here are lovely, knowledgeable, and there's so much that can be gained from their experience. You're only prediabetic currently, so you can turn this around. You can do it, don't sell yourself short. Loads of resources and posts on here for various diets, recipes, and general approaches for both prediabetes and diabetes management generally. Have a look around and don't be scared to ask questions!