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Are we talking diets or religion? ( or maybe its all about fear?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter badcat
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Kristin251 said:
When has a meter EVER been an bad idea? At any stage of the game. Certainly can't hurt no matter what your diet
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A meter has never been a bad idea. Having a meter and not understanding and being able to react to that information is concerning. A meter only works if you know what it's actually telling you.
It would be nice if posters followed your lead Kristin251 and explained that there diets were very specific to them and went on to give the information you give in your posts
 

I think that there is a lot of info here about how to read what a meter is telling you if you are Type 2 and as most of us say to new members if you have any questions just ask. (although sometimes it would be nice if they used the search function first).
The advice comes from many members with the test-eat-test advice.
 

Again, as an adult I can distinguish between advice aimed at me or aimed at a man in his 20's - occasionally I also gently put people right when, for instance they try and 'teach me to suck eggs' or advocate fasting all day whilst running two marathons and cycling three times a day...('ah! You're retired - I see...I've been working 13 hour days'). I can also put more details about myself in my signature for example. My other option is to ignore their posts or give them the thumbs up and move on. Lots of people use replies to tell you how well they're doing and it can sometimes be discouraging if they've been 'in the 4's for twenty years' and you're still struggling with the 10's or above. But I believe that most people on this forum are trying to help me not brag or convert me. The testing and LCHF diet seems to have a wealth of empirical evidence on this forum and beyond and yes it works for me. But I can also find threads where I can talk to people who it doesn't work for and it seems that they are just as zealous about it NOT working as the LCHF-zealots. I have yet to fail to find a good answer to any of my questions on this forum - and when the thread goes off track and people highjack it for their own purposes I just find another one to watch for a while. I think what I'm basically saying is, the vital business of taking control of the disease also includes the autonomy to take what you need from any forum and be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, whilst accepting that every post, like every religion is basically just someone's opinion.
 
Kristin251 said:
When has a meter EVER been an bad idea? At any stage of the game. Certainly can't hurt no matter what your diet
Click to expand...
I went to the doc to get checked officially because I had a meter and test strips and would test very few months even though i wasn't diagnosed. I saw it creep up and then jump us after my cancer. I was symptomless and so it might have been years before I became symptomatic and got officially tested. I have friends who are getting testers so that they can literally have information at their finger tips ! And I have tested a lot of my mates who've asked....how can information be a bad thing!! (However REALLY annoying when someone has eaten burger, chips, pudding, cheese and an ice-cream on the way home and still tests at 5.1!! Grrr, but hey, they now have the information that - for the moment - they don't have an insulin resistance problem!!)
 

I must admit I tested a totally fit 25 year old guy last week after a complete sugarfest - candy crisps and chocolate - no other foods => 3.6 grrrr just goes to show that being ripped and working out does an awful lot to keep insulin resistance at bay !
 
When some bodybuilders or professional footballers stop training through injury or retirement they risk developing diabetes. If theyre predisposed. Not all athletes.
 
As requested, here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will all find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want to 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 well over 250,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

I am a Newby, having joined in July a week or so after dx.
I am eternally grateful to all those who did not hang back, who told me that they were fighting diabetes in their way and told me how they had done it.
As a grown up I am quite able to decide for myself what I want to do and tbh do not really appreciate someone who does not know me trying to limit the information available to me. And yes, I am glad it was on my first few posts.
If you don't think it's appropriate then don't do it. But I will always be grateful to those who do not think that those "who know more" should not post their own experiences on newby threads.

I am very glad it was given in my own posts and I was not just left to find it by myself. If you don't like it, don't do it. But you have no right to stop others posting.
 
And a faith is the acceptance of a creed without evidence. I don't think evidence backed research really counts as a faith. I have no doubt that in the future other evidence will be found to point in other directions, but at the moment low carb seems to be the best we have. As soon as that new evidence is out I will be the first to ditch lchf and jump on the new train.
I don't think that really counts as a faith at all.
 
I would question whether it was solely that - my brother is very large, never works out and is nearly 60 and tests at 4 !!! Swine!!!
 
ickihun said:
When some bodybuilders or professional footballers stop training through injury or retirement they risk developing diabetes. If theyre predisposed. Not all athletes.
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Having seen what they can get away with whilst training I am not in the least surprised!. I think Tim Noakes himself developed diabetes as a marathon runner after carb. loading before his runs. I believe that's why he very publicly tore up that section of his book about how to train!
 
charliebarker said:
I would question whether it was solely that - my brother is very large, never works out and is nearly 60 and tests at 4 !!! Swine!!!
Click to expand...

You might be interested in these studies - it was a real light bulb moment for me.

This first study limits the point about insulin to non obese people,
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/artic...ulin-Resistance-as-a-Predictor-of-Age-Related

The second study then take a bunch of morbidly obese people to show how some are insulin resistant and some are not.
Taken together its seem clear that getting your insulin resistance down is a key driver of general health not just diabetes.

http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/299/3/E506
Your brother seems to be quite clearly in the metabolically healthy camp.

I'm sure that athletes will also divide into these two camps, whilst training both will be happily in control of blood sugars, (just like we can through diet and exercise once we know) but for the metabolically unhealthy lot background insulin resistance will be rising which may spill over into diabetes or other disease eventually . The metabolically healthy people will continue to retain their capacity to keep insulin levels low both during training and when they stop and may well develop into metabolically healthy morbidly obese senior citizens if they continue to eat similar portion sizes after ceasing training.
 
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