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Carb and sugar levels per 100g vs per serving/day.

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XpatJock

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21
Hi,

Am in a pickle or even the doghouse. My wife has T2 diabetes and is trying to change her diet using Prof Taylors books as a guide. One thing she aims for is a portion of starchy vegetables per day and The guide says any starchy vegetables including peas / green beans. I bought a pack of fresh podded peas which are in his recommended list without checking much and she decided to eat the lot. Then she found they have 3.6g of carbs per 100g (3.6g sugar per 100g) and tells me she feels ill and now has pins/needles in her feet. In her book 3.6g/100 (roughly 7 for the pack) is too much and I shouldnt be buying the stuff or anything like it.
My question is what is the maximum level per portion of carbs/sugar that we should aim for?. Note that she has probs with almost any meds (and off them till we see GP next week), has Hashimoto's and erosive gastritis as well as T2.
I should say I believe she is over-reacting, but I'm not an expert.
 
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I have done a lot of testing and I set my limit at 10 percent carbs, so the peas are well within even my range.
7 gm of carbs is also within my stingy limit of 10 gm for breakfast.
I do not aim to have a portion of starchy vegetables in a day, but several portions of low carb ones, or one portion of berries as a dessert and a couple of portions of veges/salad stuff.
 
She has since measured her blood glucose and it is 10.2mmol which has her worried. Normally she manages to keep it down to between 5 -> 6 mmol. This is a few hours after eating starchy veg (the offending peas plus some courgettes string beans) and a low sugar/low fat shake.
 

Thanks
 

That suggests the portion of veg she ate / something in the meal was too much to handle. These things are quite individual. She/you would be better off sticking to non starchy veg such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage etc.

I’d also be interested in the contents / carb break down of the shake as low fat items are often higher in carbs.

As a rule of thumb, type 2s using diet to manage the condition aim for a rise of no more than 2mmols two hours after the start a meal. Anything more and the meal needs adjusting.
 
Check on the carb content of the various things - anything low fat should be regarded with suspicion as the carb content is often increased to compensate.
Carbohydrates are the starches as well as the sugars, so working out the carbs for each of the veges and then the shake on top might well reveal the culprit.
I am wondering why your wife is having a shake when she has eaten three different veges - did she not have any meat or other protein and fat sources with them?
 


We are looking at the liquid diet suggested by Prof Roy Taylor as she is having difficulty losing weight. This suggests a liquid diet with shakes plus the non-starchy veg for a fixed period. She has been careful with her diet now for some time cutting out a lot of one-time favourite fruits/veg and grains but have reached an impasse, which is why we ( or rather she) is trying this option. metformin makes her ill and seems to interfere with thyroxine. maybe can get back on some T2 meds but that depends on GP.
 


using the Optifast range, which is recommended in Taylors book and on some Diabetes website. From what you say these shakes my not be suitable for her. We may have to see whether the GP can help as NHS supposedly offers a short term liquid diet option for diabetics. She may have neuropathy which on top of other issues from Hash and a recent gall bladder has really got her down.
Unfortunately I cant help much as I'm not all that knowledgeable on this stuff and def not a medical xpert
 
Some of Prof Taylor's advice is strange. Basically your wife needs to limit her daily intake of carbs. This will vary from person to person but I suggest she starts at 150gm max and see how her BS goes. What carbohydrate foods are eaten doesn't matter too much but complex carbs with fibre are better than refined carbs.
 
Resurgam said:
@XpatJock There are probably different types of type 2 diabetes all lumped together as they are similar, but might require different treatments.
How many carbs are there in the shakes?
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the ones we use have 20g per sachet with less than 2 g sugars. the standard ones looked way to high with more than double that amount. I thnk well need to consider dropping this approach if they are giving her problems. Also maybe I need to double check the carbs on the other beg she has been eating.

Trouble is she is despondent at being unable to lose any more weight (or fat around her middle. She has lost fat everywhere else)
This looked like a solution that would kick startt her on her way
 

If they’re these then they’re very high in carbs - 32g/100g. The ‘of which sugars’ may be low, but it’s total carbs that need to be looked at as they all turn to sugar in the blood.

Personally, I’d find Dr Taylor’s regime very difficult to stick to and not at all satiating. If your wife is trying to lower her blood sugars and/or lose weight, I’d suggest she look at Dr Jason Fung in preference - his book is called the Diabetes Code and he has a YouTube channel with many informative videos.

The dietdoctor.com website is also very helpful.

 


She is trying to avoid cruciferous veg as she has read elsewhere it can affect her thyroid ( Hashimoto's) Some places do say this others say it is not a problem,
 
thanks, we'll give this a look.
 
XpatJock said:
She is trying to avoid cruciferous veg as she has read elsewhere it can affect her thyroid ( Hashimoto's) Some places do say this others say it is not a problem,
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Makes sense. Perhaps just avoid veg? Or reduce the portions.
 
Have you checked the nutritional info for the peas? 3.6g per 100 sounds very low, most uk sources put green peas at something like 9 or 10g per 100g. As @Goonergal says, we need to consider all carbs and not just sugars, so I suspect you might have underestimated the total carbs provided by the peas.
 
Antje77 said:
If she had 7 grams of carbs from the vegetables and 20 grams of carbs from the shake, why do you think the rise in blood glucose is fom the veg?
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My wife is the one who insists that is the case. We've been discussing and she now accepts the shakes are the problem. I feel responsible for that to a great extent as I agreed to her trying this Newcastle liquid diet. Taylor books imply that yiu shouldn't worry too much about carb levels in the shakes. In retrospect I think that is misleading. And the rest of his diet suggestions boil down to variations of a them on Atkins/Dukan
 
Just rechecked. They are fresh Sugarsnap peas and have 5g carb per 100g, 3.7g sugars.
 
Goonergal said:
Makes sense. Perhaps just avoid veg? Or reduce the portions.
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It does make life difficult. Additional complication is a food allergy test she had 12 yrs ago advising that beef lamb peppers etc all should be avoided. The list included several nightshade plants like aubergines, tomatoes. She has to avoid them
 
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