Carbs

Hi Jimbac, the reference intake for a non diabetic adult is 260g. You will find that many people on the forums consume less than this but we all vary.

Take a quick look at this sites page http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-diabetes-diet.html for a rough guide to what moderate and low carb intakes are. It's up to you to decide where you want to be.

Eat to your meter, Its completely upto you, everyone is different.
If your meter tells you the meal is ok then go ahead else make changes.

Hi @jimbac and welcome to the forum.

I'll tag @daisy1 to give you some information that you should find helpful.

There is no right or wrong amount of carbs and as others have said, it all depends on your meter readings as to what is acceptable for you.

It's something you need to figure out for yourself. However, I am currently at zero carb intake. Generally speaking, the less carbs the better. Carbs raise blood glucose levels and blood insulin levels after you eat them.

NoCrbs4Me said:

It's something you need to figure out for yourself. However, I am currently at zero carb intake. Generally speaking, the less carbs the better. Carbs raise blood glucose levels and blood insulin levels after you eat them.

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Zero?
Hi nocarbs4me

What do you eat then just out of curiosity as I would love to be on 0 carbs if possible.

@jimbac

Hello and welcome to the forum

Here is the basic advice we give to new members and it contains a lot of information about carbs which I hope you will find useful. Ask as many questions as you need to 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.

brettsza said:

Zero?
Hi nocarbs4me

What do you eat then just out of curiosity as I would love to be on 0 carbs if possible.

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Mostly beef (steaks) or occasionally other types of meat for lunch and dinner. Bacon and eggs for breakfast. Occasionally cheese for snacks. I drink a little coffee and red wine.

I do not recommend anyone try this without doing some online research first or discussing it with their doctor first. You can search using "zero carb diet" or "meat only diet". Of course, there are no recent clinical studies on this way of eating, but many Inuit communities survived for generations on meat only, eating only plant matter if they were starving and had no choice.

There's a facebook group for people on zero carb called Zeroing in on Health, if you are on Facebook.

Also, I wouldn't go straight from the NHS diet guidelines straight to zero carb. You should probably do low carb high fat for a while.

In my opinion it is a very healthy way of eating and I feel great. My blood glucose levels are basically flat, with a little rise in the morning after I get up and decline before noon. I exercise (run and lift weights) without a problem. I sleep great. My blood pressure is excellent.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

@NoCrbs4Me crikey that's hardcore, how do you find holidays and eating out?

Hi. Yes, eat to your meter as we all have different 'degrees' of diabetes. The rule of thumb I have always used for myself is to stay near 150gm/day. Many go for less. Much above that and maintaining blood sugar levels could be difficult for many of us

Jo123 said:

@NoCrbs4Me crikey that's hardcore, how do you find holidays and eating out?

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It's not too much different than low carb high fat, which I have not had a problem sticking to over the last year or so. I think this will be even easier, as I will just eat meat and cheese.

@NoCrbs4Me : Do you take any supplements? If you go very low or zero carb, you'd also need to make sure you were getting all the vital/correct nutrients in your diet?

Robbity

Robbity said:

@NoCrbs4Me : Do you take any supplements? If you go very low or zero carb, you'd also need to make sure you were getting all the vital/correct nutrients in your diet?

Robbity

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No supplements. They are not necessary unless you are on a vegan diet or have some medical issue. I try to get decent sun exposure for vitamin D. Interestingly, you don't get scurvy if you are eating fresh meat but no plants.

I'm a meat and lots of veg man myself, carbs as in potato, pasta, rice and bread are just not eaten.... and there will be some carbs in what I eat.... but not much.

I don't think I would be able to do meats only, I take one portion but other is or has to be veggies. I really can't do without veggies, but that's the only carb I eat pretty much.
Hats off to u nocarbs4u
Post nd I have had some carb heavy meals but my readings have behaved.

brettsza said:

I don't think I would be able to do meats only, I take one portion but other is or has to be veggies. I really can't do without veggies, but that's the only carb I eat pretty much.

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I'm finding it difficult to not to have some form of cabbage with everything but breakfast, which is good as there are so many to choose from....
and then there is sauerkraut.... probably the one item that has rocketed in consumption since diagnosis.... along with avocado... one a day keeps the fats tight.

hankjam said:

I'm finding it difficult to not to have some form of cabbage with everything but breakfast, which is good as there are so many to choose from....
and then there is sauerkraut.... probably the one item that has rocketed in consumption since diagnosis.... along with avocado... one a day keeps the fats tight.

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Nice beard!

NoCrbs4Me said:

Nice beard!

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Snap!

Robbity said:

@NoCrbs4Me : Do you take any supplements? If you go very low or zero carb, you'd also need to make sure you were getting all the vital/correct nutrients in your diet?

Robbity

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I don't have supplements, I don't need them, I'm in ketosis as well, but I eat loads of salads, at least one a day with protein, mainly chicken, pork or ham! I don't do dairy or cooked greens. But I'm like Popeye, I like spinach, as in a baby leaf!

@nosher8355

nosher8355 said:

I don't have supplements, I don't need them, I'm in ketosis as well, but I eat loads of salads, at least one a day with protein, mainly chicken, pork or ham! I don't do dairy or cooked greens. But I'm like Popeye, I like spinach, as in a baby leaf!

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Nosher, I was thinking more of really very low carbs/no carbs. I'm fairly sure that @modesty007 said she took supplements when she was on around 10g carbs a day, which is why I was asking. I've done 20g carbs a day with green veggies and salad, but don't think I could have gone much lower and still managed to eat my greens.

Robbity