Diabetes.co.uk isn't a charity, it's a business, and time, effort and money was put into creating the programme. And keep this forum running, for instance. Not unreasonable to ask a rather fair price for it, I think. (Especially when you see other places charge an arm and a leg with, quite often, only nonsense on offer.). I'm not entirely sure, but I think you might be able to get your money back through the NHS? But I'm not 100% on that, being Dutch and not knowing how those things might work over there. But that might be worth looking in to?I tried to sign up on the low carb programme, but its £14.99 a month, why is it not free?
Diabetes Australia includes most of those foods in its https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/living-with-diabetes/healthy-eating/#what-should-i-eat advice for a healthy diabetic diet.So what raises blood sugars? Aside from the obvious (sugar), starches raise blood glucose too. So bread, and anything made with grain/oats flour, rice, potatoes, pasta, corn, cereals (including all the “healthy choices”, like Weetabix and muesli), most beans and most fruits. So you’ll want to limit your intake, or scratch them altogether.
They're advocating, like many others, for something that is called the EatWell Plate in the UK. Many of us have found that that doesn't do the trick for us, if we want to keep medication and complications at bay. So, with a massive amount of conflicting information out there, what do you do? Find out what is true for you. Test before a meal and two hours after the first bite. If you rise no more, and preferably less, than 2.0 mmol/l, then the meal was fine and your body could cope with what you put in there. Keep that as a rule of thumb, and your over-all blood sugars should come down. If it's higher, then the meal might need tweaking. Everything about low carbing was exactly opposite of what my hospital dietician told me.. But on her advice I gained yet another 10 kilo's and became a raging diabetic. I figured I'd try the low carb diet, test, and see what it got me... Well, it got me decent, non-diabetic blood sugars for the past 8 or 9 years or so. So when it doubt, see what is true for you specifically. Because we're all different, and while I don't get away with legumes for instance, they might be fine for you. Or I'm alright with certain sweeteners, but you might not be. When you question something, don't try to find the truth online, because there's a lot of voices and a lot of methods... Find what works for you. A meter won't try to sell you anything, won't force some dogma on you, it'll just tell you how you're doing.Thanks for your blog link Jo. Very informative and easily
accessible for us T2 "newbies". Pardon my ignorance, but
I'm a little confused by this para in your blog:
Diabetes Australia includes most of those foods in its https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/living-with-diabetes/healthy-eating/#what-should-i-eat advice for a healthy diabetic diet.
Colour me confused!
Unfortunately it is not uncommon for HCPs to keep repeating what they have been instructed to say, even when they get reports of it not only not working but the result being downright dangerous. I can give no explanation for it, but I experienced it for decades, from around the age of 20 up until I was diagnosed with type 2 at the age of 65.Thanks for your blog link Jo. Very informative and easily
accessible for us T2 "newbies". Pardon my ignorance, but
I'm a little confused by this para in your blog:
Diabetes Australia includes most of those foods in its https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/living-with-diabetes/healthy-eating/#what-should-i-eat advice for a healthy diabetic diet.
Colour me confused!
I know... It's not just that there's a lot of information, but consider this: getting a diagnosis of a life-changing condition is traumatic. It makes it hard to retain information, process it, etc... I had to read the Diabetes Code and many other books, while making notes on my phone, or I'd completely forget what I learned the next day. It was just too much and I was too scared and stressed to remember anything. That, in part, is why The Nutritional Thingy I wrote is relatively simple... Too much information at this stage just won't stick anyway. So if you have a hard time wrapping you head around this: all of us did. It'll come eventually, once the initial shock has worn off. Give yourself time. You know, I saw all those diets and was overwhelmed, too. I was just lucky that the first one I tried, away from what the hospital was pushing on me, lowered my blood sugars. It was the first time in months that I felt like I actually had some control over my own fate. Seeing normalising blood sugars was empowering, encouraging... I took hope from that. My next HbA1c was normal.Thanks so much for your detailed response Jo.
I can only agree that there's sooo much diabetes
info out there that it can result in brain overload.
As a T2 newbie, I'm guessing it'll take me some time
in order to see what type of diet I follow down the
track.
Thanks again Jo for your response Jo. As a newbie I... Diabetes is genetic. It runs in families.
Often genetic... There I went again, speaking in absolutes when there are none. Thank you for pointing it out!Great advice @JoKalsbeek as always. Not wishing to derail the thread. I just want to respond to your statement “Diabetes is genetic. It runs in families”. The only other person in my family with diabetes is my brother, who has T1. There has been nobody else in my family with diabetes. And interestingly I had a series of genetic tests done, it was a private lab here in Canada. One of those tests covered was T2 diabetes. Based on my genetics I had less than a 2% chance of getting diabetes.
Diabetes is genetic. It runs in families. I don't know what you've seen in your relatives, or friends... I saw a lot of suffering and death in mine. I was 100% convinced I had one foot in the grave, until I learned more and saw I could do something, myself. Mind you, diet is just one option. You could go for medication, or a mix of meds and a lifestyle change... It's up to you. YOU decide how you tackle this. There are options, so all you have to do for now is decide what you feel might be right for you, and see whether that's something that is indeed your cup of tea. It has to be sustainable, so it has to fit who you are, your life, your body, your rhythm. And sometimes that takes a little time to figure out. Or you'll try something and decide after a few years you want to change things. Entirely possible! So take a breath and take comfort from that: every T2 on here had the same stressful, rocky start. You're not alone.
Hugs,
Jo
Although I and other members of my existing family were tested for a genetic predisposition to diabetes, which proved negative, my family on both sides had auto-immune conditions: Maternal grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, my brother had asthma, my sister has rheumatoid arthritis,and I got diabetes. My father's side were asthmatic. It would be interesting to know whether any others in your family tree had any auto-immune conditions @MelgarGreat advice @JoKalsbeek as always. Not wishing to derail the thread. I just want to respond to your statement “Diabetes is genetic. It runs in families”. The only other person in my family with diabetes is my brother, who has T1. There has been nobody else in my family with diabetes. And interestingly I had a series of genetic tests done, it was a private lab here in Canada. One of those tests covered was T2 diabetes. Based on my genetics I had less than a 2% chance of getting diabetes.
Yes interestingly @Grant_Vicat my mother and my mother’s father both had rheumatoid arthritis. My UK health records state I have asthma. I also have Coeliac and Dermatitis herpetiformis both autoimmune conditions. I’m also at genetic risk for Hashimoto‘s disease, but I don’t have that, not at this time anyways.Although I and other members of my existing family were tested for a genetic predisposition to diabetes, which proved negative, my family on both sides had auto-immune conditions: Maternal grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis, my brother had asthma, my sister has rheumatoid arthritis,and I got diabetes. My father's side were asthmatic. It would be interesting to know whether any others in your family tree had any auto-immune conditions @Melgar
Thank goodness. You have more than enough already. My daughter is Coeliac also! An immunologist pointed out to me that patients in our position are strengthening the gene pool as far as immune response is concerned. Maybe it shouldn't be THAT powerful!I’m also at genetic risk for Hashimoto‘s disease, but I don’t have that, not at this time anyways.
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