Diet advice

Georgina47 said:

I have just been told I have a reading of 43 (whatever that means) and that I am prediabetic. I exercise regularly, am not overweight, no one in family has diabetes but I am vegetarian, only really like fruit, veg and ready meals! Would appreciate some diet advice.

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The fruit and ready meals might be too carby for your pancreas to handle. Above-ground vegs are okay, as are most berries, in moderation. Might want to check nutritional info on your ready meals, as they're usually very carb-heavy. (You don't have to be overweight to become a T2. Fructose packs fat onto your liver for instance... That doesn't have to show on the outside, and could be a direct result of eating a lot of fruit.). Basically, cut down also on bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereal, sugar, corn, and see where that leaves you. Might want to buy a meter, as you want to know how you respond to certain foods, so you know what works for you, and what doesn't. (Test before eating and 2 hours after first bite. If it goes up 2 mmol/l, the meal was too carby. Oh, all carbs are metabolised into sugar, to be clear.). @daisy1 will have more info for you. Good luck!

@Georgina47

Hello Georgina and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will 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 well over 235,000 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 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. Most of these are 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.
  

Your test was an HbA1c which with a result of 43 mmol/m puts you just into the "prediabetic" range.
Your food choices I'm afraid aren't helping your condition. Starchy food like bread, pasta, rice, fruit will all contribute to the elevated blood sugar levels that you are experiencing.
It would be better as your doctor said to up your fats and cut down on starch. So if you are ok eating eggs, butter, cream and cheese then go for it. With those have green above ground vegetables rather than root veg which are high in carbohydrate. Avocado , olives will also help. Fat will keep you feeling fuller for longer so don't be afraid of it.
Do you have moral reasons for being a vegetarian? Otherwise I would suggest meat as it is a great source of vitamins and minerals but completely understand f you don't want to.

Here's why good fats are not unhealthy.



Avoid fats like trans fats and vegetable oils (if you can).

Georgina47 said:

Many thanks. I don’t eat meat partly because I don’t like the thought of eating animals and partly because I don’t like the taste. I don’t eat fish because I don’t like the taste. I did force myself to eat some salmon last night but I hated it and had to eat something sweet to take away the test - defeating the object! So meat and fish are really out. I only eat very small portions so very little rice and pasta but will give that up now and try just to eat veg. Just don’t want to lose more weight. Will try to eat eggs and cheese which may stop me feeling hungry. Just so frightened of getting a stroke or something because of diabetes.

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Fat is your friend in this situation. Undereating is not good but your blood sugar result of 43 isn't drastically bad mine was 87 on diagnosis and some have over 100 so with a few changes to your diet it should be pretty easy to control.

@Georgina47 you can also eats nuts and high cacao chocolate 85%. Use double cream instead of milk in coffee, and eat strawberries and cream. I have full fat greek style yoghurt for breakfast. There is no need to lose weight if you increase the fat.

Georgina47 said:

This video is very helpful thank you very much.

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You're welcome.

Georgina47 said:

Thank you. Good to know I can still have some fruit!

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Berries are ok (apart from blueberries which have more carbs). I make "raspberry ice cream" with frozen raspberries and double cream wizzed up in a food processor.