Thank you Mud Island Dweller, that is brill advice. I have done just that today. I did a test just before eating breakfast it was 7.3 then ate and 2 hrs later i did another test and it was 7.0. Is that good? I did the same at dinner time. Unfortunately in the afternoon I went to a little tea party with my neighbour who, bless her, was 82 today and lives alone. She had made cheese & ham sarnies and had choc cake!! I did have some but not anywhere near the portion I would probably have had, so when I tested before dinner it was 9.1 oh dear. So i had dinner and 2 hrs later I tested again and couldnt believe it was 6.1. For dinner I had salmon with chilli sauce, brown rice and stir fry veges. Again funny eh!!
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Diet Only, hope I am getting it right!! I cant seem to get my blood sugars below 6.1.
- Thread starter Jill67
- Start Date
Hi Bluetit1802. Thank you so much for all your advice. I do have to watch my fat intake a bit as my cholesterol was high but now, as I am on statins, it is 5.1. So not too bad. I also take valsartan blood pressure pills, but again my blood pressure is now low, 125/75. With the osteoarthritis my feet and ankles swell so does my knee so I have to take water pills too. So if i reduce my carbs can I eat more protein. I love meat and eggs etc. I do have skimmed milk and low fat cheese, but sometimes I have the mature cheddar its lovely. I can do without white potatoes, and I dont like pasta or white rice anyway. But sometimes I love a chip and a roastie, but not often, Is that ok?
Bluetit1802
Legend
That is very strange! Your before meal readings are quite high and your post meal ones are lower. That doesn't sound quite right to me! I know post meal readings can be lower but it is unusual for them to drop from 9 to 6 after a meal. When I test a new meal I always test after 1 hour, 2 hours and if there is no significant change, after 2.5hrs and so on. My peaks are just about even between those 3 times. With fast acting foods the peak will probably be at 1hr or shortly after that. With longer acting foods or when a lot of fat is included with the meal, the peak will be later.
if I got a strange reading such as yours after your dinner I would have tested again immediately as meters do give rogue readings sometimes, and your hands may not have been totally clean or dry.
if I got a strange reading such as yours after your dinner I would have tested again immediately as meters do give rogue readings sometimes, and your hands may not have been totally clean or dry.
Totto
Well-Known Member
I shouldn't worry about fat and cholesterol. The carbs are the culprit in cholesterol too. Most people on LCHF, for example, lower their bad cholesterol while the good cholesterol goes up. Do you know the break down numbers? HDL, LDL and triglycerides, that is. The total cholesterol seems to be of very limited value.
Hi there Totto, thank you for your reply. Yes I do have the break down numbers, they are: Triglycerides 1.43 mmol/L - HDL 1.94 mmol/L and LDL 2.42 mmol/L. Is that good or bad. Yesterday I was invited to my neighbour who had a little tea party for her birthday. All she had bless her was cheese and ham sarnies and choc cake. I did have just a little to please her, but when I got home and after a 2 hr wait did my BS test it was 9.1 oh dear!! I drank water and walked around the house much as i could. I then had my dinner and tested 2 hrs after and it was 6.1. Is that good. Thank you.
Scimama
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 942
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi Jill,
a few ideas to lower your carb intake is to use cauliflower instead of mashed potato or rice. It really does work (I was very sceptical when I first read about it). Celeriac works as a potato susbtitute.
For mash - steam or boil a cauliflower (fresh or frozen works), then once tender, drain and mash (add butter or cream). This freezes well.
For rice - use fresh raw cauliflower and blitz it in a processor or grate it to get a crumb (small rice grain size) then fry in a pan until light golden. It doesn't taste of cauliflower and is great with a chili or stir fry.
the cauli rice also makes a good 'crumble' topping for savoury crumbles.
For chips or dauphinoise - celeriac works really well as a substitute for potatoes.
As lots of other have said, you need to test after each meal/new meal to see how it affects you (everybody has a different response to foods).
Local library have lots of books on low carb cooking (I have found the diabetic cookbooks are typically high carb recipes).
a few ideas to lower your carb intake is to use cauliflower instead of mashed potato or rice. It really does work (I was very sceptical when I first read about it). Celeriac works as a potato susbtitute.
For mash - steam or boil a cauliflower (fresh or frozen works), then once tender, drain and mash (add butter or cream). This freezes well.
For rice - use fresh raw cauliflower and blitz it in a processor or grate it to get a crumb (small rice grain size) then fry in a pan until light golden. It doesn't taste of cauliflower and is great with a chili or stir fry.
the cauli rice also makes a good 'crumble' topping for savoury crumbles.
For chips or dauphinoise - celeriac works really well as a substitute for potatoes.
As lots of other have said, you need to test after each meal/new meal to see how it affects you (everybody has a different response to foods).
Local library have lots of books on low carb cooking (I have found the diabetic cookbooks are typically high carb recipes).
Thank you very much Scimama. I do like cauliflower anyway and those receipes sound really nice. Funny my question tonight was going to be whatever can i have instead of potatoes. I will try that out. But the thing that is the hardest if i go on a LCHF diet will be the bread. I have found a lovely small loaf of wholegrain bread, the slices are really small. I love toast and the occasional sarnie, what is the substitute for that!! If I have say eggs on toast, or a healthy fry up, but no bread and butter!! I guess its ok to have some carbs but just in moderation. Luckily i dont like pasta and not that keen on rice, so it wont be too bad. I will try anything to keep those BS's down. Thank you for your help.
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hi Jill,
You may find you can tolerate a slice of bread or toast. I can, but I can't cope with 2 slices. I found this out by testing. If you are going to try bread you would be best to go for a heavily seeded one such as granary. There are also low carb breads available such as Burgen (available everywhere) and Livelife (only available at Waitrose). Personally I use Hovis Wholemeal Granary and am currently trying Hovis 7 seeds.
Fingers crossed you will still be able to have poached eggs on toast. Delicious. You will only know by testing it.
You may find you can tolerate a slice of bread or toast. I can, but I can't cope with 2 slices. I found this out by testing. If you are going to try bread you would be best to go for a heavily seeded one such as granary. There are also low carb breads available such as Burgen (available everywhere) and Livelife (only available at Waitrose). Personally I use Hovis Wholemeal Granary and am currently trying Hovis 7 seeds.
Fingers crossed you will still be able to have poached eggs on toast. Delicious. You will only know by testing it.
Thank you Totto. Thats really encouraging. I will definitely try the LCHF diet. I was just wondering does anyone know if there is a BS level at which it starts to harm your blood vessels and internal organs, or is anything over the 8.5 2 hrs after eating the limit, and anything over that can start to harm you. Sorry for asking probably a silly question, but was just curious at what level it becomes very harmful. Thank you
Oh thank you Bluetit1802, I shall try the wholemeal granary and see how that tests. Yes poached eggs on toast lovely. Unfortunately one of my weaknesses is a cheddar cheese toastie, i did test for this and i was 6.9 before eating it and 2hrs after 7.8 was that ok. Thank you
Bluetit1802
Legend
That is a wonderful result. You only spiked by less than 1mmol. Eventually your before reading will reduce making it an even better result! I would definitely try it again and test again, just to make sure. If it is similar I would stick to the same bread.
Scimama
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 942
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Jack412 posted a great list of breads and flours, I don't know how to insert a link to it but if you search
15 recipes for low-carb, gluten-free breads in the search box at top right of webpage it should come up.
Have a look on the low carb forum there are some great recipes for breads.
Many of them are really quick and easy, the oopsie bread is so easy and tasty, some of the almond and cheese based ones are so yummy I only make them once a week or I'd eat too much!
15 recipes for low-carb, gluten-free breads in the search box at top right of webpage it should come up.
Have a look on the low carb forum there are some great recipes for breads.
Many of them are really quick and easy, the oopsie bread is so easy and tasty, some of the almond and cheese based ones are so yummy I only make them once a week or I'd eat too much!
Last edited by a moderator:
Daibell
Master
Hi. No one can accurately say at what level and how long it is sustained that high blood sugars cause harm. NICE sets a max level of around 8.5mmol 2 hours after a meal. So stay below that as often as you can and as near to 6'ish as you can between meals. I agree with much of what has been said by the other posters. Carbs are the problem as fats don't increase blood sugar except by a tiny amount. Note that much of what we have been told about saturated fats and blood cholesterol is based on bad science. Consuming fats does not generally cause increased blood cholesterol and you need cholesterol for normal body repair purposes. High blood sugar thru carbs will do more harm than consuming fats
Hi Daibell thank you for your reply. Yes that sounds sensible to keep BS down to at least 6.0 between meals and going no more than 8.5 2hrs after eating. My cholesterol is 5.0 so not too bad. I do have spikes sometimes, not every day, but I am learning by testing what spikes and what is ok to eat. I cant give up potatoes completely, but only eat them very occasionally and only a few, that way I find i didnt spike at all. Same with bread, I have found a lovely small loaf of wholegrain bread, again I tested before and after and no spike, only a small raise. Thank you for your help.
Hi Scimama oh that sounds lovely. I love almonds and definitely love cheese. Will have a look on that forum and get baking. Thank you.
Robbity
Expert
- Messages
- 6,700
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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Don't get 
completely hung up having us check whether you reading are good or not! Just take your time in getting things right, though it looks anyway as though you are doing reasonably well, but check the recommendations here and use these as a guide to start with. You can then opt to try to get your results closer to the normal levels, but in the long run it all comes down to you and what you feel you can comfortably aim for and achieve. We're all different and what happens can often depend on how much exercise we are able (or willing!) do, how our bodies react to different foods, and how "broken" our bodies are diabetes-wise.
Have a look too at the Low Carb Recipes and the "What have you eaten today?" thread for ideas on what you can make and eat low carb wise.
Robbity
PS My glucose levels are often a bit like yours, as I can be a bit higher before I eat than after, and sometimes the other way round.
completely hung up having us check whether you reading are good or not! Just take your time in getting things right, though it looks anyway as though you are doing reasonably well, but check the recommendations here and use these as a guide to start with. You can then opt to try to get your results closer to the normal levels, but in the long run it all comes down to you and what you feel you can comfortably aim for and achieve. We're all different and what happens can often depend on how much exercise we are able (or willing!) do, how our bodies react to different foods, and how "broken" our bodies are diabetes-wise. Have a look too at the Low Carb Recipes and the "What have you eaten today?" thread for ideas on what you can make and eat low carb wise.
Robbity
PS My glucose levels are often a bit like yours, as I can be a bit higher before I eat than after, and sometimes the other way round.
