District Nurse recommends Low GI diet for Diabetes

[Southport GP]

I agree that low G I is a definite step in the right direction For some, particularly looking at their own blood sugar levels after even low GI foods low carb is their next step. Even whole meal bread has a higher glycemic index than table sugar itself !!

 

[DiamondAsh]

Diamond Ash, if you want to, look into glycemic load. For those who for some reason don't want to do the full-fat LCHF and when GI doesn't work, it might be worthwhile to explore GL. Every carb will be transformed to blood glucose anyway, but lowering the impact might work.

My mum´s DSN tells her not to eat cheese but bread with low-fat spread, while I tell her to skip the bread and go for cheese instead and that she is an adult and can do whatever she likes anyway. At 93 I think you should be old enough to make decisions.

By the way, high bg can lead to dementia. Even in the normal-high range.

93? Crikey.. she's going good! My mom is 82. I want her to get her BG levels down becuase I think that would alleviate a lot of her confusion. Normally she's on the ball .
I'm liking the GI-cum-GL ideas...

 

[DiamondAsh]

I agree that low G I is a definite step in the right direction For some, particularly looking at their own blood sugar levels after even low GI foods low carb is their next step. Even whole meal bread has a higher glycemic index than table sugar itself !!

Wow, thanks. It's a bit of a minefield/quagmire isn't it? As soon as I know what she should be eating I can make sure she has the right foods in her cupboards.

 

[douglas99]

I agree that low G I is a definite step in the right direction For some, particularly looking at their own blood sugar levels after even low GI foods low carb is their next step. Even whole meal bread has a higher glycemic index than table sugar itself !!

Try Burgen Soya and linseed, or Livlife bread.
Both can be reasonable.

 

[DiamondAsh]

Try Burgen Soya and linseed, or Livlife bread.
Both can be reasonable.

Ah. thanks.. Iwill do that.
I'm straight on to it online...

 

[phoenix]

Wow, thanks. It's a bit of a minefield/quagmire isn't it? As soon as I know what she should be eating I can make sure she has the right foods in her cupboards.

It can be as complicated as you want to make it. There are breads in the GI data base with GIs from as high as 104 down to as low as 24.
On the whole breads that coarser and have more 'bit's ie whole bits of grain and seeds will be lower GI. Heres a picture from a lecture by Prof J Mann

at the European diabetes association conference

 

[kesun]

She is lovely.. but my mom being as she is, has been very rude to her and sharp tongued... So that's why I'm taking over the insulin duties and Sue will check on me every week. I really don't know what's gotten into my mom. She is almost blind and gets frustrated and now is showing signs of dementia. I just hope I can cope with it all.

That sounds a lot to cope with. My grandmother is also elderly (96) with dementia and diabetes, and her forgetfulness never strikes so sharply as when she's just eaten a biscuit!

Kate

 

[DiamondAsh]

It can be as complicated as you want to make it. There are breads in the GI data base with GIs from as high as 104 down to as low as 24.
On the whole breads that coarser and have more 'bit's ie whole bits of grain and seeds will be lower GI. Heres a picture from a lecture by Prof J MannView attachment 3440 at the European diabetes association conference

Thanks phoenix.. that's useful information for me

 

[DiamondAsh]

That sounds a lot to cope with. My grandmother is also elderly (96) with dementia and diabetes, and her forgetfulness never strikes so sharply as when she's just eaten a biscuit!

Kate

aawww, they do so well to live so long, it's nice when they can have all their faculties about them.
I will aim to get mom's levels down and hopefully she can enjoy a bit more 'togetherness' ... She looks all perplexed when she realises that she's got mixed up.
It's going to be an interesting Spring & Summer, lol

 

[DiamondAsh]

I love this forum but I sure am grateful I did not find my way here when I was first diagnosed.

All this talk of Low GI, Low Carb, Low Cal would have been far too confusing for me, as it clearly is for the original poster who clearly misunderstood references to low GI for Low Carb.

All this talk of the medical profession and the pharmaceuticals not knowing what they are doing and/or being corrupt and trying to destroy our health for their own profit would have been the last thing I would have wanted or needed to hear at a time when I was vulnerable and desperately needed to put my faith in my doctor. I expect this probably holds true for a lot of the newly diagnosed today.

I think I would have eventually have found my way through the confusion though. That is, if I stuck around long enough!

And what would have driven me away. The infantile intolerance shown by a number of posters to any view in any way different than their own, as once again demonstrated by this thread

Everyone is enamored with these wonderful labels Low Carb, Low Cal, Low GI. Everybody is absolutely convinced that it is their way or the high way.

And the biggest irony of all, we are all probably doing more or less the same things, just calling it by different names!

What do you get when you combine a Low GI diet with a strict daily calorie allocation of 800 - 1000 calories or so that say Douglas is on. Probably a daily carbs consumption that is actually lower in carbs than that of a lot of Low Carbers.

What is Low Carb anyway? Everyone seems to have a different idea as to how many grams we should consume as part of a low carb diet?

And so it should be.

We are all individuals, we are all different and we can all tolerate different quantities of different carbohydrates with varying effect on our glycemic control.

Why can we not just share our experiences, tell people what has worked for us, educate them on the importance of testing and reducing carb intake and then let them find what works best for them.

Why this insistence that everybody else should follow exactly the same path we did?

A little more open mindedness and respect for the opinion of others, irrespective of whether that is in support of low-carb, low-fat or low-I-do-not-know-what would go a long way in my opinion

Pavlos

thanks Pavlos,, nice and balanced as always

 

[DiamondAsh]

I'm happy that I got my answer. thanks all

 

[Totto]

Basically get your mum the same kinds of food stuff you want to eat yourself to keep bg in normal levels. As to all this GI or GL, they are good guides to what kind of carbs to have, but still, with diabetes you want to restrict all carbs.

And we all want to keep our bg normal to stay healthy in body AND in mind. Good luck

 

[Scandichic]

Basically get your mum the same kinds of food stuff you want to eat yourself to keep bg in normal levels. As to all this GI or GL, they are good guides to what kind of carbs to have, but still, with diabetes you want to restrict all carbs.

And we all want to keep our bg normal to stay healthy in body AND in mind. Good luck

Hej Totto! Out of interest do you ever eat ryevita? I have a lot of knäckebröd (Leksands - normal gräddat) carb 65g of which sugars 1.5g. End date April 2014 and can't bear to throw it away. Do you eat it?

 

[DiamondAsh]

Basically get your mum the same kinds of food stuff you want to eat yourself to keep bg in normal levels. As to all this GI or GL, they are good guides to what kind of carbs to have, but still, with diabetes you want to restrict all carbs.

And we all want to keep our bg normal to stay healthy in body AND in mind. Good luck

In a nutshell! Thanks will do

 

[Totto]

Hej Totto! Out of interest do you ever eat ryevita? I have a lot of knäckebröd (Leksands - normal gräddat) carb 65g of which sugars 1.5g. End date April 2014 and can't bear to throw it away. Do you eat it?

I do if there isn't anyone around to see me eating it. Honestly, I haven't had any grain apart from what has been warranted for the occasional testing for my DSNs benefit in order to show her what grains do to my bg.

And I prefer the brungräddat. The normal is a bit bland, I find.

You can toast it though, give it 30 seconds and it will be lovely, then give it to anybody around should they be peckish. Is the latter an English word? My Spell-checker reacted but I seem to remember a hobbit close to me mentioning being peckish now and again.

Or put some cheese on it and toast in the oven/whatever gadget you have to make a toasted cheese sandwich. Grönmögelost funkar bra! Very short time or the bread will be too dark as in burnt and the cheese will have turned liquid and to be found at the bottom of your oven. Choose the piece with the most generous helping of cheese yourself and give the rest to those near you, looking for the delicious treat.

 

[Scandichic]

I do if there isn't anyone around to see me eating it. Honestly, I haven't had any grain apart from what has been warranted for the occasional testing for my DSNs benefit in order to show her what grains do to my bg.

And I prefer the brungräddat. The normal is a bit bland, I find.

You can toast it though, give it 30 seconds and it will be lovely, then give it to anybody around should they be peckish. Is the latter an English word? My Spell-checker reacted but I seem to remember a hobbit close to me mentioning being peckish now and again.

Or put some cheese on it and toast in the oven/whatever gadget you have to make a toasted cheese sandwich. Grönmögelost funkar bra! Very short time or the bread will be too dark as in burnt and the cheese will have turned liquid and to be found at the bottom of your oven. Choose the piece with the most generous helping of cheese yourself and give the rest to those near you, looking for the delicious treat.

Peckish is indeed a word. Will try it with melted blue cheese - sounds wonderful. In the old days I would have had grapes and a crisp glass of white - lol!

 

[Totto]

Peckish is indeed a word. Will try it with melted blue cheese - sounds wonderful. In the old days I would have had grapes and a crisp glass of white - lol!

Blue cheese and a glass or two of dry white wine won´t harm you. Unfortunately I find the more sugary port wines goes better with blue cheese while Brie or Camembert goes with white wine, preferably Chardonnay. But never grapes!

Diamond Ash, should your mother fancy wine and cheese, dry white or red wine and cheese are excellent combos to stave off dementia and high bg. My own mother is the living proof of this, but there is scientific evidence as well. Or maybe that was for cheese and red wine? Look at France and you will find answers.

 

[DiamondAsh]

Blue cheese and a glass or two of dry white wine won´t harm you. Unfortunately I find the more sugary port wines goes better with blue cheese while Brie or Camembert goes with white wine, preferably Chardonnay. But never grapes!

Diamond Ash, should your mother fancy wine and cheese, dry white or red wine and cheese are excellent combos to stave off dementia and high bg. My own mother is the living proof of this, but there is scientific evidence as well. Or maybe that was for cheese and red wine? Look at France and you will find answers.

I will get her to try some. I can;t recall the last time she drank wine. But as I said earlier,, she;ll try anything.
I think I'll start having dinner with her and get her to try new things.

 

[douglas99]

If she's 82, and hasn't drunk for as long as you can remember, it may not achieve a lot by starting her now.
There are claims a glass of red wine is good for you, and indeed the French made the claim. They also re vitalised their wine making industry at the same time.
The other issue is alcohol can bring bs down, or at least suppress the rise you would expect from the food.
So if you are changing diet, and introducing alcohol, and still on insulin, you may find a sudden drop you're not expecting. It's easier to change one thing at a time, and monitor the effect.
When that's stable, move on to something else.

 

[DiamondAsh]

If she's 82, and hasn't drunk for as long as you can remember, it may not achieve a lot by starting her now.
There are claims a glass of red wine is good for you, and indeed the French made the claim. They also re vitalised their wine making industry at the same time.
The other issue is alcohol can bring bs down, or at least suppress the rise you would expect from the food.
So if you are changing diet, and introducing alcohol, and still on insulin, you may find a sudden drop you're not expecting. It's easier to change one thing at a time, and monitor the effect.
When that's stable, move on to something else.

hehehehe ... good thinking . My mom can be a bit of a handful at the best of times lol.
I'll keep that in mind. thanx