Family history / mistrust of NHS

If you don't mind a bit of reading, I recommend The Diabetes Code by Jason Fung. Dr Michael Mosley has written a couple of books that are good too.

@kundaliniyogini
Hello 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 need to and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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.
  

xfieldok said:

Concentrate on what you eat. Test before your meal and 2 hours after the first bite. A rise of more than 2 means your meal was too carby or your portion was too large.

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Perhaps a silly question, but one I've been meaning to ask.

Does the post-prandial 2 hour test test capture your blood sugar on the way back down after the meal? Or is the 2 hour mark the point where it should've risen to its highest point?

The 2 hours is just a general rule of thumb. Some people will test after an hour, 2 hours, 3 hours and 4 hours. It depends on what you eat.

I generally stick to 2 hours. I may test after 3 or 4 if I have a huge post meal number. Takeaway Indian springs to mind

xfieldok said:

The 2 hours is just a general rule of thumb. Some people will test after an hour, 2 hours, 3 hours and 4 hours. It depends on what you eat.

I generally stick to 2 hours. I may test after 3 or 4 if I have a huge post meal number. Takeaway Indian springs to mind

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So after 1 hour, would it typically be higher than after 2, 3 or 4 hours?

Possibly, depends on your metabolism and what you ate. I am to mean with my strips to test that often.

No worries - just keen on understanding the theory behind the 2 hour test!

I f you have iPlayer, look up Horizon. Michael Mosley has a program about fasting.

kundaliniyogini said:

Thank you bulkbiker, it is good to know my diet is in the right direction.
Does the fasting principal explain the reason I sometimes feel like my levels must be low but actually when I test they are a bit high? If I have a meal late I often test a little higher than expected before eating - so if I power through this bit my liver will make up for it and cleanse itself at the same time? I'm not a big snacker so that sounds doable (although those around me would have to tolerate a grumpy version of me I suspect), I've shifted 8 stones over the past two years and have another 3 to go, I'm struggling to drop below my current weight so will definitely try this approach - do you have to fast every day or could I try the days I'm not working?
Thanks for the time

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There are about as many different fasting styles as there are people fasting so I'd say try it and see what works for you.
I just found skipping breakfast really easy so just carried on every day.
8 stones weight loss is great ...so well done there.. snacking is also best avoided as that just causes more insulin release which is what fasting tries to avoid.
As for stalls in weight loss.. I've been stuck at between 210 and 215 pounds for the last 2 years down from 320 at worst. I recently did a 7 day no food fast and this morning was 203 pounds... I got down to 200.6 by the end of the 7 days so i'm hoping that it has helped me break through the plateau. This was my 3rd plateau and my 4th 7 day fast to break through them so fingers crossed the benefits will continue.

kundaliniyogini said:

Thank you and congratulations on that!
I'm going to try skipping my evening meal on Friday and see where I go from there. Historically missing meals has resulted in me binging on bread or potatoes but as I don't have any in the house I won't be able to do that. It's funny, the more time I have without them the less appealing they become.

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That will just continue.. to be honest I couldn't imagine eating stodgy things any more at all..even the thought of them revolts me.

LeftPeg said:

Perhaps a silly question, but one I've been meaning to ask.

Does the post-prandial 2 hour test test capture your blood sugar on the way back down after the meal? Or is the 2 hour mark the point where it should've risen to its highest point?

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For a non-diabetic, after 2 hours, blood sugar should typically return to normal; i.e. what it was before the meal. Obviously much depends on the type of food but it's a guide.

Daibell said:

For a non-diabetic, after 2 hours, blood sugar should typically return to normal; i.e. what it was before the meal. Obviously much depends on the type of food but it's a guide.

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Thanks, that answers my question!