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food abroad

S

sunn49

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
hi, im t2 & about to go & live in india for 6months or so, any arvices on what to eat & what not to eat over? im most concerned as ive been told that india is one of the country has high rate for diabetics? also i will travel across asia afterward, china, vietnam & cambodia. any advices would be greatly appreciated. it really worries me! thanking you in advance
 
What kind of diet do you normally follow? Are you on any meds?

You should be able to choose foods that are close to your normal diet, but may have to leave some of the carby foods if the portions are very large.
 
I think the reason that India has a high rate of diabetes is that people in South Asia generally have a higher genetic disposition to diabetes, and now there is a growing tendency to obesity with higher living standards in the growing 'middle class'.

You obviously need to avoid the very sugary Indian sweets. If you eat rice only do so in small portions. Avoid breads made from white flour like naans and puris. I find that breads made from brown wholemeal flour like rotis and chapattis don't affect me much, but you should test to see if they effect you.
India is great for vegetarian food and you should be able to eat most meat and vegetarian dishes without any problem.

China, Vietnam and Cambodia might be more problematic. I haven't been to these countries yet, but found it a bit difficult in Thailand which has similar food. A lot of rice and noodles. The next time I go I will be buying ready cooked fish and meats which are available everywhere in local markets and from street stalls, quite cheaply, and having them with salad, rather than rice and noodles. Or with vegetable dishes if I'm in a restaurant.
 
azure said:
You should be able to choose foods that are close to your normal diet, but may have to leave some of the carby foods if the portions are very large.
Click to expand...
In India 'European' food is available in restaurants, but it is not the same as real European food.
The portions are smaller than here.
 
azure said:
What kind of diet do you normally follow? Are you on any meds?

You should be able to choose foods that are close to your normal diet, but may have to leave some of the carby foods if the portions are very large.
Click to expand...
my apologise for my late reply but i caught up at work. ive only been diagnosed recently & pretty much in the process of adapting my eating habit. had the 6 weeks course on dietitian which is a great help! wish i knew about it when i was at pre-diabetic stage. but to answer your question im trying to follow the low carb diet & im on metformin 500mg & statin once a day.
6 months on my annual checkup came out very good & now ive been taken out from taking metformin but very concerned with my upcoming trips & i hear what youre saying. thank you so much for you reply
 
Prem51 said:
I think the reason that India has a high rate of diabetes is that people in South Asia generally have a higher genetic disposition to diabetes, and now there is a growing tendency to obesity with higher living standards in the growing 'middle class'.

You obviously need to avoid the very sugary Indian sweets. If you eat rice only do so in small portions. Avoid breads made from white flour like naans and puris. I find that breads made from brown wholemeal flour like rotis and chapattis don't affect me much, but you should test to see if they effect you.
India is great for vegetarian food and you should be able to eat most meat and vegetarian dishes without any problem.

China, Vietnam and Cambodia might be more problematic. I haven't been to these countries yet, but found it a bit difficult in Thailand which has similar food. A lot of rice and noodles. The next time I go I will be buying ready cooked fish and meats which are available everywhere in local markets and from street stalls, quite cheaply, and having them with salad, rather than rice and noodles. Or with vegetable dishes if I'm in a restaurant.
Click to expand...
thank you so much for your valuable advices! thats most helpful. im not very good in tails of nutrition, in fact i never thought of what im eating before this. but apart from vegetarian, is there any other dishes with meat that i can have or best not too.
as for other part of asia that is worrying me as they tend to be very greasy food & from my previous visits, ive never came across brown rice though ive never asked for it. as for salads i had terrible experience in the past...hmmm it doesnt look good! thank you again!
 
sunn49 said:
my apologise for my late reply but i caught up at work. ive only been diagnosed recently & pretty much in the process of adapting my eating habit. had the 6 weeks course on dietitian which is a great help! wish i knew about it when i was at pre-diabetic stage. but to answer your question im trying to follow the low carb diet & im on metformin 500mg & statin once a day.
6 months on my annual checkup came out very good & now ive been taken out from taking metformin but very concerned with my upcoming trips & i hear what youre saying. thank you so much for you reply
Click to expand...

If you're low carbing, then you could choose meats and veg and go easy on the rice and bread, etc Also, I'd avoid dishes based on rice - eg biryani - as they'll have lots of carbs.

I think you'll be fine with a little thought and menu scanning :)
 
sunn49 said:
thank you so much for your valuable advices! thats most helpful. im not very good in tails of nutrition, in fact i never thought of what im eating before this. but apart from vegetarian, is there any other dishes with meat that i can have or best not too.
Click to expand...
Any meat dishes, except the curries with potatoes, should be ok, potatoes are called aloo, so potato dishes will be called aloo gosht (mutton & potato), aloo gobi (potato & cauliflower) etc. Usually the drier the better. Fenugreek (methi) is supposed to be good for lowering bg, so any dishes called methi chicken, methi mutton, etc should be good. Grilled meats like tandoori, tikka and kebabs will be good too.
Have a look at this thread which gives some suggestions: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/eating-out-indian-food.30800/
 
sunn49 said:
as for other part of asia that is worrying me as they tend to be very greasy food & from my previous visits, ive never came across brown rice though ive never asked for it. as for salads i had terrible experience in the past...hmmm it doesnt look good! thank you again!
Click to expand...
In restaurants in Thailand I would usually order a meat or fish main dish, and a vegetable dish. 'Morning Glory' is nice, some sort of green veg, a bit like spinach.
 
@sunn49

I think you need to provide a it more information about yourself.

eg, what do you eat now,

Do you self test with a meter?

I have a pretty good idea what effects what foods, and what quantities of food I eat, have on my BS.
And what effect exercise has on it.
So if I am out, I know what , and how much I can eat of whatever is on offer, and that can vary depending on if I'm walking for the rest of the day, or having an evening meal in a bar somewhere.


The other question is what will you eat. Are you looking for 'normal' food, or regional food.

Minimal carbs if you eat deep fried tarantula, scorpions or locusts.

I'd avoid the salads, unless you are in a large hotel, or can wash them yourself.
 
sunn49 said:
hi, im t2 & about to go & live in india for 6months or so, any arvices on what to eat & what not to eat over? im most concerned as ive been told that india is one of the country has high rate for diabetics? also i will travel across asia afterward, china, vietnam & cambodia. any advices would be greatly appreciated. it really worries me! thanking you in advance
Click to expand...
Came back from Vietnam recently. Discussed it all with my doctor beforehand. She has actually been there herself. First evening had beef and stir fried vegetables - safe bet, I thought - only to find it was loaded with sugar and gave me a high reading. The Vietnamese friend who invited me confirmed they use a lot of sugar in cooking - what a pity the doctor didn't think to mention it!
 
Actually, that's true, even the tarantulas are sugar coated first, then fried.
 
Lol I lived in Vietnam for 2.5 years. Is true that they do put some sugar in most food but not loads. They balance hot sweet sour and salty. I went to nam in 2007 at 9 st 6 lbs and came back at 8st in 2009. BG was fine on return. It was a western diet over the next 6 years that made me a diabetic (plus rubbish genes). I think in developing countries whether it's Vietnam or India there are growing levels of diabetes as the middle classes eat more (and eat more western food) and exercise less
 
azure said:
If you're low carbing, then you could choose meats and veg and go easy on the rice and bread, etc Also, I'd avoid dishes based on rice - eg biryani - as they'll have lots of carbs.

I think you'll be fine with a little thought and menu scanning :)
Click to expand...
that is most useful! this will give me some guides as it's begun to worrying me a lot, thank you so much! j
 
Prem51 said:
Any meat dishes, except the curries with potatoes, should be ok, potatoes are called aloo, so potato dishes will be called aloo gosht (mutton & potato), aloo gobi (potato & cauliflower) etc. Usually the drier the better. Fenugreek (methi) is supposed to be good for lowering bg, so any dishes called methi chicken, methi mutton, etc should be good. Grilled meats like tandoori, tikka and kebabs will be good too.
Have a look at this thread which gives some suggestions: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/eating-out-indian-food.30800/
Click to expand...
most detailed information! all your advices are giving me more confidents to travel & noted down to remind myself when im there. much appreciated for your knowledge, thank you!
 
Prem51 said:
In restaurants in Thailand I would usually order a meat or fish main dish, and a vegetable dish. 'Morning Glory' is nice, some sort of green veg, a bit like spinach.
Click to expand...
thanks again for this advice, i shall put it down on my list! j
 
SunnyExpat said:
@sunn49

I think you need to provide a it more information about yourself.

eg, what do you eat now,

Do you self test with a meter?

I have a pretty good idea what effects what foods, and what quantities of food I eat, have on my BS.
And what effect exercise has on it.
So if I am out, I know what , and how much I can eat of whatever is on offer, and that can vary depending on if I'm walking for the rest of the day, or having an evening meal in a bar somewhere.


The other question is what will you eat. Are you looking for 'normal' food, or regional food.

Minimal carbs if you eat deep fried tarantula, scorpions or locusts.

I'd avoid the salads, unless you are in a large hotel, or can wash them yourself.
Click to expand...
hi, as ive mentioned previously to azures replied, im on learning curb with my dieting. probably too cautious, but from the time ive been diagnosed to my 6months checkup ive lost from 65kg to 60kg. im an unusual case according to my doctor as my built is quite slim to have diabetes.
anyhow, she's now put me out from taking metformin from the latest result. as for my diet, ive switched to all healthy eating as suggested from the course, porridge for breakfast, small glass of orange juice, slice of wholemeal bread, fruits, yoghurts & nuts for snack, soup/salads for lunch & fish/beef/chicken with salads/roasted greens for dinner. ive stopped eating rice completely as it was my main food in the past. my reading are within the ranges, only a few time that it got above 8.
as for exercise, i walk a lot around 2-3 hours a day. 45minutes each way to work & an hour in the evening after eating. i'm quite confident in controlling my dieting here in the uk & ive travelled a lot in most part of asia before but never had to worry about food but now with my diabetes, its worrying me a bit. as i mentioned before, im not familiar what goes in for nutrition
 
Naomi425 said:
Lol I lived in Vietnam for 2.5 years. Is true that they do put some sugar in most food but not loads. They balance hot sweet sour and salty. I went to nam in 2007 at 9 st 6 lbs and came back at 8st in 2009. BG was fine on return. It was a western diet over the next 6 years that made me a diabetic (plus rubbish genes). I think in developing countries whether it's Vietnam or India there are growing levels of diabetes as the middle classes eat more (and eat more western food) and exercise less
Click to expand...
theres a great truth in that! j
 
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