From pre-diabetic to type 2

Could you tell us what your "eating healthy" regime consists of?

dpoet said:

Lots of pulses beans( not baked) and loads of veg & some fruit.

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I'm afraid that could well be the cause of your elevated HbA1c. Pulses, root veg and fruits are all pretty high carb foods and as T2's we have carb intolerance..
Do you test your blood sugars are eating meals heavy in those foods? Do you eat meat or not?

Those of us with Pre Diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes generally react poorly to fruit especially citrus fruit and bananas, grapes etc. You could lessen the carb load by choosing fruit lower in fructose/glucose by choosing blackberries, strawberries and raspberries in small quantities.
Other things to avoid are the breakfast cereals even the so called healthy kinds, bread, pasta, rice and potatoes are all high in carbohydrates so cutting these out or down to the absolute minimum will improve your results.

dpoet said:

I have appt tomorrow, I have not been testing as I was pre- diabetic. I will be testing after appt tomorrow the nurse said when she phoned me.
I thought pulses and beans were low GI, I rarely eat meat, wholemeal bread around 4 slices a week. I have a small portion of wholemeal pasta occasionally. Chips prob twice a month. Boiled rice rarely, potatoes very rarely.
I eat a lot of eggs.

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If you have no moral problem with it I'd suggest upping your meat consumption and cutting back on the beans, pulses, bread, pasta . Replace those with green veg, avocado and other low carb food types.
Maybe take a look at the recipe ideas on www.dietdoctor.com to see what takes your fancy (they do have more vegetarian style low carb meals too).

when sorting out what to eat using a blood glucose tester I found that legumes - peas and beans, peanuts all increased my levels more than the amount of carbs they contain would suggest.
A couple of others have mentioned the same thing - so I suspect that there is a small subset of superdigesters, or some such thing, who get more out of beans that others do.
I found that my cholesterol went down when eating lots of meat with fat - thought there is also fish, seafood, eggs and cheese and my ratios were good - compared with the high carb cholesterol lowering diet I was on for almost two years before diagnosis with type two.
For me glycaemic index is irrelevant - that super digesting gut again perhaps - if there are carbs, it will find them.

Why are you taking statins?

Have a look at my stats @dpoet . I was in a similar position where my blood sugar levels (HBA1c) would not drop below 41 for several years. Eventually as diabetic symptoms took a stranglehold I changed my diet radically for a lower carb higher fat one and that (as if by magic) has done the trick. I eat very little fruit at all now, for example. In just six weeks my HbA1c dropped to 36. My weight is dropping, blood pressure is dropping and similar issues to your own in the legs and feet are receding.

@dpoet

Once you have a way of testing your blood glucose you will rapidly be able to identify which foods (and which portion sizes of them) raise your blood glucose too much.

You’ll be able to test before eating and 2 hours later, and get a very clear indication of whether that food works for you. It is a fairly individual thing, so you’ll be able to see - and tailor your own diet - after eating meals just a few times.

@dpoet
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

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 600,000 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.

dpoet said:

Your post showed up after I posted, I can't have refreshed for ages.
I see nurse today, I get paid tomorrow, so good time for it to happen really just before I do my big shop. My favourite meal is mixed bean chilli, kidney beans, black beans, harricot beans, and chickpeas. I thought that was good being low GI.
At least I will not be bored this month.

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I know the temptation is to go really gung ho and cut carbs as quickly as possible. And that is definitely a valid way of doing things.

but it might be a good idea to eat normally for a few days. favourite meals. normal portion sizes...
While testing rigorously.
That way you will be able to track exactly what your current way of eating is doing to you, and you can make specific changes that suit you.

I say suit you, because my eating has altered significantly since going very low carb - dictated entirely by my blood glucose meter, and my digestive tract - which has strong views on the situation. So if you love eating your current way, then you may find that a few simple tweaks can make a massive difference to your blood glucose. For instance, swapping potato for mashed cauliflower, or switching to low carb bread instead of full carb bread. Swapping your fruit intake to berries.

Do you do much cooking? There are some fantastic low carb recipes out there.
Just do a google search with 'low carb recipe' included in your search criteria.

Ouch - those food choices are not something I could contemplate - starches and sugars, and all throughout the day too.
I eat when I get up, and then again in the evening and all low carb under 11 percent carbs - nothing sugary such as the tree fruits you are eating, no beans as they cause spikes and only a few peas if I have any at all. I usually eat veges such as cauliflower, courgette or aubergine, mushrooms and a lot of salad stuff.