Good Morning

Hello, @pastbe4us , and welcome to the forum!
I'll tag @daisy1 for you, she'll post a very informative welcoming sheet on this thread next time she's online

In the meantime, have a look around on the forum!

pastbe4us said:

most of which just suck up your personal information, and then try to sell you something.

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Although we don't tend to suck up personal information and definitely won't try to sell you something, it is very useful if you fill out some datails on your profile page, mainly type of diabetes and medication, as they are very relevant in answers people may give you.

Good luck!

Hello and welcome to the forum. We have Cheerios here in the UK (I'm guessing that most countries would have them).
Breakfast cereals made from grains are one of the worst culprits for raising blood glucose values.
Have a look at https://www.dietdoctor.com for breakfast ideas that are far lower in carbohydrates.

Well done for grabbing the bull by the horns and deciding to take the first steps to improving your health.

Rather than chase small amounts of dense carbs around a bowl, I stick to low carb foods so I get more to eat.

Hi and welcome. There is no rule for how many carbs you can eat per day but 50gm would be quite a low and good number if you have the discipline to control down to around 50gm. I assume you have a bit of weight to lose which a low-carb diet should help with?

@pastbe4us
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope that you will find it 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.

I don't eat particularly low carb for medical reasons, but I do skip on carbs in the morning since I'm always high when I wake up and it takes hours for my blood sugar to go down to a reasonable level, even with meds. My fiance is Type 1 and has also switched from cereal to bacon & eggs in the morning and it's been a huge help for both of us in stabilizing blood sugar, as well as for him in reducing his need for insulin.

But mostly, test your blood sugar a lot before and after meals and experiment with your eating until you figure out what works for you. The "alternative" treatments such as vinegar and certain spices, etc are usually a bunch of BS. At any rate, it's probably best to focus on one change at a time so you can determine what's happening and what's likely responsible for it.

pastbe4us said:

Good Morning and hello from Long Island, New York. My name is Rick and I am a Type 2 diabetic. I became a diabetic through both bad luck, an accident, and my own ignorance. Like most bad fortune, I have been running down the occasions in my head when I could have avoided diabetes, and did not. This is largely a waste of time.
Now, like so many of you I am learning to live and fight with diabetes. I've been searching the internet, and have learned that the British sites are generally better than the American sites, most of which just suck up your personal information, and then try to sell you something.
Two days ago I began keeping a glucose level log. This morning my level was 117, before I ate 20 grams of Cheerios with Almond Milk, which was followed by 500mg's of Metformin and a tall glass of Psyllium and Apple Cider Vinegar. One half hour after my first test, my glucose level was 153. I know over 140 is bad. I realize I should avoid Cheerios, a sugar free oat cereal. I have read I may eat up to 50 grams of carbohydrates, a day, and limited the cereal to 20g's.
I just want to add that I am new at this. I did not come here to argue or debate with anyone. I would appreciate helpful comments, from people with experience who would like to be helpful.

Thank You

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First off, I adore your avatar. Just had to be said, sorry.

Secondly, yeah, Cheerio's aren't that good of a meal, especially in the morning, when on the whole we're likely to have higher numbers as it is. Nice that it's sugar free and all, but it's still oats, and those are carby, but you know that already. How do you feel about eggs with bacon, cheese, high meat content sausages and/or mushrooms? It's very filling, and tasty to boot. Or just coffee with double cream/clotted cream. Those options won't spike your bloodsugars at all. You could check this forum's site, as it too has meal options, or have a read through over at dietdoctor.com. They too want info and sell stuff, at first glance, but there's a lot of free info on there which you don't have to register for, so knock yourself out. Then there's Dr. Jason Fung's book, the Diabetes Code, which is helpful. And maybe this? : https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

50 grams of carbs a day is a bit of a random number, really... It depends more on where your own level of insulin resistance, insulin production etc is. You find that out by testing. (Before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. You don't want to see a rise of more than 2 mmol/l, which I think is about 37 on your meter). If you're alright at 50, fine. If it's 80, fine too. If not, try halving it until you find what works for you. I ended up with 20 grams of carbs or less a day, because I kept messing up my calculations, and just going for the lowerst option every time saves me from a lot of mistakes. Keto, to me, was the easy option. Just a lot of eggs, greens, cheese, bacon, bacon, and bacon, olives, mayo, poultry, meat and fish. Oh, and nuts, and extra dark chocolate. I'm never hungry, and my HbA1c is 33. Took me a while to figure out what was right for me, but this works. I hope you find out what works for you!

Good luck!
Jo

Welcome to the board!

Cheerios are not a sugar-free cereal. Only 1 gram, but it's the carbs that I watch, as much as the sugar. I do eat Cheerios occasionally, as well as oatmeal, because oats are said to be heart-healthy.

I don't consider 157 a terribly high spike after a meal of carbs, especially if it goes down again within a couple of hours of eating.

If you cut out the oats, and add on the fats, keep a close eye on your cholesterol levels. My doctor says I may have hereditary high LDL cholesterol, but because of it I don't eat eggs anymore, or put cream in my coffee like I used to, and I don't eat as much beef as I was eating while trying low-carb.

SaskiaKC said:

If you cut out the oats, and add on the fats, keep a close eye on your cholesterol levels. My doctor says I may have hereditary high LDL cholesterol, but because of it I don't eat eggs anymore, or put cream in my coffee like I used to, and I don't eat as much beef as I was eating while trying low-carb.

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Do you think that "high cholesterol" is a bad thing?
Shown to be protective against all cause mortality in older women.

bulkbiker said:

Do you think that "high cholesterol" is a bad thing?
Shown to be protective against all cause mortality in older women.

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High LDL is bad for anyone's heart, male or female.

bulkbiker said:

Do you think that "high cholesterol" is a bad thing?
Shown to be protective against all cause mortality in older women.

Click to expand...

This is from webmd.com. Pretty much general knowledge. --

When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries, causing a process called atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease. The arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart muscle is slowed down or blocked. The blood carries oxygen to the heart, and if not enough blood and oxygen reach your heart, you may suffer chest pain. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage, the result is a heart attack.

There are two forms of cholesterol that many people are familiar with: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol.) These are the form in which cholesterol travels in the blood.

LDL is the main source of artery-clogging plaque. HDL actually works to clear cholesterol from the blood.

SaskiaKC said:

This is from webmd.com. Pretty much general knowledge. --

When there is too much cholesterol in your blood, it builds up in the walls of your arteries, causing a process called atherosclerosis, a form of heart disease. The arteries become narrowed and blood flow to the heart muscle is slowed down or blocked. The blood carries oxygen to the heart, and if not enough blood and oxygen reach your heart, you may suffer chest pain. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by a blockage, the result is a heart attack.

There are two forms of cholesterol that many people are familiar with: Low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good" cholesterol.) These are the form in which cholesterol travels in the blood.

LDL is the main source of artery-clogging plaque. HDL actually works to clear cholesterol from the blood.

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Bit outdated to be honest... LDL as "artery clogging" has been fairly well debunked..

bulkbiker said:

Bit outdated to be honest... LDL as "artery clogging" has been fairly well debunked..

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By whom?

Quote from a May 2019 article, American Heart Association:

LDL cholesterol – the so-called "bad" cholesterol – is known to narrow arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. It's also now suspected of contributing to venous thromboembolism, new research suggests.

Quote from an NIH article:

Most adults should have a cholesterol test every 4 to 6 years. That’s because nearly 78 million American adults have high levels of the type of cholesterol that’s linked to heart disease and stroke.

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that your body needs to function properly. It travels through your bloodstream to reach the cells that need it. Your cells use cholesterol for many important functions, like making hormones and digesting fatty foods.

But too much cholesterol in your blood can cause waxy buildup called plaques in blood vessels. “These plaques can eventually become inflamed and rupture, leading to a clot,” explains cholesterol expert Dr. Ronald Krauss at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.

Of course, that one is dated February 2019 -- is 3 months old too "outdated" for you?