I can relate to the bewilderment you describe. I went through it myself a few months ago.
Succesful diabetics reduce the amount of carbohydrate they eat, whatever approach they take. The most obvious thing to do is cut out added sugar to anything and all sweets. This was how I started and I continued to do this for about a month between blood tests and brought my fasting blood levels down by a couple of points when it was tested at the surgery. Otherwise I followed the conventional NHS healthy plate advice.
What I need is a diet that I can stick to for the rest of my life. I need to be able to eat the same food as my son and entertain friends and family and even eat out. If I can't do those things then I will fail. I can't afford to fail because developing the long term complications of diabetes will knock several years of life off my lifespan. If it doesn't, I don't want to end up like my dad, from whom I inherited my diabetic genes. His quality of life was very poor for the last 10 years, he died last year at 80.
I wasn't hapy with the NHS approach that diabetes is a deteriorating condition and that complications are inevitable. So I kept looking until I found something that was a bit more positive. I found
http://www.bloodsugar101.com and this website and spent the intervening time looking around here. The advice here is great and there are people taking many differnt approaches. I have also recently found
http://www.lowcarbdiabetes.com which was started by someone who posts here too.
I'd initially thought that a low Glycaemic Index diet was the way to go. My GP nodded happily when I told him that I planned to do the low GI diet. Then I looked around here and after a few weeks realised that the people who's control I really admired were all low carbers. So that is what I do, although as I'm a vegetarian I am at the higher end of the low carb range.
I recommend that you get a blood meter and as many test strips as you can from your GP and test test test. That way you will find out what makes your blood sugar spike and the you can avoid the food or eat considerably smaller quanitities of it. You can but additional strips from eBay where there are several very reliable suppliers. You can get real bargains on eBay, just make sure that you check the expiry date on teh strips and the sellers profile first - my price limit at eBay is half the retail price, including the postage, for something that has at least 10 months before it expires.
I suggest you set yourself some failry simple targets to start with - mine was to get my readings a point or so lower for the next blood tests. When I started out I knew that sugar made the readings go up, armed with only this fact for sure I managed to reduce my readings. Since I have become more knowledgable I think I may have an HbA1c closer to 6% next time this is tested.
There is a lot of conflicting information, supernanny. My view is that the advice given my the NHS will slowly poision me as the NHS recomends a diet that turns to glucose in my body, which is what happens to those slow burning complex carbohydrates - they turn to glucose as my body digests them.
I'm also not on any medication at the moment. My GP has offered both Metformin and statins and is unhappy that I have refused both to date. I'm happy with the reassurance that I have receved here that my cholesterol levels are okay but I am considering accepting Metformin because it will help with both the blood glucose readings and the weight loss I need to achieve. I will probably accept the Metformin next time I see him, although I'm planning to keep this under review.
Excercise is also important in reducing the glucose levels, I think it was Fegus who said that it wakes up the insulin receptors in your cells. I know that my lowest readings have been after exercise, but I fell off the exercise wagon during the hot weather and some rather unexpectedly high readings (down to fluctuatins in my menstrual cycle). I'm planning to climb back on to it this weekend.
I also have a substantial amount of weight to lose - I must be half the woman I was in February. The extra weight causes insulin resistance and my body can't use the insulin it does produce properly because of the insulin resistance. I will be reviewing my approach when I am closer to my target weight. My long term aim is to have an HbA1c under 6% and a place on the 5% sofa, I hope to be there before the end of this year. This is what will reduce the risk of me developing long term complications.
Things will become clearer as time passes, honest! But we can't afford to let too much time pass before we get a grip of what we need to do and develop good control. Good luck, ask any questions you want. Check out some of the other websites, especally bloodsugar101, there are some useful links and loads of good empowering information there.
And on a positive note, since my diagnosis I have eaten better than I have for years. I'm not hungry and those awful carb cravings have gone since I cut out the pasta, rice, bread and potatos. I have lost between 1/4 to 1/3 of the weight I need to lose in aruond 3 months, my posture has improved, I have more energy and I have realised the fuzzy head and headaches I used to get were symptoms of high blood sugar. I don't feel at all deprved on the diet I'm using.
thank you. I feel like a sponge here, there is so much good information here. I feel more in control than I have for years. But the amount of information can be overwhelming, which is what I think supernanny is saying.
