Hello and ?Advice re Carbs

[Kayanne]

Hi please can @daisy1 send me an info sheet. I am sooo confused

 

[daisy1]

@Kayanne
Hello Kayanne and welcome to the Forum Here is the "infosheet" we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful.

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.
  

 

[Greyhoundwalker]

@Greyhoundwalker welcometo the forum. Just a couple of food to buy suggestions that have helped me. Sainsburys do a high protein seeded sliced loaf called HiLo which I have found the closest to real bread at only 5g carbs per slice. You can buy portions of cauli rice (4 per bag) and also green rice (brocollli, kale) at ICELAND very reasonable and handy to have. Hope you like eggs because they will become your best friend cooked any which way. All the best.

Thankyou! I found the Hilo bread in Sainsbury's and have a loaf in the freezer, tried sweet potato "rice" which I wasn't keen on, I'd rather just cook some sweet potato and freeze portions. Cauli rice is next in the list to try!

 

[Listlad]

I am all ears on this cauli rice ( not cauliflower ears ).

But what does it taste like? Cauliflower presumably?

 

[Listlad]

Hi, I'm new here. 54 yr old female, was told two days ago I am prediabetic with fasting blood glucose of 5.8. The advice from the nurse was to try to lose weight, reduce free sugars and white bread/ pasta/ rice and to come back to be re-tested in 6 months.
After the excesses of Christmas I was sick of the sweet stuff anyway, it's no hardship to continue avoiding it, I don't like pasta or rice. I'd already made a half hearted attempt to lose some weight but more focused on that now (2 and a half stone to a healthy weight) Ive a couple of questions I didn't think to ask at the appointment
1. The nurse didn't mention exercise but this website does, I go to one Pilates class and two Aqua fit classes per week, done this for nearly two years and will continue indefinitely as it's keeping a back problem at bay, also I walk my dog daily. Is this enough?
2. I do like potatoes and wholemeal bread and would find it difficult to give them up entirely, is the glycaemic load of a meal still a thing? Would the impact of those carbs be less if I ate a small amount with fat and protein?
Thanks in advance for anyone who can give me advice

Hi @Greyhoundwalker ,
I am classified as Prediabetic like yourself and am in the process of learning more about it. Unfortunately, for several reasons, I have not been able to find time to exercise though advice seems to be that it’s diet that is most crucial. I intend to get a meter and rearrange my diet, in fact I have already started.

There is a lot of enlightening information here.

 

[Resurgam]

If you are unlucky then the sweet potato will elevate your numbers even higher than ordinary potato - like me.
All the 'high carb but I can eat it' posts just make me sigh. I have a very efficient digestive system.

 

[francesk]

I've been using celeriac instead of potato nowadays, I boil it then mash it up with butter and seasonings it's really nice, and also freezes.

 

[briped]

But what does it taste like? Cauliflower presumably?

That depends on which spices you use, if any. I made it from scratch with finely chopped red chili and currry. It tasted hot. (Fried it in my actifry, but you can do it in a wog or in a frying pan too. Keep stirring.)

I am sooo confused

There's help to get from this blog too ... https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/

 

[Greyhoundwalker]

I am all ears on this cauli rice ( not cauliflower ears ).

But what does it taste like? Cauliflower presumably?

Coming to report back on the Cauliflower rice - the one in the packet was horrible, in fact the kitchen smelled so bad my son was looking for something the dog might have done! This put me off for a bit but I like fresh cauliflower so decided to make my own. Blitzed it into tiny bits in the food processer and then lightly sautéed it and it's delicious! So far I've done it in olive oil with herbs, coconut oil with a bit of chilli, and in garlic butter, all yummy. It's nothing like rice but then I wasn't a fan of rice anyway I was more looking for something to take the place of potatoes. It's not the quick pop -in -the -microwave -when -your -late -home -and -hungry that I was looking for but still a great new addition.

Edited to add I'm 12lb down from when I first posted this thread so something's working! 28lb to go.

 

[Listlad]

Yes, since I posted my question I have been cooking cauliflower rice in a palatable way. Not as bad as I first thought.

 

[briped]

It's not the quick pop -in -the -microwave -when -your -late -home -and -hungry that I was looking for but still a great new addition.

Maybe you could experiment with nuking the grated cauliflower, and keeping it in the freezer till you need it on one of those late home and hungry nights?

 

[SlimLizzy]

I am all ears on this cauli rice ( not cauliflower ears ).

But what does it taste like? Cauliflower presumably?

have seen peope discuss the various herbs and spices to add with cauliflower rice. so never the same twice.

 

[shelley262]

Maybe you could experiment with nuking the grated cauliflower, and keeping it in the freezer till you need it on one of those late home and hungry nights?

I find it’s fine to open freeze the cauli rice. I use a food processor to reduce the cauli to a rice like size and then open freeze on a tray lined with a silicone liner. It does freeze into a block but you can break it up put into large plastic bag and cook from frozen so it’s all ready for a quick meal.

 

[Greyhoundwalker]

Maybe you could experiment with nuking the grated cauliflower, and keeping it in the freezer till you need it on one of those late home and hungry nights?

That's a great idea