help....

Hi @clairegloucester

I'll tag @daisy1 who has some basic info.

Was that your partner's first test or has he been diagnosed for a while? Is he on any medication?

Ive never heard of sucrose in zero sugar drinks before, they are the one thing I havnt given up yet and I find they dont impact on my BS. What does your partner typically eat in a day as bread, rice, pasta, root veges ect are generally not very good for most diabetics. I always carry peanuts to munch on, nice, easy and filling. If your OH prefers sandwiches there are many LC bread recipes you can bake.

clairegloucester said:

My partner is type 2 & his blood test (the hdci one) was 117... He's been told to cut out bread completely now, he's been having brown bread. It says sugar that saturates is 1.1 per slice which we thought was good but now we think its not so a bit confused as he's a lorry driver so had to keep food cool what can he have instead... Also zero sugar drinks he's been told to avoid due to the sucrose, has anyone else been told this?

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The sugar content per slice is not high for bread..it's typical for brown bread... but it's not just the sugar that's the problem. There are typically at least 15g of carbohydrate per 30g (or less) slice of brown bread (more in white) and sometimes up to 25g. That's at least 50%..half of the slice at least is carbs. The carbs effectively turn to sugar in the body if not quickly used (and the bulk are not used, and even if they are it's not quick enough) - so never mind the 1.1 g per slice..for blood sugar level considerations its about 16g per slice. Once I started looking at the impact of foods on my levels by testing before and an hour or two after eating...the very first thing I got rid of was bread..it was almost as bad a bowl of cereal (more rubbish we don't need). That's why so many Type 2s are on low carb diets. It's not about spotting the sugar content, it's about spotting the carb content - experiment and you will soon agree. As for sugar free drinks..many use sweeteners and you need to know they are not just sugar in disguise. It's a minefield! But we learn what works for us and what doesn't by trial and error.

Hi @clairegloucester and welcome to the forum. A lot of forum members find that the High Protein rolls from LIDL are a good substitute for bread. They only contain 8.5g of carbohydrates per 100g. Each roll weighs about 120g so thats around 10g of carbs per roll. They are quite filling. They are brown and triangular shaped and cost 29p now. They can be frozen but it's better to slice them before freezing
.
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clairegloucester said:

My partner is type 2 & his blood test (the hdci one) was 117... He's been told to cut out bread completely now, he's been having brown bread. It says sugar that saturates is 1.1 per slice which we thought was good but now we think its not so a bit confused as he's a lorry driver so had to keep food cool what can he have instead... Also zero sugar drinks he's been told to avoid due to the sucrose, has anyone else been told this?

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Good morning. Help? yes - it's a complicated business. Read this fantastic resource and learn as much as possible from it.
Zero sugar drinks are usually packed with artificial sweetners (now being linked to cancer)
This next bit is going to be tough. I'm not a lorry driver but it wasn't so long ago when I would drive 600- 800 miles in a very long day and it is soooooooooo easy to just sit there and stuff your face. My passenger seat always had an ice box.
Here are some tips
Number 1 - find some talk radio programmes on the radio like LBC (now national) Join in by shouting at the radio. There will always be somebody's views you don't agree with and it will take your mind of snacking.

Number 2 - don't replace white bread with brown bread. Replace sandwiches with something that dies not require bread at all. Soups are great, use a thermos, and they keep you warm in the winter and fill you up. Plenty of options in the recipe books on this site

Number 3 If food has to be kept cool, he can eat cool things. Personally, I am happy to eat 'hot food' after is has been cooled but it is an acquired taste. I even eat cold omelettes (my favourite)

Most importantly - don't think about it in terms as alternatives to bread. Think about alternatives to sandwiches and cut out the fizzy drinks - they actually make you thirsty and want to drink more. That's how the coca cola family get to drive better cars than me and you!. If you are thirsty, your body is telling you it actually needs water. Tip: give it water!

Good luck
Diagnosed Type 2 Oct 2015. Metformin, diet and exercise
Weight loss, well over 80lbs and counting
Absolute no no's: bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and fizzy drinks

It's tough, but worth it.

@clairegloucester

Hello Claire and welcome to the forum to you and your partner. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.

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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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 bloodglucose 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.

pleinster said:

The sugar content per slice is not high for bread..it's typical for brown bread... but it's not just the sugar that's the problem. There are typically at least 15g of carbohydrate per 30g (or less) slice of brown bread (more in white) and sometimes up to 25g. That's at least 50%..half of the slice at least is carbs. The carbs effectively turn to sugar in the body if not quickly used (and the bulk are not used, and even if they are it's not quick enough) - so never mind the 1.1 g per slice..for blood sugar level considerations its about 16g per slice. Once I started looking at the impact of foods on my levels by testing before and an hour or two after eating...the very first thing I got rid of was bread..it was almost as bad a bowl of cereal (more rubbish we don't need). That's why so many Type 2s are on low carb diets. It's not about spotting the sugar content, it's about spotting the carb content - experiment and you will soon agree. As for sugar free drinks..many use sweeteners and you need to know they are not just sugar in disguise. It's a minefield! But we learn what works for us and what doesn't by trial and error.

Click to expand...

Good explanation. Nutritional content on food is misleading.

Type 2 been on sitaglaptin 100mg for only 5 days blood sugar gone down to 4.3 my is that normal range please

julieemma said:

Type 2 been on sitaglaptin 100mg for only 5 days blood sugar gone down to 4.3 my is that normal range please

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Hiya. 4.3 is good for Type 2. What was it before (ie. when diagnosed)? I'm more than happy with an average of 6.0 (which I'm not quite at yet). If it hovers between low 4s and 5s its normal...ie.."non-diabetic". You'll see from the chart below, the mmol/L readings (and 4.3 is too low to make the chart)....the diabetic diagnoses kick in around 6.8 mmols. I'm currently on about 7.0. So, if I'm understanding you correctly, you're fine and your meds and/or whatever else you are doing is working. But - what was it originally and are you testing regularly?

9.0 until I started new meds

julieemma said:

9.0 until I started new meds

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Great. Hopefully, your diet is under control too (ie, reduced carbohydrates) so that you may end up not requiring the meds at all. Keep testing but sounds good to me.

Thanks for your help