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I buy an organic rye bread. It may be an acquired taste, but it doesn't spike me.
 
Try M&S Spelt Bread - I don't know if it's because it has smaller slices but I can have 2 with no significant spike.
 
My goodness. As others have said your nurses advice is irresponsibly bad; really bad. Keep the carbs down and don't worry about fats or proteins. Bananas in particular are best avoided. Follow the advice on this forum as we actually have some experience and knowledge of diabetes as opposed to the nurse.
 

Protein can cause problems if kidney function is impaired, excess protein turns to glucose, so protein is always worth watching.
 
Hi Sam
You are now a pilgrim. Your journey, in the beginning, will seem like every road is a steep climb and every path is rocky underfoot. It is important to ask directions along the way though you must ensure the person giving directions is qualified to do so. If they have walked the route successfully that’s a great indicator they are qualified though you may still be required to alter your route slightly from theirs. While asking for directions is invaluable, a map for your journey is essential. Unfortunately there are no ready-made maps. There can’t possibly be as in most cases the steps taken on the journey are specific to each traveller. You will pass great numbers of pilgrims on your journey and some of them will be real close to you though not exactly on your track. You will notice great numbers of tracks all leading to the mountain top though each route will differ slightly. The mountain top is your goal. Of course there will be tracks that will lead you away from the mountain top and others which will take you there but only after you have taken many wrong turns and covered tracks previously walked.
You are now responsible for the task of collating the information to assemble your map. The necessary information can be found on the web but gather the information with due diligence as the quantity of prophets offering up false doctrine is endless, as is the long line of dealers pushing sales of snake oil. Diabetes.co.uk is a safe, reliable, trusted and unbiased community of pilgrims, most of whom are on the correct path or heading in its direction.
If you meet a seller of maps with a sign above the stall reading, “One-size-fits-all-maps” pass it by. Do not stop, even for a peek. Keep your mind on the mountain top.
Lastly, the mountain top is a beautiful place to live where you will meet people who control their diabetes with diet, tablets, insulin or a combination of the three and in so doing, control their lives.
 

Very true.
 
I think the saying "whatever works for you " .. For me it's lower carb and being active 30 or 40minutes a day.

I followed the healthcare professionals advice re brown bread etc and continued to feel terrible for Months . I had bought a monitor and tested and was amazed that brown bread ,banana ,apples etc made my bs shoot up . I changed to lower carb , bought an exercise bike and a monitor and was amazed at the results . I've lost weight , got BS under control and feel great . Never been on medication and hope that lasts.

My practice nurse said I should volunteer to talk to other diabetics , I told her she should change the advice she gives to patients.
 

Ya, their advice is terrible. I don't understand why they can't be more open minded.
 
I was told by a locum GP in a phone consultation to lose weight and take more exercise. He had never even met me and new nothing about my lifestyle. Only advice I was given on my first visit with the DN was our body does not need a jam doughnut.
 
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Yes, all health professionals hate donuts & MacDonald, with good reason I must admit, but they are quiet happy for people to go on eating other food (e.g Carbs - bread, pasta, etc) that are not only bad for diabetes but everyone.
 
This thread has appeared at just the right time. I am off to see the Nurse on Thursday. She was no help to me at my first meeting suggesting that I eat jacket potatoes with cottage cheese (I don't know if she meant at every meal as that was her only suggestion!) and told me to look at the Diabetes Uk Website - her only helpful suggestion although a little late as I had already been on.

I have lost over two stone since diagnosis in July and my fasting BS is at its highest at 7.7. I am quite pleased with myself and am not going to let her get to me. It is my body and I know that low carbs is working for me, I have never felt better in myself.
 
WilliamEE most of the health professionals I know LOVE junk food they just don't tell patients lol
 
Mima go and be proud and shout loudly "look I am successful , I took control and did it MY way" well done x
 
I read this and as I started, the word poem came to mind as in you link, all true & I agree.
 
Having just read this thread, I think my first "Diabetes Education Session" (that is what it called on my paperwork) is going to be very interesting tomorrow.

I will let you all know how it goes tomorrow.
 
Pip16 said:
I was told by a locum GP in a phone consultation to lose weight and take more e ixercise. He had never even met me and new nothing about my lifestyle. Only advice I was given on my first visit with the DN was our body does not need a jam doughnut.
Click to expand...

Three very valuable nuggets of advice, if I may say so.

Like many (NOT ALL) diagnosed with T2 diabetes, I was extremely overweight (18st 8lbs and 5ft 8ins) and did not move around much. My diet was poor in the sense that I ate all that I should but ate and drank a lot that was unnecessary. I think that the modern day diabetes guru Prof Roy Taylor calls this *over-nutrition", I think that "gluttony" would be the old fashioned word.

On diagnosis (HBa1c 82 mmol/mol) I resolved to lose weight and to do this I would follow the diet recommended by the doctor (or strictly in the leaflet I was given by the doctor) and increase my activity levels by an hour or so brisk walking every day. I reasoned that I had been eating abnormally for several years and that the first thing to do was to bring my calorie consumption down to normal levels. I also resolved that I would review the question of diet when I had seen the effects of (hopefully) losing weight.

I had read on this forum the views of many who advocate a low carb diet, usually described as LCHF with the HF being high fat. Shortly after being diagnosed, the BBC Horizon programme "Fat v Sugar" was aired. The programme had twin doctors one of whom had a diet of almost exclusively fat based nutrients and the other whose diet consisted of sugar. The programme concluded that neither was a healthy diet but the glucose readings of the twin with the fat diet shot up more that the readings of the twin with the sugar diet.

I therefore decided that a balanced diet with carbohydrates was for me. I cut out white bread and potatoes, substituting wholemeal and sweet potatoes in their place. Red meat was also to go and replaced by fish. Vegetable (broccoli and beans) intake was increased. Some primitive form of portion control was introduced. I stopped eating as a form of recreation. The net effect of the above was that the weight fell off and and Hba1c likewise went south to 38mmol/mol) in first 3 months from diagnosis. I had decided that I would not take any medication until I had got myself down to a normal weight, so I have not taken any metformin although my diabetes team did want to prescribe it for me.

The upshot of the above is that I am now over 5 stones lighter than at diagnosis but still a few pounds over weight, I eat a normal diet and have normal blood glucose levels. I probably would have been in the same position if I had followed a LCHF diet, but who knows? The advantage of the NHS advised diet to me is that I feel that I can stick to it for the rest of my life, I do not think that I could say the same about a LCHF diet. So my advice to the original poster is to try the balanced diet advised by the NHS and other bodies around the world before embarking on a more restrictive diet, such as the LCHF advocated by many on here.

However, T2 diabetes is not a disease which is contracted overnight and in most (NOT ALL) cases is caused by many years over-nutrution/gluttony and that the main thing to do is to stop doing what one has been doing which has given you diabetes in the first place, which is overeating.

With respect to the original poster and to her DN, I do not think that the latter is advising to former to gorge on bananas and digestive biscuits. I think that the point the DN was making is that there is nothing out of bounds provided it is taken in moderation. I would also say that my diabetes team of a doctor, diabetes nurse and nutritionist (all NHS) have been conscientious, professional and knowledgeable. I have no doubt that they have been acting in my best interests.
 
@Syd

I'm really pleased to hear you have had such a great experience with the NHS diet and support. It's a rarity around here, so it's good to have that aired.

One thing though - that tv show 'fat v sugar' contained a serious piece of mis-information that skewed the result.

It is well known (to anyone who does a reasonable amount of LCHF research) that following a period of low carbing, the pancreas is slow to respond to sugar intake. It adjusts within a week of returning to 'normal' carb intake, returning blood glucose and insulin response to previous levels, and has no long term effects. So that twin who had raised sugar levels following their sugar v LC eating? His blood glucose response would have returned to normal in a few days.

What a pity the programme didn't do its research properly, and rushed their end tests, presumably for dramatic effect. And what a pity that this particular piece of mis-information was publicised on popular tv. It keeps cropping up on this forum too, as a kind of urban myth.
 
@Syd

I treat myself as one of the lucky ones. My Doctor recommended me to this Forum, and also enlisted me into NHS procedures.
This is a nice and friendly forum with well intended advice etc;
I think what your doing is wise,also better for your heart in the long run and well done.
This Forum needs people like you that have showed how the system does work.
You will find that people share their diets on this forum,
I am on a vegan type diet which works well for me. My Doctor is also ok with it.

Now down to brace tacks. Vauxhall Velox. is yours dare I say, EIP.
 
We've all been there! She is a numpty. I ignored mine. My bs was 5.3 this afternoon. Lost nearly 4 stone. Enough said!
 
Pip16 said:
I was told by a locum GP in a phone consultation to lose weight and take more exercise. He had never even met me and new nothing about my lifestyle. Only advice I was given on my first visit with the DN was our body does not need a jam doughnut.
Click to expand...
This may well be the case. What about a glass of wine though?! How did you keep a straight face? As I read this, I had a sort of Hattie Jaques ooh matron image in my mind, delivering this po faced lecture!
 
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