Shem S
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 149
I’ll do that. Thanks. The tracker I was previously using is not LCHF friendly at all.
take a look at cronometer, you can set up various health markers and even make up your own. tts particularl keto/low carb freindly and the base version is free.
Re your cholesterol concerns. As others have said numbers almost always improve.
One caveat I’d add is in the short term whilst actively losing weight they may blip upwards. I’ve seen a fair few say this Your body is dumping out the fat it’s stored in essence and it shows up. Any method of weight loss can cause this not just low carb. It also then drops back to lower than starting. Personally I’m avoiding another test for now til my weight stabilises as I’ve already had the statins lecture and I’d rather avoid a repeat.
You will find dozens of peoople on here who felt exactly the same. many of those very same people had a party in Birmingham, recently, full of zest for life, laughing at the irony of it all, whilst tucking into all the foods oue " dieticians " frown about. yes its a shock, but if you are like many of us, you will soon come to think tht this diagnosis was a good thing that will enable you to spend the nxt stage of your life a lot happier with your body than before!
Erythritol... It would help so much if I remembered how to spell it correctly!It's extremely carby, but it's the kind of carb that never makes it into the bloodstream. Useless sweetener for tea or coffee, but turns out it goes well with other kitcheny-stuff. For baking and cooking.
My body's been against me, always. Chemical imbalances in my brain (hello clinical depression, introverted borderline personality disorder), hormonal imbalances (PCOS, Vit D deficiency/Rickets, T2, Hashimoto's), malformed spine, chronic migraines, malformed uterus, rheumatism... I can go on. For quite a while. So I know where you're coming from and I 100% believe you tried to fight it all tooth and nail. That's also why I am sure you can handle this. You've been to the wars already, this is just a new tactic to try... One that should actually work. And you just never got advice that fit your body's specific needs, which wasn't your fault. (Neither did I until 2 years ago!). You tried and you tried hard. Now it's time to change tactics.
Bless you. What a battle you’ve had to fight too and an inspiration to people like me.
I was once told an Army saying: no plan survives contact with the enemy.
Clearly I’ve had a **** plan. This is all brilliant to help me with a new plan. This enemy of mine will be captured and if possible defeated and I’m grateful for all of your help to get me there x
@Shem S
Hello and welcome to the ForumHere is the Basic 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 NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 carbohydrates
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ 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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
Is the keto break kind to our heads . cos i have a phobia of trying new foods as used to suffer with migraine aura and blamed different foods for it . I would love to eat some of that scrummy looking bread on that site it looks amazing .Erythritol... It would help so much if I remembered how to spell it correctly!It's extremely carby, but it's the kind of carb that never makes it into the bloodstream. Useless sweetener for tea or coffee, but turns out it goes well with other kitcheny-stuff. For baking and cooking.
My body's been against me, always. Chemical imbalances in my brain (hello clinical depression, introverted borderline personality disorder), hormonal imbalances (PCOS, Vit D deficiency/Rickets, T2, Hashimoto's), malformed spine, chronic migraines, malformed uterus, rheumatism... I can go on. For quite a while. So I know where you're coming from and I 100% believe you tried to fight it all tooth and nail. That's also why I am sure you can handle this. You've been to the wars already, this is just a new tactic to try... One that should actually work. And you just never got advice that fit your body's specific needs, which wasn't your fault. (Neither did I until 2 years ago!). You tried and you tried hard. Now it's time to change tactics.
Is the keto break kind to our heads . cos i have a phobia of trying new foods as used to suffer with migraine aura and blamed different foods for it . I would love to eat some of that scrummy looking bread on that site it looks amazing .
Cholesterol is a whole new topic, and there are thousands of threads on here about it. @bulkbiker has a thread that you will find interesting, but you need a whole day to read it all and watch some of the videos.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/
Low carb and high fat has given me a very high HDL level (good cholesterol) and very low triglyceride levels (these are the baddies) with excellent ratios. My total has gone up, but that on its own is meaningless. The healthy eating mantra issued by the NHS is not as healthy as you imagine. That is also a whole new topic.
Are you taking statins for your cholesterol? They won't have helped with your blood sugar levels.
@Sarah69 You don't have to take statins, especially if your cholesterol level is low. But the NHS advice is that statins should be prescribed if a person's total cholesterol is over 5, and over 4 for T2 diabetics.
Statins can raise blood sugar it will say that on the leaflet with the statins, but according to NHS guidance that is for less than 10% of people who take them.
Thank you very much for that. I’m going to see if I can find out what my current level is tomorrow then perhaps stop taking them. I hate taking tablets for no reason.CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION:
Statin treatment increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 46%, attributable to decreases in insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25754552
Thank you very much for that. I’m going to see if I can find out what my current level is tomorrow then perhaps stop taking them. I hate taking tablets for no reason.
ThanksFind out the following:
Total
HDL
LDL
Triglycerides.
The HDL and triglycerides are the important ones.
That's not what they say on the NHS website:CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION:
Statin treatment increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 46%, attributable to decreases in insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25754552
That's not what they say on the NHS website:
View attachment 29709
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/statins/side-effects/
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