Just got my first appointment

They can only give you the official NHS advice on how to eat low carb is not on the NHS radar yet

Hi @ Wiseowl_123 I am in a similar boat recently diagnosed late September and don't see my nurse till the 25 Jan for my next set of bloods. I have been following the LCHF diet and cut right down to no carbs or very little. I am also running my freezer down so I can restock with foods that are better for me. That means I sometimes eat more carbs than I should but those days I do I know my bloods will be high but I hate wasting food as I say I running my freezer and things down. If I stick to meats and fish and veg and salads I know my readings will be low. My nurse's nutritional advice was if it tastes sweet don't eat it and every thing in moderation and of course the NHS eat healthy. I know it doesn't work for me as I know Carbs send my bloods high. I honestly believe the NHS needs re educating with there advise and allot more diabetics would feel better and healthier.

I dare say my nurse will moan about my diet also but it works for me and it's my body and my future.

Are you testing your blood glucose, @wiseowl_123 ?

If so, you can decide whether carbs are a good idea (or not) for yourself.

Test blood glucose before eating carbs. Test 2 hours later.
then test blood glucose after eating very few or no carbs. Test 2 hours later.

As you know, high blood glucose is damaging. So if either of your tests result in high blood glucose, you know that food is damaging.

You should be making these decisions for yourself. All we on the forum, and your nurse can do is make suggestions. It is YOU who is responsible for your own diet, and the information that you take on board - and ultimately, for your own blood glucose levels.

The evidence, such as it is underpinning the NHS Eatwell guide comes from studies on people without diabetes. Why this is then suggested as a good/best/only diet for someone with type 2 diabetes is a mystery to most here. It may be an improvement to people with a particularly poor diet is about the only complimentary thing I can think of, when I am being very charitable.

My favourite sentence from this guide:

Many foods, such as pizzas, casseroles, pasta dishes and sandwiches, are combinations of the food groups in the Eatwell Guide.

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Well that's three out of four I pass on. However it also says:

Anyone with special dietary requirements or medical needs might want to check with a registered dietitian on how to adapt the Eatwell Guide to meet their individual needs.

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So long as they recommend something different ...

@wiseowl_123 Keep up the good work and stick with the forum ... you know it makes sense
@Voodoorising I too hate waste and if you're loath to dump harmful stuff from the freezer try to eat a little at a time with the good stuff and include plenty of fat. Anyway it may be better for you to come down off the carbs gradually, although going cold turkey affects people differently.
EDIT It's just occurred to me you might try swapping your frozen carbs for good stuff with someone?

@DeejayR yeah I hear you I have made my Freezer sound like a Carb Den of iniquity lol. It's not that bad just had a few pizza's a quiche a few pies to get rid of. There all gone and now being a good boy

Hi. As others have said, the nurse is providing the standard NHS Eatwell Guide mantra; she may or may not actually agree with it. There was a recent post showing which companies helped create the Eatwell Guide and it included most food manufacturers and very few if any health professionals. Those of us on insulin know that we increase the insulin to match the carbs to balance the increased blood sugar from those carbs; need I say more. BTW the body can get all the 'energy' it needs from proteins and fats in a normal diet unless you are an exercise fanatic.

wiseowl_123 said:

Good afternoon just got a phone call from the diabetic nurse that I have my first (3 months)fasting blood test on the 5th January and then get results when I attend my first course ,two hours every Friday starting on the 13th January for three weeks.

Informed the nurse that I was on a low carb diet to which she replied don't do that you need your carbs for energy,now I have only been diagnosed for two months and have followed to the letter all the advice and help I have received on this wonderful forum,now I am totally confused by the NHS nureses advice.thank you for listening my friends

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do what you think is best for you, I will not stop low carbing just to satisfy stupid advice from not really Scientific recomendations... it is the same here in Denmark, I am quite sure I am the only diabetic type 2 woman at my GP that has got toatally normal blood glucose, because they don´t support people to use a meter and they don´t even tell it is possible to get normal numbers by really lowering ones grams of carbs a day..

Now I have been low carbing for 6 month lower the last 4 month , and low calorie and actually my brain feels like I have been detoxifying it, my brain feels clear and fresh and I don´t have that anoying brain fog and eternal tiredness in my brain like I had while eating high carb...

go for what makes you healthy don´t obey anyone it is your life, if you think it will give you trouble , then dont tell them. When I was at a course I didn´t tell anyone that I did low carb, but when we measured our blood glucose , I was the only one with normal numbers...

I Denmark we are adviced to eat a Little handfull of nuts every day, that is part of the Eatwell Guide now here

wiseowl_123 said:

Good afternoon just got a phone call from the diabetic nurse that I have my first (3 months)fasting blood test on the 5th January and then get results when I attend my first course ,two hours every Friday starting on the 13th January for three weeks.

Informed the nurse that I was on a low carb diet to which she replied don't do that you need your carbs for energy,now I have only been diagnosed for two months and have followed to the letter all the advice and help I have received on this wonderful forum,now I am totally confused by the NHS nureses advice.thank you for listening my friends

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Hi Woo - what a surprise! We were in contact for many years on the GC forum. You'll have to dig up some roses now now and plant healthy veg!!
I was diagnosed this time last year and like you was quite confused by conflicting advice and also somewhat disappointed by the lack of in-depth knowledge about diabetes by SOME NHS staff.
You've already been given a stack of useful advice here on DCUK and there's not much I can usefully add to it. But I can say that after my diagnosis and being put on meds and adopting the bog standard NHS diet my BG fell quite steeply (my initial HbA1c was sky high). Self testing showed my BG had risen a bit over summer so in October I decided to adopt a really low carb diet and the results were great. The graph does show a blip where it rose a bit, but I think this was partly due to forgetting my gliclazide one day and not taking my usual exercise, but it does illustrate the impact of low carbs on my BG.
Anyway, nice to see you and hang on in here - you'll have access to a vast range of experience, knowledge and support. And if you want a really informative book "Reverse Your Diabetes" by Dr David Cavan is a very worthwhile read.

Dave W

hi i still eat the stuff we are told not to ie warburtons milk roll bread , still eat veggies ,
i can eat potatoes (doesn't spike my bs actualy lowers them) but only now and again
mainly count calories and walk at least 5 mile a week rather than low carbs ,

iv'e tested everything at least twice with my meter to find the good stuff and the bad
iv'e lost 13 kilo , came down from 71 to 42 , 8.6 to an average 6.3 all in three months
told my doctor last week what i had been eating and said if it works for you and you
can get figures like this carry on only thing was she said keep the bacon down
but i did explain for 5 working days breakfast is my main meal of the day
it may not be for everyone but it works for me