Korea & Japan

[Age_wills]

Hello,

I'm travelling to South Korea and Japan in a few months and was just wondering if any fellow Type 1s have traveled to either country and have any advice/experiences they could share with me? I'm spending about a week in each country.

I've done long-haul flights before so should be ok with them, but just wondering if:

- You need to declare your insulin/testing strips/needles at customs on arrival (I've seen a few mentions of this online but think it might be for people moving there to live and have a particularly large supply?)
- If you needed to get hold of any supplies while out there. Hopefully I won't need to though!
- Any tips on the food. I am obviously expecting a lot of noodles and rice! Do they sell Lucozade out there? Glucose tablets?

Many thanks for any info anyone can give.

Adrian

 

[1andylock]

Sorry cant answer the first part of your questions but can shed some light on the foods.
Generally in Korea they tend to like their beef barbecued at the table (Korean Barbecue) and seafood.
Rice and Noodles normally come if you want them but it is not standard as the stereotype suggests.
Vegetable are plentiful and if you want to control your diet well it is easy and also enjoy the local foods.
If you are on your own in either Japan, Korea or even China then when visiting a restaurant the walk around the tables and see what they are eating and point to what you want to eat. The oils that are used for cooking generally are good fats so not to worry too much. Regular blood testing of course will keep you in check.
Japan is a little different as they tend to go for more deep fried tempura types foods and more delicate foods and the preparation of which i don't know too much about. Again try it out you can always revert to vegetables. Of course all the Sashimi (raw fish) is good but Sushi uses a lot of sticky rice and could be a problem if you eat a lot of it. Tupenjakai where they fry food in front of you is great experience but just watch how much you eat and what it is and all is really nice and its easy to just try a little too much of the wrong things. We know what the wrong things are they are the same in the whole world and look the same also.
Of course both countries have a large amount of MacDonald, Burger King and KFC. there are also lots of western style eateries also so you can always eat something you know. In Korea you are never far from a US Airbase.
I am Type 2 and spend at least 2 thirds of my year in Asia and don't have a problem holding my blood sugars under control, the main problem is keeping the weight off because of wanting to try all the new types of food. Enjoy it they are great countries.
I hope it helps a little, don't be afraid they have diabetes in these countries also.

 

[LittleWolf]

Re: Korea & Japan

Tupenjakai? Teppanyaki!


I'm seeing all kinds of conflicting nutritional information for harusame (though it is sometimes made of potato rather than mung bean in Japan) or cellophane noodles.. Though they never spike me like wheat noodles. I believe sōba (buckwheat) noodles are one of the best lower carb and slower-release carb moods there are. Gluten free too.

You're so **** lucky. I ADORE Japan and Japanese culture/music/history/fashion/language

It'll be easy to find tasty meat dishes, just watch out for sweet sauces and rice wine vinegar all over things. (like the sushi rice)

If you want to talk Japanese dishes with me (I can tell you what I like but yet to peek at carb content lol) PM me x




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[Swankypants77]

Re: Korea & Japan

Hi. How lovely you are going to Japan!
I'm from Japan and haven't been back for a while, so Im very jealous!

Japanese food is really beautiful, but the only thing is almost always come with white sticky rice.( which is lovely).
Traditional sweets are made from rive, too! Very yummy...

Sushi is with rice , so have to be careful,but sashimi is only raw fish.
Watch out for lots of fried food, too.

Soya milk byproduct called okara おから is very very good for you and could be used as flour alternative. Dry okara can be purchased there. You could bring some back to uk maybe.


Hope you'll have a wonderful time there.

Ps lots of food packages don't have similar nutrition information in Japan unfortunately. They don't quite show you amount of carb...


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[Swankypants77]

Re: Korea & Japan

One more thing.
Before being admitted and told that Im type 1, I had tempura that night with rice and miso soup.
Hospital people were shocked with my blood sugar number, which was 25!
I hadn't had any insulin then, because I didn't know I was diabetic.

So please be careful with deep fried food( I suppose its not only in Japan, but universal). They are covered with potato flour.

Please try sea weed. They are gorgeous. Not the fried one though.

Enjoy


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[Swankypants77]

Re: Korea & Japan

One more thing , then I'll be quiet. Sorry.

According to this wonderful book" think like a pancreas", humidity and heat could lower your blood sugar level.

My mum said its very hot now in Japan over 30 degrees and obviously very humid as usual summer.
So perhaps, depending on which part of Japan you go, you might experience lower sugar level?

Let me know if you have any questions about Japan.


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[Thommothebear]

Re: Korea & Japan

I love japanese food, especially shashimi and the quick pickles like tsukemono - i wonder if anyone has any recommendations on which veg are the best for pickling in this way for diabetics. i'm T2 recently diagnosed but managing to control my BG reasonably well now I've dumped the nice guideline diet and low carbing instead. Seems to me that japanese and thai food is pretty healthy if we stay away from the rice and wheat noodles, although I do worry about the salt levels a little



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[Swankypants77]

Re: Korea & Japan

For tsukemono, I like Japanese radish(
Long white one), Chinese cabbage or leaf, or any leafy cabbage would be fine. Cucumber is great. My mum makes with carrots, aubergine, and cucumber. They are lovely, and go very well with rice... But not too much rice though... Unfortunately..


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[Thommothebear]

Re: Korea & Japan

Hadn't thought of using aubergine, but I have four aubergine plants in the garden so will give that a whirl. Thanks!



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[Age_wills]

Thank you all so much for your replies. One of the things I am most looking forward to is the food!

I'm sure I won't have any problems with getting through customs with insulin/needles as I'll only have a 2 weeks supply (plus maybe 1 extra weeks worth for emergencies)

Good point about the weather/heat - I'll have to keep that in mind when walking around if it's warm. I'm planning to take a load of glucose tablets in case I can't find anything similar there (although I'm sure they'll have Coke!) It's just the smaller villages/towns where they might be sparse - places like Tokyo won't be a problem.

Thanks again - and if anyone has had any experiences of taking insulin/needles into Korea/Japan please do let me know!

Thanks!
Arigatō!
Gamsahabnida!

 

[LittleWolf]

Re: Korea & Japan

I second avoiding the potato flour fried things! It was the night I had a large meal of California rolls, yakitori, gyōza and tempura prawns that I had a massive reactive hypo (didnt measure the preceding high as didn't have my meter then) Had everything apart from the tempura without going over 9.9 since. I assumed the protein content would offset the coating but not so!

Have fun and be careful x


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[Swankypants77]

Re: Korea & Japan

Hi. I'm not sure if Tokyo is the same, but where I was and my English husband was, paramedics aren't allowed to take foreign casualties in the ambulance without a Japanese person's care or agreement who knows the patient! How crazy is that!
Almost a decade ago, when my husband wasn't well and needed ambulance and I wasn't there, they couldn't get him in the vehicle without someone who knows him!

I don't want to alarm you, but sometimes japanese medical care worries me. And our ambulance goes very very slowly... Especially my hometown...

You need travel insurance. They cost a bomb if you don't have a health insurance. Not like Britain, they don't treat you unless you pay... Or they might, but takes a long time to go through papers.

Apart from that, everything should be fine. People are nice there.

It's very very hot and humid in Japan. So be prepared. I love it, but my husband and kids always struggle...

Have a fantastic time.


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[1andylock]

Re: Korea & Japan

You really HAD to correct my spelling of a foreign word. WOW.

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[LittleWolf]

Re: Korea & Japan

I have Aspergers and OCD- I feel the need to correct especially if it's on a topic I specialise in. If you are telling someone else about something you have to inform them with the correct word :/

I meant nothing personal about it. I make a lot of typos when posting from a phone; no one is perfect.


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