• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

new to low carb

Hi Dollyrocker and welcome to the forum :)

Members who are on low carb diets, and especially those who have a lot of recipes, will be along soon to help you. In the meantime here is the information we give to new members which contains a lot of information about carbs. Ask all the questions you like 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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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

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 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.
 
Hi Dollyrocker most T2's here use some sort of carb reduction as part of their control, some find a very low carb diet works well for them others find a less restrictive diet works well for them, there is loads of information on the forum on low carb diets so have a look around and ask as many questions as you like.

I personally chose a diet/lifestyle made up of a combination of carb restriction, eating low GI carbs where possible and portion control which is a lifestyle I know I can sustain for life as it only precludes very few foods like white bread.

Others have found that they enjoy the low carb lifestyle and remove almost all carbs from their diet.
 
Many of us low carbers find the following site to be a very useful guide:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

There is no 'set level' for how many carbs to eat - it's very individual but if you are trying to lose weight, Mark Sisson says 50-100g is the 'sweet spot for weight loss'.

Many people use their glucometer as their guide using a system similar to this:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

Though most also measure prior to eating - also having a 'before' measurement makes calculating how specific foods affect your blood glucose much simpler.

Most people's peak BG occurs at 1 or 2 hours after eating - once you establish your peak time, the second measurement after eating can usually be skipped.
 
Indy51 said:
Most people's peak BG occurs at 1 or 2 hours after eating - once you establish your peak time, the second measurement after eating can usually be skipped.
Click to expand...


I would say that the 1 hour 'peak' is largely irrelevant as everyone even non diabetics will show a peak after eating the point to measure IMHO should always be 2 hours after eating to show that your levels have returned to or are close to returning to your pre meal levels if they havent then you need to eat fewer carbs with that meal.

The difference between diabetics and non diabetics is this ability to for the blood glucose to 'level out' soon - within two hours - after eating.

I see no reason to test at one hour as you know you will be higher than normal at that time, everyone will be, so it is really just a waste of a test strip, IMHO.
 
Sid Bonkers said:
Indy51 said:
Most people's peak BG occurs at 1 or 2 hours after eating - once you establish your peak time, the second measurement after eating can usually be skipped.
Click to expand...


I would say that the 1 hour 'peak' is largely irrelevant as everyone even non diabetics will show a peak after eating the point to measure IMHO should always be 2 hours after eating to show that your levels have returned to or are close to returning to your pre meal levels if they havent then you need to eat fewer carbs with that meal.

The difference between diabetics and non diabetics is this ability to for the blood glucose to 'level out' soon - within two hours - fter eating.

I see no reason to test at one hour as you know you will be higher than normal at that time, everyone will be, so it is really just a waste of a test strip, IMHO.
Click to expand...
I guess it all comes back to personal choice, Sid.

I personally made the choice to avoid being over '7.8mmol/L' at any time, based on the following article:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php

Since I have "mild diabetes" according to my endocrinologist (whatever that is), by testing I found that I peak at 1 hour. To me testing at 2 hours is a waste of a test strip because I know I will be lower and it's the peak I'm interested in.

I was following the advice of Dr Lois Jovanovic to find my own peak blood glucose level outlined here:

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com.au/20 ... tands.html

Other people are of course free to make their own choice about which advice to follow.
 
Indy51 said:
I personally made the choice to avoid being over '7.8mmol/L' at any time, based on the following article:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php
Click to expand...


I agree with you about the upper limit Indy but the Phlaunt link you posted is talking about the 2 hour mark the same as I am :D

A peak at 1 hour is perfectly normal and non diabetics will regularly exceed 7.8, 9 or even 10 mmol/L depending on what they eat but unlike diabetics there blood glucose will always return to pre meal levels within 2 hours that is why I recommend testing at 2 hours just as most people do including Jenny Ruhl at Blood Sugar 101 :D
 
Well Sid,
I agree that there will be a peak, usually at +1hr but I have tested at that point to try to reduce the level of the peak,as I try to keep my peak down,and hence the totalarea under the curve. Just a personal thing though.
 
Hi dollyrocker,
I just avoid all the traditional carbs...bread, pasta, rice, cereal, potato and fruit. I eat loads of veg and meat. There are small amounts of carbohydrate in veg, but not a lot so I've no idea exactly how many carbs I eat a day, but avoiding the foods given above seems to work really well.
 
SamJB said:
Hi dollyrocker,
I just avoid all the traditional carbs...bread, pasta, rice, cereal, potato and fruit. I eat loads of veg and meat. There are small amounts of carbohydrate in veg, but not a lot so I've no idea exactly how many carbs I eat a day, but avoiding the foods given above seems to work really well.
Click to expand...
the only thing is im a vegetarian diabetic so i get my protein from pulses but are they high in carbs i dont eat bread instead i have a couple of cracker bread with hummus on and dont get high bloods from that but if i eat banana my bloods go up :( and i love banana :D so i stick to half of one what about low carb pasta is that anygood ?
 
I've personally not had it. I did eat out of Rose Elliot's The Bean Book when I replaced rice/pasta/potato with pulses. Did that for a couple of months and my levels were better. I'm T1 though, so just gave myself some insulin for it.
 
Rose Elliott has written a low-carb diet book for vegetarians, but it may be out of print. Worth searching her name on Amazon to see if you can pick up a second-hand copy.

Do you eat eggs and cheese? or even fish? to up your protein levels.

Also get yourself a carb counter book (Collins do a handy-sized one in their Gem series) so you can check the amount of carbs in everything you eat. Bananas are out for many of us, I'm afraid, but berries, plums and apricots are okay in moderate quantities. Some veg are much higher carb than others - eg parsnips - while others can be okay - eg sweet potatoes. Again, watch the quantity.

In your place I wouldn't aim to go very low with your carbs - it is difficult for vegetarians. Maybe aim for 70g or even 100g daily and see how you go on. Choose all your carbs from Low GI foods - you can find out all about that by Googling.

Hope this helps. There are other vegetarians on here who should be able to help more.

Viv 8)
 
No, glycaemic index/glycaemic load is a whole other level to carb counting, ie. it takes into account how quickly or slowly carbohydrates digest into glucose. You can find out more about it here:

http://www.glycemicindex.com/
http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm

But along with other carbohydrates, you only really know how low GI foods affect you by testing. Supposedly wholegrain porridge is low GI, but it still sends my blood glucose soaring.

Jenny Ruhl questions how effective it is for diabetics since all of the GI testing is done on "normal" subjects - and let's face it, diabetics aren't normal when it comes to digesting carbs :lol:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/22168291.php

It works for some people, not for others - again, probably because we all have individual tolerances for carbohydrates. As with most other things in life - and diabetes - the rule will be try it and see if it works for you.
 
Indy51 said:
Jenny Ruhl questions how effective it is for diabetics since all of the GI testing is done on "normal" subjects - and let's face it, diabetics aren't normal when it comes to digesting carbs :lol:
Click to expand...

Just because you dont understand it Indy theres no need to knock it and ridicule it with laughing smileys, it works extremely well and allows me to eat an almost normal diet, perhaps you should try it.
 
Sid Bonkers said:
Indy51 said:
Jenny Ruhl questions how effective it is for diabetics since all of the GI testing is done on "normal" subjects - and let's face it, diabetics aren't normal when it comes to digesting carbs :lol:
Click to expand...

Just because you dont understand it Indy theres no need to knock it and ridicule it with laughing smileys, it works extremely well and allows me to eat an almost normal diet, perhaps you should try it.
Click to expand...
Wow, you love to make assumptions, don't you Sid? First you assume I don't understand the principles of GI, then you assume I've never tried it and then you assume that because I use a laughing smiley that I'm mocking it. Must be great to be able to read minds.

All 3 assumptions are wrong by the way. I've been using variations of the low GI diet since the Sugarbusters book came out mid 90's and have lost weight on the diet several times since then. I've had the Sydney Uni and Rick Mendosa GI pages bookmarked for years and I think I'm lucky to live in a country where food is routinely labelled. Did you miss where I said I had tested it for porridge and that it had an adverse effect on my BG?

And didn't I advise Dollyrocker to research the subject and try it for herself?

Anyway, I'm done with this thread. Good luck finding a way of eating that works for you, Dollyrocker.
 
Jenny Ruhl questions how effective it is for diabetics since all of the GI testing is done on "normal" subjects - and let's face it, diabetics aren't normal when it comes to digesting carbs
Click to expand...
She's factually wrong there. The earliest trials on the concept of the GI were conducted on people with diabetes.
About 20% of the foods in the list on the GI data base of the Univ of Sydney have been tested on people with diabetes. In a 2008 review they found that the correlation betwen the GI of 20 major foods tested on 'normal' and diabetic subjects the correlation was high .
As for porridge, something that people seem to have very variable results with: they comment on that in the review
Repeated testing of certain products indicates that white and wholemeal bread have remained remarkably consistent over the past 25 years, but other products appear to be increasing in GI. This secular change may arise because of efforts on the part of the food industry to make food preparation more convenient and faster cooking. Some foods, such as porridge oats, show variable results, which may reflect true differences in refining and processing that affect the degree of starch gelatinization
Click to expand...
I agree that it comes down to testing, but selecting carbohydrate items with a potentially lower GI seems to be sensible.
It's also worth being aware of things that may reduce (and increase) GI such as adding vinegar/lemon juice (in a dressing), cooking rice and pasta only al dente.(and being aware of portion sizes) , serving things like pasta / rice /beans that have been cooled lowers GI.
http://www.montignac.com/en/the-factors ... c-indexes/
 
Back
Top