Hi, my 80 year old father has just been diagnosed with type 2, he has high cholesterol and high blood pressure and doesn’t need to lose weight and we are struggling with what to feed him. He has not seen the dietitian as yet and we are confused about which route we should go down. I would be grateful for any advice anyone can give me.
Type 2 Newbie struggling with diet
- Thread starter wendy4042
- Start Date
Resurgam
Expert
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- 9,868
- Type of diabetes
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- Diet only
It is usual for diabetics eating a low carb diet to see their cholesterol numbers become good or ideal and for other health problems to improve.
By eating enough food, rather than limiting calories it is not a weight reducing way of eating.
As a type two, any meat, shellfish, fish, eggs, cheeses plus low carb salad and vegetables, with small amounts of berries eaten with cream are a good basic diet. Such things as high cocoa chocolate, and various baked items can be added - there are quite a lot of recipes on the internet and the forum, but not much can be bought ready made and it requires some specialist ingredients which can be got on line or sometimes from healthfood shops.
Serving up roast chicken with a stirfry of mushrooms sweet peppers and courgette, followed by berries cream and sugar free jelly is just about guaranteed to cheer up any newly diagnosed type two.
By eating enough food, rather than limiting calories it is not a weight reducing way of eating.
As a type two, any meat, shellfish, fish, eggs, cheeses plus low carb salad and vegetables, with small amounts of berries eaten with cream are a good basic diet. Such things as high cocoa chocolate, and various baked items can be added - there are quite a lot of recipes on the internet and the forum, but not much can be bought ready made and it requires some specialist ingredients which can be got on line or sometimes from healthfood shops.
Serving up roast chicken with a stirfry of mushrooms sweet peppers and courgette, followed by berries cream and sugar free jelly is just about guaranteed to cheer up any newly diagnosed type two.
Bluetit1802
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Hi and welcome,
Please can you tell us if your dad has been given any diabetes medication, and how high his glucose levels were when he was diagnosed (his HbA1c blood test) ? This may help us to help you.
In the meantime I will tag @daisy1 who has some very useful information for newly diagnosed.
Please can you tell us if your dad has been given any diabetes medication, and how high his glucose levels were when he was diagnosed (his HbA1c blood test) ? This may help us to help you.
In the meantime I will tag @daisy1 who has some very useful information for newly diagnosed.
Hi, his reading was 49, so only just diabetic and he is on Metiform 500mg.
Thanks
Thanks
daisy1
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- Tablets (oral)
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- Cruelty towards animals.
@wendy4042
Hello Wendy and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will 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:
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello Wendy and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will 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 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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- 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.
Pinkorchid
Well-Known Member
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- 2,927
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
If you decide to try your father on a low carb diet it will probably make him loose weight even though he may not actually need to so that's something you will need to be aware of especially because of his age and tailor it to suit him
What's the rest of his health like?
If I'm still chipper at 80, I'd give it a go.
Low carb, high fat, medium protein if I need it.
If I'm not, my diet will be scotch and donuts I'm afraid.
If I'm still chipper at 80, I'd give it a go.
Low carb, high fat, medium protein if I need it.
If I'm not, my diet will be scotch and donuts I'm afraid.
