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Newbie
- Thread starter Tazbo
- Start Date
JoKalsbeek
Expert
- Messages
- 6,724
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi @Tazbo
Though it probably doesn't seem like it, this is really a good thing; better to know you're pre-diabetic than to just continue on obliviously and be a T2 with complications out of seemingly nowhere. (Like what happened to me! It came rather out of the blue.). Now you know, so you can do something about it. With a relatively simple yet permanent change in diet you can stave off T2, meds, complications and such for years. Who knows, maybe indefinitely.
As a prediabetic, you have trouble processing glucose out of your system. You produce loads of insulin, so that's not the problem (T1's don't make any), but you're insensitive to it. And one of the things insulin does, is make glucose suitable to burn for energy. When it doesn't anymore, it just gets stored in fatcells, and when those are full, it ends up in your bloodstream, doing damage left and right. That, you *really* want to prevent.
So, the key to this: simply make sure you don't have a lot of glucose in your body. (It really is that simple). Once you know it's practically all carbohydrates that turn to glucose once ingested, not just straight sugars but starches too, it's relatively easy to just change your diet and get your bloodglucoselevels down again. And give your poor knackered pancreas a break in the process. This is how a lot of people here have gotten their T2 in remission, and quite a few prediabetics stopped the progression of the condition too.
So what does it mean? Well, cutting back on, or scratching entirely, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, corn, cereal/muesli and fruit, save for berries, starfruit, avocado and tomatoes. Since carbs are one of three macrio-nutrients, and you don't want to get any deficiencies in the micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), you want to up the other two: Fats especally, but proteine's good too. So what can you eat without making your glucoselevels rise? Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, the aformentioned fruits, olives, above-ground veggies/leavy greens, extra dark chocolate (85% Lindt is good), cheeses, cream, full fat greek yoghurt, nuts... That sort of thing. Leaving out the starchy foods does leave a gap in your diet, especially as it's stuff that's rather filling, but I've found that cauliflower rice is remarcably versatile and quite filling if you add bacon and cheese. (And whatever herbs you feel like adding).
Other than that I can wholeheartedly advise reading Dr. Jason Fung's books (The Diabetes Code is a good place to start), the dietdoctor.com website (You don't have to join, as a lot of info on there is free), and try to find out what your HbA1c was (The average bloodglucose of 2 to 3 months). If you know where you've been you know where you're headed, after all.
You'll be okay. Good luck!
Jo
Though it probably doesn't seem like it, this is really a good thing; better to know you're pre-diabetic than to just continue on obliviously and be a T2 with complications out of seemingly nowhere. (Like what happened to me! It came rather out of the blue.). Now you know, so you can do something about it. With a relatively simple yet permanent change in diet you can stave off T2, meds, complications and such for years. Who knows, maybe indefinitely.
As a prediabetic, you have trouble processing glucose out of your system. You produce loads of insulin, so that's not the problem (T1's don't make any), but you're insensitive to it. And one of the things insulin does, is make glucose suitable to burn for energy. When it doesn't anymore, it just gets stored in fatcells, and when those are full, it ends up in your bloodstream, doing damage left and right. That, you *really* want to prevent.
So, the key to this: simply make sure you don't have a lot of glucose in your body. (It really is that simple). Once you know it's practically all carbohydrates that turn to glucose once ingested, not just straight sugars but starches too, it's relatively easy to just change your diet and get your bloodglucoselevels down again. And give your poor knackered pancreas a break in the process. This is how a lot of people here have gotten their T2 in remission, and quite a few prediabetics stopped the progression of the condition too.
So what does it mean? Well, cutting back on, or scratching entirely, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, corn, cereal/muesli and fruit, save for berries, starfruit, avocado and tomatoes. Since carbs are one of three macrio-nutrients, and you don't want to get any deficiencies in the micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), you want to up the other two: Fats especally, but proteine's good too. So what can you eat without making your glucoselevels rise? Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, the aformentioned fruits, olives, above-ground veggies/leavy greens, extra dark chocolate (85% Lindt is good), cheeses, cream, full fat greek yoghurt, nuts... That sort of thing. Leaving out the starchy foods does leave a gap in your diet, especially as it's stuff that's rather filling, but I've found that cauliflower rice is remarcably versatile and quite filling if you add bacon and cheese. (And whatever herbs you feel like adding).
Other than that I can wholeheartedly advise reading Dr. Jason Fung's books (The Diabetes Code is a good place to start), the dietdoctor.com website (You don't have to join, as a lot of info on there is free), and try to find out what your HbA1c was (The average bloodglucose of 2 to 3 months). If you know where you've been you know where you're headed, after all.
You'll be okay. Good luck!
Jo
Didn't get told what HBA1C was just that I was pre diabetic and had impaired glucose tolerance but not any other info told not to eat fried which I haven't done in 12 years and use a smaller plate which I have also been doing for a long time as I have been trying to lose weight for a number of years now and it just keeps going up.I have invested in glucose monitor.
Resurgam
Master
- Messages
- 10,142
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Sheesh - what useless information.
Fried food is absolutely fine to eat - and I had to find bigger plates to hold all the low density foods I was eating.
Weight goes up because carbohydrate is turned into blood sugar, which is stored away as fat. Reducing the amount of carbs lowers blood glucose and that tends to put things right, but you need to source your energy from fats - change your metabolism to fat burning and it will go on fat burning 24 hours a day unless you divert it back to burning glucose by upping your intake of carbs again.
Fried food is absolutely fine to eat - and I had to find bigger plates to hold all the low density foods I was eating.
Weight goes up because carbohydrate is turned into blood sugar, which is stored away as fat. Reducing the amount of carbs lowers blood glucose and that tends to put things right, but you need to source your energy from fats - change your metabolism to fat burning and it will go on fat burning 24 hours a day unless you divert it back to burning glucose by upping your intake of carbs again.
JoKalsbeek
Expert
- Messages
- 6,724
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
You can get those numbers when you call or e-mail, as they really are important to know. Some UK practices let you access testresults online, but not in the Netherlands, where i'm at. I have stacks of print-outs collected voer the years, so i know when i'm doing better, what worked for me etc.
Dialing down fat and shrinking plates isn't going to work if processing carbs out of your system is the problem. The glucose from the carbs just gets stored in fat cells if it can't be burned. I went to a dietician when I was overweight and she told me to eat more carbs, less fat... And I ballooned, became morbidly obese and a full-fledged T2. The advice I was given was exactly the wrong thing for my personal metabolism, which was quite impaired, as yours now is. Now that you know that carbs are what add the weight, because you are insensitive to your own insulin, you can cut the carbs and lose weight. I mean, I dropped 25 kilo's (50 pounds) eating bacon twice a day. And I'm off the statins for my cholesterol. Go figure.
Excellent choice, getting a monitor! Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. If your bloodsugars go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than your body could handle. If it's 2.0 mmol/l or lower, that was an excellent meal and can safely be repeated. It takes a lot of testing at first, but after a while you'll know or be able to guesstimate how carby something is and whether it'll impact your glucoselevels or not. Eating to your meter will give you so much valuable information. Maybe keep a fooddiary to go with it, so you know what meals did what?
You're off to a great start.
Jo
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Tazbo
Hello Tazbo and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.
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 Tazbo and welcome to the Forum
Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.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.
