I've found it interesting to read all the criticisms about DAFNE telling people to eat what they want and inject accordingly. To me, this is a reassuring positive. I haven't been on the course yet and I was only diagnosed with T1 a month ago, but I have to admit that probably the ONLY thing that has kept me going through this stressful period of my life is the reassurance that I can eat as normal and not change my diet. Not everyone wants to move on to an ultra low-carb diet to manage their diabetes and my understanding is that, with reasonable exercise, I should not have to change what I eat and should carry on as normal - if I feel like a cookie or ice cream, I should have it and learn how to deal with the insulin dose accordingly. In my opinion it's hard enough living with T1 without having to restrict what you eat and having to take away some of life's food pleasures!
Point taken. Everything in moderation, I suppose. I ate pretty healthily before being diagnosed and I exercise very regularly too, but I have never denied myself the odd treat and don't intend to change that now that I've been diagnosed with T1.It all depends on how much you eat and how many carbs. If you eat too mnay carbs you will gain weight, become insulin resistant and get into an insulin spiral. I take your point but no one on insulin can eat normally if that means the typical Western diet. Yes, you don't need to ultra low-carb.
Point taken. Everything in moderation, I suppose. I ate pretty healthily before being diagnosed and I exercise very regularly too, but I have never denied myself the odd treat and don't intend to change that now that I've been diagnosed with T1.
Whilst DAFNE provides a framework for theoretically managing the variance of blood glucose levels, the reality is that for many this comes with wider fluctuations in actual levels. Should DAFNE therefore promote ways of eating that help to reduce the variance of blood glucose as well as provide the mechanism for managing doses? The same "What is normal for a diabetic" question.
I couldn't agree more .
I have always actively avoided sugar as that was the way I was taught to begin with , so it's a life long thing.
I've found it interesting to read all the criticisms about DAFNE telling people to eat what they want and inject accordingly. To me, this is a reassuring positive. I haven't been on the course yet and I was only diagnosed with T1 a month ago, but I have to admit that probably the ONLY thing that has kept me going through this stressful period of my life is the reassurance that I can eat as normal and not change my diet. Not everyone wants to move on to an ultra low-carb diet to manage their diabetes and my understanding is that, with reasonable exercise, I should not have to change what I eat and should carry on as normal - if I feel like a cookie or ice cream, I should have it and learn how to deal with the insulin dose accordingly. In my opinion it's hard enough living with T1 without having to restrict what you eat and having to take away some of life's food pleasures!
People who are newly diagnosed with diabetes often feel they can no longer eat carbohydrates (pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals, cakes, etc.). In fact, it is not so: this false idea dates back where insulin was not available and where the survival of diabetics depended almost complete suppression of carbohydrates in their diet. The main rules of the diet of patients with type 1 diabetes are not fundamentally different from those that each of us should follow. These rules are designed to ensure a balanced diet, varied and adapted to the patient's physical activity, help control blood sugar, to avoid excessive weight gain and prevent cardiovascular complications. In children and adolescents, they also aim to ensure their growth. These rules are adapted to the characteristics of each patient, dosage and rate of taking insulin, physical activity, weight, eating habits and preferences, etc. For this reason, regular consultation with a dietician is an important part of medical care in case of type 1 diabetes.
Control carbohydrate intake .The main objective of controlling the intake of carbohydrates (sugar) is to avoid excessive fluctuations in blood sugar, either because of over consumption of foods high in sugars or inadequate intake of carbohydrate meals or during physical effort (exposure to the risk of hypoglycaemia). For this reason, carbohydrate intake should be divided into three meals without snacking between meals and not skipping meals. Only diabetics who have an intense physical activity can reserve some of their main meals (a fruit, dairy, for example) for one or two snacks taken between meals.
For people with diabetes, it is better to choose carbohydrates naturally contained in whole grains and pulses rather those found in cakes, sweets, jams, breakfast cereals, etc. This is especially important in children with diabetes to prevent nocturnal hypoglycemia. For each patient, the maximum amount of carbohydrate to consume each day is determined by the dietician by sex, age, weight and activity of the patient but also by the injection regime
Artificial sweeteners are "sweetening" products which are not ( a naturally occurring) part of the carbohydrates . These are food additives used to impart a sweet taste to foods. We distinguish sugar substitutes (polyols) and intense sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K and cyclamate). The use of these sweeteners is not recommended for people with diabetes because they maintain the taste for sweet foods.
Reduce consumption of fatty foods ..... snip (it mentions particularly animal fats but says to eat oily fish).
Increase fibre intake For people with diabetes, eating foods rich in fibre (fruits and vegetables, compotes with no added sugar ) at each meal slows sugar absorption by the digestive system and helps control sugar levels in the blood. The amount of fibre can also be increased by the consumption of bran, flax seed, psyllium, buckwheat, etc.
Limit alcohol intake..... snip (1 drink a day women, 2 drinks a day men; warning about alcohol and hypos.)
This. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. I'm not sure they teach you about it on DAFNE though
I think this is where the messages being purveyed become very confused. With MDI treatment and DAFNE, you can eat what you want, when you want. In order to maintain a good level of control, you maybe shouldn't always eat what you want, when you want.
Having the ability to understand how much insulin is required to stop your glucose levels spiking post-prandially based on the content of the food is very important. Understanding the timing of delivery of that insulin is also very important. Both of these affect the height of the spikes and when done properly, reduce the Hba1C, reducing the risk of complications.
The issue at hand is that for many diabetics, eating normally means eating badly, and that's where the controversy arises. As mentioned in the other thread that @smidge created after her DAFNE course, should the DAFNE simply describe how to manage your diabetes in relation to what you eat, or should it really promote ways of eating that will enable you to find it easier to control your diabetes and blood sugar?
As an example, when I was diagnosed in 1988, (in the days before proper food labelling and the internet) we were advised to buy a book called "Countdown" which listed the majority of foods and provided carbs (in exchanges of 10g) per serving/portion/weight. It included fresh and non-fresh food. This book was split into Green, Amber and Red sections. Foods in the Amber and Red were advised to be eaten infrequently because they were not that great in terms of Diabetic control. This is where I learned to carb count. I distinctly remember that my meals were composed of 7 exchanges (70g of carbs) per meal as I had a lot of weight to recover having been running high blood glucose for a long time. Transposing this onto MDI was fairly simple (and in the first instance was an insulin to carb ratio of about 1u:6g). It was very clear in these circumstances what was considered good and bad, and I was encouraged to eat "good" carbs (starchy, low GI).
This is the question that a lot of people are asking. Should DAFNE encourage what should be "Normal eating for Diabetics" or simply "Normal eating for the population at large who won't get complications"?
I tend more to the everything's fine mode, 'don't interfere (indeed please don't talk to me),I will take the minimum amount to get out of this'. It's only very rarely that I feel I want to eat lots (maybe it helps that I hate glucoses tablet and that's what I usually use, jelly babies would be even worse! )When I'm hypo I tend to go into 'determined panic' mode. I think that's better than 'chilled everything's fine' mode. I find that this one can sneak up on me
There's very little criticism of the course and if you do a search in the forum search facility you will find 100's, perhaps 1000's of posts from members who have found the course extremely helpful and helped get them back onto the right track.
The course itself doesn't tell you what you should eat, it just gives you the knowledge to match your insulin to the food you eat, diet is an individual choice just as it is for anyone who doesn't have type 1 diabetes.
The best approach is not to go over the top when eating carbs and keep them in moderation, and if you fancy something sweet have it as a special treat , say once in a while and not something that you eat everyday, but your right type 1 diabetes is hard to live with and we shouldn't get too obsessed with our diets, the best guide is your pre & postprandial bg readings which will determine which foods (and in what quantities) you can eat yourself.
There's is, and never will be one diet that suits all, as we are all individuals Pinewood, just find your own way and do the course when you get the opportunity.
Yes, this advice is intended to reassure people, so that they don't get overwhelmed. It can take many years to realised that this reassuring advice isn't actually correct. It's just a way of managing our psychological state.
I've found it interesting to read all the criticisms about DAFNE telling people to eat what they want and inject accordingly. To me, this is a reassuring positive. I haven't been on the course yet and I was only diagnosed with T1 a month ago, but I have to admit that probably the ONLY thing that has kept me going through this stressful period of my life is the reassurance that I can eat as normal and not change my diet. Not everyone wants to move on to an ultra low-carb diet to manage their diabetes and my understanding is that, with reasonable exercise, I should not have to change what I eat and should carry on as normal - if I feel like a cookie or ice cream, I should have it and learn how to deal with the insulin dose accordingly. In my opinion it's hard enough living with T1 without having to restrict what you eat and having to take away some of life's food pleasures!
I've found it interesting to read all the criticisms about DAFNE telling people to eat what they want and inject accordingly. To me, this is a reassuring positive. I haven't been on the course yet and I was only diagnosed with T1 a month ago, but I have to admit that probably the ONLY thing that has kept me going through this stressful period of my life is the reassurance that I can eat as normal and not change my diet. Not everyone wants to move on to an ultra low-carb diet to manage their diabetes and my understanding is that, with reasonable exercise, I should not have to change what I eat and should carry on as normal - if I feel like a cookie or ice cream, I should have it and learn how to deal with the insulin dose accordingly. In my opinion it's hard enough living with T1 without having to restrict what you eat and having to take away some of life's food pleasures!
Dose Ajustment For Normal Eating.......... ha ha I just thought it was some medical acroynym......
What is considered too high a peak post meal? +10?
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