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PLEASE HELP!!!!

L

lisanoah

Newbie
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Ive just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and will not recieve treatment for 1 week.Just woundering what food i should be eating and what food i should be avoiding and if there is anything helpfull that i can be doing in the meantime!!!!!!!!THX LISA :D
 
Hello Lisanoah and welcome to the forum. I wrote this for someone else, but have copied it here, rather than write it all out again. I hope it helps.

It's not nearly as daunting as it first appears. The first thing to do is remember that we [diabetics] must control our BG levels. This means cutting out sugary foods and drinks. Secondly, carbohydrates turn to glucose, so in other words they turn to sugar, so you must reduce and limit your intake. How much and how far is a very individual thing, and you need a meter. Your GP is unlikely to give you one, but never say never, some of us do get them, I was prescribed one and unlimited strips until my last HbA1c. Now I am allowed 50 strips a month, so as I did before I was prescribed them, I fund my own.

Foods.

You must cut out all starchy carbs, white bread, rice, pasta and potato's as well as processed foods and ready meals. Don't buy low fat, light or diet versions of foods as they contain a shed load of sugar, manufacturer's add sugar to replace the low fat. :roll: Diet drinks are fine as long as you are ok with chemical sugar substitutes.
[mod note: Just to note that those of us on the forum are not medical professionals and therefore this should not be read as a prescriptive command.]

You can eat as much meat, fish, poultry, game, seafood and dairy as you like. Watch out with veg, produce grown below ground is more carby that it's above ground cousins. Fruit is a bit of a minefield, most of us can't tolerate banana's, melon or grapes as they are just little balls of sugar in effect. However strawberry's, blueberry's, blackberry's etc [all berries] are usually fine.

You will see some of us have attached to our signatures "eat to your meter" this really is the very best way to go. Test before your meal, then +2 hours to see what effect the meal has on your BG.

My last piece of advice for now is, ask questions, when you have the answer ask more, and keep asking until you feel satisfied and you feel better able to deal with this. I promise it won't take long and this new normal will be as second nature to you as your lifestyle is now.

xyzzy will probably post his experiences and it's a goldmine of information and support, and Daisy will post the information given to all newly diagnosed diabetics to get you started.


Good luck - Joanna.
 
Hi Lisa and welcome to the forum :)
This information that we give to new members should help you before you have your next appointment. You will find advice on diet in here. Ask any questions you need to 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 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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.
Click to expand...
 
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