I have just seen the headline in a newspaper this morning about diabetes and its terrified me! I think it was the Daily Mail or Daily Express (cant remember which) I am so very confused about what i can eat, drink etc, Do i need to eat Diabetic food? I'm so stressed and worried about all this. I am joining a Diabetes group in the new year, so hopefully i will get answers to all the questions i have. I'm feeling very down, upset and scared by all this.
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Scared!
- Thread starter Nikki1111
- Start Date
WhitbyJet
Well-Known Member
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No, Nikki, dont be scared, you have only just recently been diagnosed with diabetes and it takes a little while to gain good control of your diabetes, to work out a dietary plan that suits your needs and fits in with your lifestyle.
I think you have already received daisy's welcome post which gives you the good, basic advice. Basically you can eat anything, though some foods in moderation, the important thing is that you do your testing and keep a diary, write down what you eat and your bg levels before and after eating.
You need to focus on what you can eat, not what you cant, this will make it a lot easier, remember stress and worry raise our bg levels so do try to stay calm. You are only just learning about diabetes, believe me the more you get to know your body and learn about diabetes the better, the less fear you will have.
Tell us what you normally eat, what you used to eat before the diagnosis, maybe we can help by making some suggestions on how to make it a bit more diabetic friendly, just to start you off.
*big hug*
I think you have already received daisy's welcome post which gives you the good, basic advice. Basically you can eat anything, though some foods in moderation, the important thing is that you do your testing and keep a diary, write down what you eat and your bg levels before and after eating.
You need to focus on what you can eat, not what you cant, this will make it a lot easier, remember stress and worry raise our bg levels so do try to stay calm. You are only just learning about diabetes, believe me the more you get to know your body and learn about diabetes the better, the less fear you will have.
Tell us what you normally eat, what you used to eat before the diagnosis, maybe we can help by making some suggestions on how to make it a bit more diabetic friendly, just to start you off.
*big hug*
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Nikki 
I see you joined in April so I will have given you this information (mentioned by whitbyjet) a long time ago so I am repeating it for you now. I hope you find it 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 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:
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
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.
I see you joined in April so I will have given you this information (mentioned by whitbyjet) a long time ago so I am repeating it for you now. I hope you find it 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 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
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
- 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.
Hi Nikki,
It can be very frightening at first, I was very frightened when they first told me, especially as I learned about the complications. Diabetes is manageable though, It's all about making the right decisions and having knowledge of your body and diabetes.
It sounds like your making the right decisions, joining this forum and a diabetes group. I really wouldn't listen to anything written about diabetes in the Daily Mail or Express because it will be garbage. It might be worth subscribing to Diabetes UK's Balance magazine, it's a very useful resource.
It can be very frightening at first, I was very frightened when they first told me, especially as I learned about the complications. Diabetes is manageable though, It's all about making the right decisions and having knowledge of your body and diabetes.
It sounds like your making the right decisions, joining this forum and a diabetes group. I really wouldn't listen to anything written about diabetes in the Daily Mail or Express because it will be garbage. It might be worth subscribing to Diabetes UK's Balance magazine, it's a very useful resource.
Daibell
Master
Hi. As others have said, don't be scared. The diabetics who end up with serious body damage are those who are in denial and carry on eating all the wrong things. Be determined to learn about it and take control so that the long-term complications never happen for you. Diet and exercise are the key things with medication added if these aren't enough. Keep the carb intake low and low-GI. Study packaging and all the diet information on the forum. Get hold of a meter one way or another and test 2 hours after a main meal to find out which foods affect your blood sugar and by how much. Be aware that there is a lot of bad diet advice around from the 'professionals' including, sadly, some of the advice from Diabetes UK (not this website but diabetes.org). I subscribe and get the Balance magazine which is very useful but be prepared to ignore the diet advice and the recipes unless your meter proves that it is OK as carbs remain the issue. Do come back with more questions.
Hi There has been some good suggestions on the board. I was scared too, I was 5 years old and had to learn to give my own shots before I left the hospital. I have now lived with type 1 diabetes for 48 years. By the grace of God, good Dr's., and reasonable care through out those years I am happy to say I have no complications. Try not to worry so much, stress increases BG numbers. You'll get it, and I can't wait for the day you come on board and help someone else who is scared. :roll:
Daibell
Master
Hi. For meter you have various choices. If you want to save initial cost ask one of the advertisers who advertise on Diabetes UK or .co.uk websites for a free meter but be aware the test strips cost around £25 for 50 (which is why they usually will provide the meters free if asked). The SD Codefree meter from Amazon does cost but the strips are cheaper. You can buy most meters from the local chemist but it's best to by new strips online (Amazon or others) as they are cheaper and some suppliers provide them VAT free if you say you are a Diabetic. There are pros and cons for each of the brand-name meters, but they are mostly very good.
