• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Smoothies And Pre-Diabetic

Conor1974

Conor1974

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi,

After being told I was Pre-D, I have drastically changed my diet with some help from my wife. I have even lost almost a stone in weight by not eating so many carbs as before. Added to this I no longer add sugar to tea or coffee and user sweetener instead and check the sugar levels in all the food we buy.

I am making smoothies at home with fresh fruit mixed with Greek Style yoghurt.

What should I be looking out for when making these?
 
Well done on your weight loss, that is excellent.

You need to be aware that fruit contains a lot of sugar (fructose). It is natural sugar of course, but sugar none-the-less. Most of us find fruit will spike our blood glucose levels, especially if squished and squashed in a smoothie. You might be better making green smoothies with vegetables. If eating fresh fruit, it is best to stick to berries or possibly half an apple eaten with cream or yogurt, but not too many at once.

Do you have a meter? If not, I strongly advise you to get one. You can then test out one of your smoothies (test before and 1hr after) to see just what it does to your levels. You may have a shock.
 
Thanks, I was 135kgs and am down to 129.2kgs. I aim to keep exercising by cycling and changing my diet. Though it may have to wait a couple of days so I can get rid of a UTI fully before starting up again.

I haven't got a meter. It was never mentioned that I should get one.
 
Conor1974 said:
Thanks, I was 135kgs and am down to 129.2kgs. I aim to keep exercising by cycling and changing my diet. Though it may have to wait a couple of days so I can get rid of a UTI fully before starting up again.

I haven't got a meter. It was never mentioned that I should get one.
Click to expand...

A meter is an essential tool if you want to get out of the pre-diabetic band and avoid going over to full blown diabetes. You are unlikely to get one from your GP. Most of us Type 2's have to self fund. You can test your own levels any time you like then, without waiting for your next GP review. Testing out what your meals are doing to you will help you learn which foods to cut back on and which to avoid completely. If you decide to buy one, we will advise you how best to use it. Have a look here. http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm This Codefree has the cheapest available test strips, and you will need a lot of them initially.
 
Congratulations on your weight loss Conor but do beware that the more processed a food is ie a blended smoothie, the faster any carbs will affect your bg levels.

For that reason any weight of mashed potato would affect your bg levels more than the same weight of boiled new potatoes in their skins would and blended or blitzed fruit will move your bg levels higher than the same amount of fruit eaten whole and fresh.

Think of it as if the blending is doing the work that your intestine would if the fruit were eaten whole and the faster food is processed in your intestine the faster the glucose from it will hit your blood stream. And if it all hits your blood at the same time it will raise your bg levels higher than it would if the same amount of glucose were dip fed into your blood bit by bit.

That said if you are only pre diabetic you may find that losing weight can make all the difference and may well stop the advance of the condition allowing you to eat normally as long as you dont over do it or put the weight back on :)
 
Back
Top