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Soooooo confused now..

maxjoe121

maxjoe121

Well-Known Member
Messages
171
Location
West yorks
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi all... just come from seeing my diabetic nurse and well all I can say is I'm baffled. She told me I can eat carbs in moderation and don't do high fat products like cheese etc I said I'm on a lchf diet and she said what's that going to do to my arteries.. I have been on your forum for days since I got diagnosed last week and had so much info about lchf and thought right I'm gonna give this ago.. this nurse was telling me to eat low fat yoghurt but they are full of sugar aaargh. My HBAC1 came back at 51 not 58 like I originally thought.. she said my cholesteral was 5 so I could do with statins. And the high fat will clog my arteries. I've just ordered my online shop for tomorrow and in it there's food like double cream and brie cheese and full fat mayo. She also said the reduced sugar baked beans are fine.. I've just looked and they are still high in sugar. Can anyone help me with all this ..thankyou xx

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You're working with two things here. Bs and cholesterol. High carbs are going to give you high bs and we certainly don't want that as it has its complications. So I would stick to LCHF. As far as CHO, some people are fine with saturated fat. I had to reduce my saturated fat and eat more mono fats such as avocado, mayo, nuts/ seeds olive oil in place of dairy fat and fatty meat. Carbs are usually the culprit for high CHO, not fat but if you're concerned stick closer to the mono fats.

What was your previous diet and what is it now? How long have you been low carbing? Also if you are in the process of losing weight some of that fat is in your blood stream so your CHO can measure high until you stop losing.
 
HbA1c of 51 is not at all drastic, and with a suitable diet you will be able to get this right down by the time of your next test.

My advice is ignore your nurse. She is spouting the NHS advice about eating carbs with every meal and low fat. It is known as the Eatwell Plate, which is most likely fine for non-diabetics, but absolutely not fine for type 2s. . It isn't her fault, it is how she was trained. If she is a non-medicated type 2 then I bet either she doesn't follow her own advice or her HbA1c is double yours.
My nurse told me to eat jacket potatoes with baked beans for lunch. :eek: The majority of us, when diagnosed, were told the same as you. I tried the reduced sugar baked beans. They were just as bad as the normal ones.

Your meter will tell you who is right. Test before you eat and again 2 hours after first bite. Your levels should not be any more than 2mmol/l higher, preferably a lot less. Initially, many people also test at 1 hour, then 90 minutes, then 2hrs and if still high keep going to see how long it takes to get back to where you started. This is a good way to learn which foods are really bad for you personally. (recording your levels alongside a food diary).

Your cholesterol of 5 is perfect by the way, although on its own it means very little. You need to know the breakdown of HDL/LDL/Triglycerides and the total/HDL ratio. If you don't know these, ask for a print out of all your results. You will find these invaluable in time to come, and before you decide to take statins.

Some people find saturated fats don't help their cholesterol, but many of us are fine. It is normally carbs that cause the problems, not fats. My cholesterol went right down after I started LCHF and after over 2 and a half years continues to be good.
 
There is a party line which HCP's are not allowed to cross. The opinion you were given may not be the one the nurse believes in. It is the one she must give the patients or get the sack. Toeing the party line ensures a consistent approach across the NHS and stops nursie from cooking up unguents and potions of her own and selling them to you.

The fact that the advice is not sound, is out of date and just plain wrong in some instances is neither here nor there.
 
You can go either way - it is entirely your choice.

You can even change your online food order and get all the carby stuff the nurse told you to eat.

All I can tell you is that the NHS have been pushing carbs for decades, along with a a low fat diet, and where are we, as a nation? We have a growing obesity epidemic, closely followed by a diabetes epidemic. And the standard Type 2 diabetic treatment is a slow escalation of meds leading to insulin, followed by complications and decline.

In contrast, you have a forum full of success stories on how lowering carb and raising healthy fats has improved their HbA1cs and many lower their cholesterol. Often people reduce or cease taking their medication completely (talking about type 2s, of course) and discover the health they used to have decades ago.

As you can probably guess, I took the low carb route, and my bias is very clear. I feel better than I have for decades, am STILL not on any diabetes medication, and have a HbA1c that is below pre-diabetic.

You get to choose which route to take, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you go the high carb route, then get yourself a blood glucose testing meter, so that you can see what the carbs do to your blood glucose levels.
 
Same as above. Cholesterol isn't just one figure tells all. There is a lot of info on statins and on cholesterol on the home page @maxjoe121 Have a read at the difference between "good" and " bad" cholesterol and then decide if you want statins. Good luck you seem to be doing great do far!
 
Ask your HCP for the breakdown of your cholesterol.
The split of good to bad cholesterol is the important thing for me when deciding how bad that '5' actually is.
But then again, I am one the ones that reacts very badly to saturated fats, so the cream, cheese, and mayo would be replaced by good none saturated fats for me.
 
Kristin251 said:
You're working with two things here. Bs and cholesterol. High carbs are going to give you high bs and we certainly don't want that as it has its complications. So I would stick to LCHF. As far as CHO, some people are fine with saturated fat. I had to reduce my saturated fat and eat more mono fats such as avocado, mayo, nuts/ seeds olive oil in place of dairy fat and fatty meat. Carbs are usually the culprit for high CHO, not fat but if you're concerned stick closer to the mono fats.

What was your previous diet and what is it now? How long have you been low carbing? Also if you are in the process of losing weight some of that fat is in your blood stream so your CHO can measure high until you stop losing.
Click to expand...
Hi I have been low carb for only a week now since I was diagnosed. I have bought the eat fat book by Trudie Deakin so I'm following the recipes in there. I will watch my fat intake aswell.. thankyou. I'm 14st so I have quite a bit to lose but I've lost some this week as I was 14.5 a few weeks ago

Sent from my SM-G930F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
 
Bluetit1802 said:
HbA1c of 51 is not at all drastic, and with a suitable diet you will be able to get this right down by the time of your next test.

My advice is ignore your nurse. She is spouting the NHS advice about eating carbs with every meal and low fat. It is known as the Eatwell Plate, which is most likely fine for non-diabetics, but absolutely not fine for type 2s. . It isn't her fault, it is how she was trained. If she is a non-medicated type 2 then I bet either she doesn't follow her own advice or her HbA1c is double yours.
My nurse told me to eat jacket potatoes with baked beans for lunch. :eek: The majority of us, when diagnosed, were told the same as you. I tried the reduced sugar baked beans. They were just as bad as the normal ones.

Your meter will tell you who is right. Test before you eat and again 2 hours after first bite. Your levels should not be any more than 2mmol/l higher, preferably a lot less. Initially, many people also test at 1 hour, then 90 minutes, then 2hrs and if still high keep going to see how long it takes to get back to where you started. This is a good way to learn which foods are really bad for you personally. (recording your levels alongside a food diary).

Your cholesterol of 5 is perfect by the way, although on its own it means very little. You need to know the breakdown of HDL/LDL/Triglycerides and the total/HDL ratio. If you don't know these, ask for a print out of all your results. You will find these invaluable in time to come, and before you decide to take statins.

Some people find saturated fats don't help their cholesterol, but many of us are fine. It is normally carbs that cause the problems, not fats. My cholesterol went right down after I started LCHF and after over 2 and a half years continues to be good.
Click to expand...
Oh thankyou so much.. I'm. Getting slightly stressed when I visit my doc and also she's told me I need an eye check for retinopathy. I'm anxious about this now and my feet checking and nerve and she and circulation eeeek.. what happens when I have a dilated pupil test as I'm so scared of not being able to see afterwards lol. I know I'm probably being a right baby over this x

Sent from my SM-G930F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
 
Brunneria said:
You can go either way - it is entirely your choice.

You can even change your online food order and get all the carby stuff the nurse told you to eat.

All I can tell you is that the NHS have been pushing carbs for decades, along with a a low fat diet, and where are we, as a nation? We have a growing obesity epidemic, closely followed by a diabetes epidemic. And the standard Type 2 diabetic treatment is a slow escalation of meds leading to insulin, followed by complications and decline.

In contrast, you have a forum full of success stories on how lowering carb and raising healthy fats has improved their HbA1cs and many lower their cholesterol. Often people reduce or cease taking their medication completely (talking about type 2s, of course) and discover the health they used to have decades ago.

As you can probably guess, I took the low carb route, and my bias is very clear. I feel better than I have for decades, am STILL not on any diabetes medication, and have a HbA1c that is below pre-diabetic.

You get to choose which route to take, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE if you go the high carb route, then get yourself a blood glucose testing meter, so that you can see what the carbs do to your blood glucose levels.
Click to expand...
Thanks and I know which route I'll be taking its the one I was originally going to and that's the lchf.. it's just frustrating when you go to a diabetic nurse and she doesn't get me to all.. I have had so much good advice on here and people have been so supportive I think this site is a lifesaver x

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SunnyExpat said:
Ask your HCP for the breakdown of your cholesterol.
The split of good to bad cholesterol is the important thing for me when deciding how bad that '5' actually is.
But then again, I am one the ones that reacts very badly to saturated fats, so the cream, cheese, and mayo would be replaced by good none saturated fats for me.
Click to expand...
Hi what would the good none saturated fats be that you would choose instead of the cream cheese and mayo x

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maxjoe121 said:
Hi what would the good none saturated fats be that you would choose instead of the cream cheese and mayo x

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Click to expand...

For my non sats I have an avocado a day and 25 mls of rapeseed oil.

For my sats, cheese, yoghurt, d cream et al.

I agree with all of the previous posters.... low carb till your next test and see how it goes.
Good luck
 
maxjoe121 said:
Oh thankyou so much.. I'm. Getting slightly stressed when I visit my doc and also she's told me I need an eye check for retinopathy. I'm anxious about this now and my feet checking and nerve and she and circulation eeeek.. what happens when I have a dilated pupil test as I'm so scared of not being able to see afterwards lol. I know I'm probably being a right baby over this x

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Click to expand...

We all have annual eye retina screening. It is part of the diabetic care pathway, plus feet and foot circulation checks. Absolutely nothing to worry about at all. For the eyes they put some drops in which can sting a bit, but nothing too bad. Then they take some pictures of your eyes, which is painless. Then you go home. You are advised not to drive home, so you need someone with you, but you can see almost as normal. You are also advised to wear sunglasses for the journey home. All this information will be in the letter you receive with your appointment. You get your results by letter a few weeks later. It is that simple. Personally apart from a bit of eye watering I've never had a problem, and I wear my normal spectacles which are the ones that go dark in sunlight. By the time I am home it's as though I'd never been. The foot checks are painless and normally done by your nurse. All she does is waft a prod thing over your toes and sole and ask you if you can feel it. The circulation is just a pulse check.

Stress is bad for our blood glucose levels ..... relax! :)
 
I don't actually take, or measure oil.
It comes with the fish I eat, and the cod liver.
The olive oil often comes in the olive, occasionally on a salad dressing, but then I also like salad without dressings.
I don't measure it out and drink it.
(I tend to dry fry as well)
 
hankjam said:
For my non sats I have an avocado a day and 25 mls of rapeseed oil.

For my sats, cheese, yoghurt, d cream et al.

I agree with all of the previous posters.... low carb till your next test and see how it goes.
Good luck
Click to expand...
Is cheese ok.. would you opt for full fat or low fat version and same goes for the cream or not.. thanks

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I eat a lot of fish too. The only unnatural fat I eat is non GMO expeller pressed canola oil mayo. It's gluten, dairy, egg free. Not the best but better than most. I do eat lamb and beef in small quantities a couple times a week but I only buy grass fed and trim all visible fat. I only eat about 4 oz animal / fish protein a day. Avocado is my main fat and does wonders for my lipids. I don't eat a ton of nuts but a do have a small pinch of pumpkin seeds roasted and salted as a snack. Great form of magnesium. Avocado is potassium.i love chicken thighs but mix it with breast meat. I also eat turkey.
 
maxjoe121 said:
Is cheese ok.. would you opt for full fat or low fat version and same goes for the cream or not.. thanks

Sent from my SM-G930F using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
Click to expand...

I eat all full fat dairy and real mayonnaise. (except milk) Hard cheese, yogurt, butter, double cream. I also eat 3 or 4 of the small tins of red salmon a week (the 105g tins) and between 2 and 3 eggs a day. We shallow fry and grill with butter, roast with duck or goose fat, and deep fry occasionally with rapeseed oil.

If you are trying to lose weight you need to watch the calories on the dairy.
 
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