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This Carb Thingy

DavideB

DavideB

Well-Known Member
Messages
149
Location
Peterborough
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diabetes
I have been looking at all labels and it will say Carb xxx of which sugar xxx NOW,,it's doing my head in what is it that is good and bad, is it the Carb or the sugar PLEASE DO NOT SAY BOTH :(

What I would like to know; what are the NO GO AREA...is it carbs or "of which sugar" Been reading so much i an totally confused

Like Breakfast I wold love a weetabix and a slice of toast..Then I read to many eggs gives high cholesterol...Sorry for going on BUT it's been over a week now and MY GOD I WANT SOME PASTA!!!

Thanks

Davide
 
It's the total carb figure that is most relevant. The latest thinking is that eggs do not raise cholesterol, so you're fine there. You could try a small amount of wholemeal pasta and see how it affects you, but make sure it's "al dente"
 
As Peony says, it's the main carbohydrates figure that you need to concentrate on. The 'of which sugars' figure is always lower. This will give you an idea of how low or high the GI is for that food - So if the 'of which sugars' figure is quite a large proportion of the total carbs figure, then it's going to hit your bloodstream faster - and probably cause more of a spike in your levels.

I use a carb counting book to look up foods that don't come in packets (veg, fruit etc) - the book I have is the Collins Gem Carb Counter and it lists most things. It's £3.99 on Amazon.

You should set yourself a target for the number of carbs, because otherwise you'll run around trying to avoid everything. I set my target at 100g per day to start with but found that was too much - I now do 50-60g per day. Then keep a food diary and make a note of the total carbs of the meal. Then you take a reading before eating and another after 2 hrs. This will tell you if that meal was ok for you or if you ate too many carbs.
Remember, some carbs will affect you more than others. The only way to know is to test. After a while you'll have a list of meals that you know are fine and you wont have to test as much.
 
DavideB said:
I have been looking at all labels and it will say Carb xxx of which sugar xxx NOW,,it's doing my head in what is it that is good and bad, is it the Carb or the sugar PLEASE DO NOT SAY BOTH :(

What I would like to know; what are the NO GO AREA...is it carbs or "of which sugar" Been reading so much i an totally confused

Like Breakfast I wold love a weetabix and a slice of toast..Then I read to many eggs gives high cholesterol...Sorry for going on BUT it's been over a week now and MY GOD I WANT SOME PASTA!!!

Thanks

Davide
Click to expand...

Davide... I would suggest that you get yourself a blood glucose meter if you don't already have one and see how different foods effect your blood glucose... as a hard and fast rule if your type II is diet + metformin controlled then you are going to need to avoid starchy carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, rice, etc... you may however be able to tolerate the brown versions... some can and some can't. You want to try and reduce your overall carbohydrate in take and replace it with fat and protein... this may seem counter intuitive but it does work.

The best way to find out is to test and set yourself limits for glucose levels at + 2 hours... keep reading and it will all get a little clearer as you learn more.
 
Peony, if you mix the porridge oats half and half with ground almonds it still tastes like porridge (it's a bit runnier) but with much less carbs.
 
yes, I'm going to try Jumbo oats as well. I only have them once in a while as a treat. My BG is v high at the moment because I can't exercise after my cataract op last thursday, plus I'm still only on 2 Metformin a day (on my way to 4), and I had a bit of bad day, yesterday :(
 
Try and go low carb bud, i think that if you do, you BGs will come right down and you will also lose weight.
My Doctor is trying to reclassify me as a non diabetic since my last HbA1c was 44 and all because i have cut down on the carbs.
On a diet for life and have lost 35lb since diagnosed last July. Cant seem to lose any more though.
It takes a bit of willpower but it can be done.

Good luck.

Andy
 
Davide
It's all down to some basic biochemistry. A carbohydrate is a molecule consisting of carbon, hydrogen and Oxygen. They come in a number of families, of which sugars are one and starches another [there are several more]
Because of their structure, these molecules are energy stores. Sugars are small molecules and starches large ones. In fact starches are polymers of sugars. Our metabolism has the ability to break down starches to their constituent sugars and then release [transfer] the energy.
There's an important carbohydrate which we cannot break down, it's another kind of sugar polymer . It's called Cellulose or dietary fibre.
British food labels include only digestible carbohydrates in their "carbs" category. just to be difficult, the Americans don't exclude cellulose from their total carb count.
Now you can see that it's the "total carbs" that you have to consider, since they all end up as sugars anyway.[except the indigestible dietary fibre]
One little irony is that Table sugar, or Sucrose is made up of only 50% glucose. the rest is Fructose, [another sugar], which acts quite differently in the body. Whilst starch is made up 100% of glucose. Thus if you listen to the commonly quoted guff about slow and quick carbs,you'll end up thinkng that sugar causes more increase in blood glucose than starch;when the opposite is true.
Hana
 
Thank for all you help, it is just bloody hard after years of Italian Pasta and cooking:

One other question please; I am going back to the UK (was diagnosed in Italy) and doc has said come off the Metformina so that he can get a true reading back in the UK...I am now worried, to be honest I am feeling less lethargic, I have more energy, and walk half hour everyday at a good pace...I am worried that If I stop the tablets I will go back to what I was...To be honest I am scared to stop them...
 
It sounds like Metformin IS helping you,would be a shame to stop them now IMO. What does everyone else think?
 
It's unlikely the metformin is making you feel so much better. It only has a small effect on blood sugars, with it's main other contribution being a long term prevention of cardio problems.your change in diet will be the reason you feel better. So don't worry about a pause in taking it. At the same time, not sure why the doc wants you off it as it only has a small effect on BG do shouldn't effect his analysis of your condition
 
As others have said, low-carb is the way to go - it was the key for me anyway.
I was eating fruit and vegetables, and my readings were going off the scale in the high teens.
The fruit and vegetables I was eating (on the advice of my doctor) were the wrong kind.
My doctor told me that giving up potatoes was 'rubbish'.
But potatoes, rice, pasta, grapes and melon and muesli have all gone from my diet, and my readings are consistently back in the range 4-7. I know it's an individual thing, but I would recommend trying low-carb.

David

....and I've stopped taking medicine :)
 
Davide.
low carb WORKS and it's not expensive. AND it tastes GOOD!
Hana
 
Yes, I have to agree. It appears to be working for me. No bread, rice , pasta, starchy vegetables and very little milk for over a month. I do not spike with some fruits but do with others. With Metformin 2x500 my FBG and PPG have come down a lot. It still feels a bit odd to be eating more fat and dropping weight.
 
I saw at asda Ryvita Salt & Vinegar Minis the ingredients are "Wholegrain Rye Flour (85%) , Rye Flour , Salt and Vinegar Flavour ( Flavouring with Barley) , Vegetable Oil , Salt"

Then;

Carbohydrate 74g(per 100g) 22.2g (per pack)
(of which sugars) 2.9g(per 100g) 0.9g (per pack)

Now this bit (of which sugars) what does that mean, Is that Bad for you?
 
Ignore the sugars bit. It's the total carbohydrates that you need to look at and 74g per 100g is a very high percentage and if one biscuit only weighed 10 grams you would be eating 7.4grams with each one you ate.

Edited to correct bad maths :D
 
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