Type 2 diabetes

[Sarahfergo]

Hi my friends dad is a t2d and he spikes up to his 20's 2 hours after a meal although he has sugar in his diet, is there any info why he spikes and what his diet should be he isn't on insulin but is on tablets not metforman its other tablets but don't know what. I just wanted to give my friend some info on what diet he should be on and what foods make him spike? Thanks

 

[urbanracer]

I would suggest sugar free for starters!

The body turns all carbohydrates into sugars, so reduce rice, pasta, bread, potato. Move over to 'diet' soft drinks, or pepsi max, coke zero, etc.

Lookout for takeaways, mango chutney is usually around 65% sugar, naan breads and creamy sauces usually a poor choice.

Look at the Total Carbohydrate category on food labels, and keep a food diary. Reference intake is 260g of carbs per day, but you will find that most people on this forum are much lower, 150g or less. You can compensate with meat and fatty foods like cheese etc. Fruit has fructose (a sugar) and should be eaten with care.

If he keeps spikinng in 20's it will most likely lead to complications somewhere down the line.

 

[graj0]

urbanracer sums it up rather well. You might even want to look into the effects of the sugar replacement used in soft drinks, often aspartame. As for carbs, have a look at the thread "some do - some don't" it will give you a good idea of what people do and you'll notice something straight away. Everybody does something slightly different.

Your friend's dad obviously has a meter because he knows he's going up into the 20s. The meter is the only tool he needs to see which foods are OK and which foods will cause the spikes. Broadly speaking it's the carbs, but different carbs have different effects on different people, so using the meter and eating to your meter is the way to go.

 

[Mike d]

Hi

@urbanracer and @graj0 have both nailed it.

Sugars (and no ifs and no buts) are NOT good. Dump them. Need further info? Please come back

Take care

Mike

 

[VinnyJames]

How does he feel about his spikes?
He needs to be motivated first and foremost.

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi my friends dad is a t2d and he spikes up to his 20's 2 hours after a meal although he has sugar in his diet, is there any info why he spikes and what his diet should be he isn't on insulin but is on tablets not metforman its other tablets but don't know what. I just wanted to give my friend some info on what diet he should be on and what foods make him spike? Thanks

Although it is advice for newly diagnosed @daisy1 can give you some basic information which will help.
Tell him to stay away from processed foods and anything described as low fat as there will be a higher sugar content in to to compensate fro the loss of fat.

 

[cyclist]

Maybe suggest that he registers here and seeks some advice

 

[daisy1]

@Sarahfergo

Hello Sarah and welcome to the forum

You have already had some good advice and here is the information we give to new members which should help your friend. I suggest he joins the forum, or if you prefer keep coming on here and relaying the information to him. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will come and help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 over 140,000 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-and-whole-grains.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 bloodglucose 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.