Types of sugar in food

[Pollaidh]

Just starting to look closely at ingredients and nutrition labels on packaging. It’s ver confusing. For example, M and S muesli is 23.9/100gm sugars and Jordans Country Crisp 20/100gm. How do people distinguish foods that are safer to eat? Assuming diabetes is in remission or well controlled.

 

[IanBish]

You need to check on the carbohydrate values as well. As they turn into glucose in your body too. A recommended way is to check your blood glucose just before eating and then two hours later. If the rise is more than 2, then you need to look at the carbs and sugars and cut back on them for the next meal.

 

[Pollaidh]

You need to check on the carbohydrate values as well. As they turn into glucose in your body too. A recommended way is to check your blood glucose just before eating and then two hours later. If the rise is more than 2, then you need to look at the carbs and sugars and cut back on them for the next meal.

Thank you. I was thinking about shopping. At the moment we’re on a self catering holiday but still trying to keep husband’s carbs and sugars low. We’re not cooking much from scratch as we would at home, so rely partly on making intelligent choices of ready M and S meals. Avoiding all the obvious sugars and carbs (not even one ice cream in the hot weather) but making judgements on packaged meals is tricky. He’s not yet been finally diagnosed as second blood test in Sept so no testing kit. He admits he needs to lose 2 stone in weight.

 

[IanBish]

Here are some useful infographics that may surprise you:

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Dr Unwin’s sugar infographics

lowcarbfreshwell.com

 

[Pollaidh]

Here are some useful infographics that may surprise you:

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Dr Unwin’s sugar infographics

lowcarbfreshwell.com

Thank you. Very useful.

 

[Jo123]

Full fat greek yoghurt plus nuts is an easy low carb breakfast. It'll fill you up until lunchtime.
My pre diabetes has been in remission for many years but if I eat a muesli with 20 gms of sugar my blood sugars would sky rocket.

 

[IanBish]

Full fat greek yoghurt plus nuts is an easy low carb breakfast. It'll fill you up until lunchtime.

I love it. I eat it right out of the tub like ice cream. It's certainly filling.

 

[JTL]

Important to remember also that we are all different so react differently.
Make use of the glycaemic index and glycaemic load... Google is your friend.
I have two dates every morning.
Many think dates are a sugar bomb but they are low on the glycaemic (below 50) index because of the high fibre content which slows down the digestion of the sugar.
In other words the sugar doesn't spike upwards rapidly but is slow release.
I often eat porridge... almost daily without difficulty but not everyone can.
It's where my dates go and blueberries and nuts. My teeth are a bit weak these days so I chop them up. I also have live full fat yoghurt when not in the mood for porridge with nuts and blueberries and thinly sliced ginger.
Last thing before bed I have a brew of cloves and ginger and then swallow a tablespoon of olive oil.
The porridge the ginger and the olive oil along with a teaspoon a day of green cardamom powder (in the porridge) all help my glucose control and cholesterol levels.
I take no medication for diabetes or cholesterol control and am way up front with good controls compared to those at my surgery who take their medicine.
I'm in my 70's weigh nothing and count nothing and I'm doing pretty good.
For me spices and herbs are very important.
Also I deal with everything not just the diabetes because I think everything to do with digestion is interlinked.
Look after your microbiome which starts in your mouth. Very little toothpaste and no mouthwash.
No sweeteners because they kill your gut microbes.
I drink a lot of green tea which requires no milk or sugar.
I brew up all day long and discovered I could slash my glucose readings by doing away with the milk in the brew... hence switching to green tea... made a huge difference!
I have the occasional coffee with milk but even without milk I find that coffee spikes my sugar levels.... something to do with the caffeine causing adrenaline to flow for the flight or fight response making the liver pump glucose into your bloodstream for the energy needed.
I am not a zealot so don't live by all this rigidly.

 

[MrsA2]

When reading food labels, to ensure very low carb look for carbohydrate value of 5 per 100g. Hint, there won't be many in ready meals. You could set your limit of say 10 or 15 per 100. The only rules are those you set yourself.

Easiest is to stick to simple real food than don't need nutritional labels, meats, fish, eggs, nuts, olives then add in dairy cheeses and yoghurts and cream. Then green vegetables or salad

 

[JTL]

I don't snack but that's easy for me as I never did.
No crisps no bicuits no maccies... I more or less eat at home and mostly home cooked but I've always been like that so I suppose I'm lucky in not having to fight those demons.
When I was first diagnosed my doctor said there had to be a mistake... at six foot two and fourteen stone she wouldn't have it that I was diabetic. Of course it turned out that I was.
Now I don't really know what to make of this but a doc in AnE said I had medication induced T2!
What do you mean I asked.
You had no pointers whatsoever for diabetes he tells me but you went on Gabapentin and Statins at the same time and your weight ballooned and here we are.