Typical NHS food plate

[Anonymous]

Has anyone here ever come across a recommended meal for a type 2 diabetic (by the NHS) - something that conforms to their 'carbs with every meal' advice?

I have an idea..

 

[llandudno1960]

i asked for my diabetic dietician to send me recipes recomended for type 2 diabetics low carb etc. which she did , she sent a weeks menu of main meals 2 days of curry (which i hate) Cuscus with vegs ,veg broth,spagetti bol with brown spagetti, i honestly can say i have not enjoyed one of those meals......crikey i gave up smoking 6 years ago, i rarely drink alcohol , im sure its not too much to ask to enjoy my food :? :?

 

[Mushroom]

Hi, the Desmond course showed how to adapt a meal. Cornish pasty, jacket potato, sweetcorn and peas. All you have to do is take away the pasty. Simples! :thumbdown: (As all the courses are the same, then the whole country must be told that.)

Swimmer2 - what is your idea ???????

 

[Anonymous]

I was planning to eat the NHS diet for a day and film what happened to my levels. I may still do it but I'm in the middle of another experiment at the moment so it'll have to wait.

 

[borofergie]

I was planning to eat the NHS diet for a day and film what happened to my levels. I may still do it but I'm in the middle of another experiment at the moment so it'll have to wait.

Do it. Let's all do it. n=1 is good n>>1 is better.

 

[angieG]

Yes but remember type 2's shouldn't be testing as they will get paranoid, :crazy: so they will probably just disregard the information!! :x

I thought about doing that if I ever attended a Desmond course or whatever if you all went for lunch together....ask them to recommend something on the menu, eat it and then see what they say when you fall asleep in the afternoon session cos your levels have rocketed!! :lol:

I have just been put on insulin as they reckon I'm a misdiagnosed type 2 (awaiting GAD etc results) and am due for a dietitian appointment later next month....should be interesting having spent the last 20 months low carbing (big time last off as I couldn't hardly eat anything without my levels soaring and not coming down!!) and I must say old habits die hard......I am addicted to sugar free jelly and double cream sprinkled with chopped nuts (heaven!!) Bet they will love me....all that fat :!:

Good luck in your experiments
Angie

 

[BioHaZarD]

Man, I love it and have sugar free jelly with double cream everyday, last week my HbA1c was the best 5.5%, cholesterol low and everything great. LC HF is the way to go.

 

[angieG]

Man, I love it and have sugar free jelly with double cream everyday, last week my HbA1c was the best 5.5%, cholesterol low and everything great. LC HF is the way to go.

Yeah, I got into the habit of having it for breakfast as it was about all I could tolerate in the end (figures running in the 14's by the time I was referred to the consultant and HbA1C climbing by the week!!) and also a nice snack before bed.
Now on the insulin I have to work out what I'm doing after I eat it, it's okay if I sit about in the house after breakfast, but never gave it a thought yesterday morning, injected as usual and had my jelly and cream. Sunday my levels had stayed fine til lunchtime....yesterday gardening 2 hours later I was 3.9 :!: Still eating it though :thumbup:

Regards
Angie

 

[xyzzy]

I was planning to eat the NHS diet for a day and film what happened to my levels. I may still do it but I'm in the middle of another experiment at the moment so it'll have to wait.

Do it. Let's all do it. n=1 is good n>>1 is better.

I'm in.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

I was planning to eat the NHS diet for a day and film what happened to my levels. I may still do it but I'm in the middle of another experiment at the moment so it'll have to wait.

A good idea, but dont forget to follow all the NHS advice that a portion is what fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, ie 2 or 3 new potatoes, 5 or 6 grapes, two tablespoons of rice etc if you do this I doubt that your levels will be any different than they are now.

 

[borofergie]

I was planning to eat the NHS diet for a day and film what happened to my levels. I may still do it but I'm in the middle of another experiment at the moment so it'll have to wait.

A good idea, but dont forget to follow all the NHS advice that a portion is what fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, ie 2 or 3 new potatoes, 5 or 6 grapes, two tablespoons of rice etc if you do this I doubt that your levels will be any different than they are now.

Don't worry - we'll do it scientifically, based on the recommended calorie intake for our weight and height.

You can obviously keep your levels low if you half starve yourself, but that's not a sustainable approach.

 

[IanD]

I was planning to eat the NHS diet for a day and film what happened to my levels. I may still do it but I'm in the middle of another experiment at the moment so it'll have to wait.

A good idea, but dont forget to follow all the NHS advice that a portion is what fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, ie 2 or 3 new potatoes, 5 or 6 grapes, two tablespoons of rice etc if you do this I doubt that your levels will be any different than they are now.

Eating well with Type 2 diabetes
How much do I need?
The actual amount of carbohydrate that the body needs varies
depending on your age, weight and activity levels, but it should
make up about half of what you eat and drink. For good health
most of this should be from starchy carbohydrate, fruits and
some dairy foods, with no more than one fifth of your total
carbohydrate to come from added sugar or table sugar.
(See pages 11–13 for a clearer guide.)
....
Page 11 is the plate;
12-13
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes. One portion is equal to:
• 2–4 tbsp cereal
• 2–3 tbsp rice, pasta, cous-cous, noodles or mashed potato
• 1 slice of bread
• half a small chapati
• 2 new potatoes or half a baked potato
• 2–3 crispbreads or crackers

How many portions should you eat in a day? 7–14
Include starchy foods at all meals.
Choose more slowly absorbed varieties whenever possible

 

[IanD]

To be fair to DUK, they appear to have revised their on-line info, though the on-line leaflet itself is not yet revised.

# Note the omission: "... but it should make up about half of what you eat and drink."
$ And the change: "... with no more than one fifth of your total carbohydrate to come from added sugar or table sugar."

How much do I need?

The actual amount of carbohydrate that the body needs varies depending on your age, weight and activity levels. #

For good health, most of the carbohydrate you eat should be from starchy carbohydrate, fruits and some dairy foods. Carbohydrate from added sugar or table sugar should be limited. $

Work with your dietitian or diabetes healthcare team to find the right balance for you.

Reviewed: May 2012

They appear to be abandoning the warning against a low carb diet in favour of:

All carbohydrates break down into glucose, and the total amount you eat and drink will have an effect on your blood glucose levels, so being aware of your portion sizes can help you to achieve good glucose control.

The portion sizes & 7-14 daily is unchanged.

 

[benedict]

Bear in mind that some of us are on different amounts of medication and have different insulin producing capabilities*, so what gives perfectly good levels for one may not give perfectly good levels for another. On the flip side, bear in mind different activity levels too. Somebody who is more active will need to take in more energy than someone less active. I understand that portion control can be carried out without half starving oneself.

*some people with type 2 may have a smaller amount of active insulin producing beta cells and so their body may not be able to produce as much of their own insulin

With thanks
Benedict

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes. One portion is equal to:
• 2–4 tbsp cereal
• 2–3 tbsp rice, pasta, cous-cous, noodles or mashed potato
• 1 slice of bread
• half a small chapati
• 2 new potatoes or half a baked potato
• 2–3 crispbreads or crackers

Thank you for that Ian its almost exactly what I eat. You know the funny part of this is all the mirth and merriment that was caused in certain parts when I posted that I ate 16g to 18g of Corn Flakes for breakfast most mornings. Well guess what? Ive just weighed out three tbsp of Corn Flakes and they weighed exactly 17g.

Its good to know that my diet IS sustainable after all

 

[Grazer]

Page 11 is the plate;
12-13
Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes. One portion is equal to:
• 2–4 tbsp cereal
• 2–3 tbsp rice, pasta, cous-cous, noodles or mashed potato
• 1 slice of bread
• half a small chapati
• 2 new potatoes or half a baked potato
• 2–3 crispbreads or crackers

How many portions should you eat in a day? 7–14

Problem is of course the 7-14 portions a day, NOT the size of one portion. presumably depending on things like male/female etc. So, a slice of bread is about 18 grams carbs. 7 portions is 126 grams carbs (bottom end) and 14 is 252 grams (top end) Some of the portions are more than 18 grams carbs, some less, probably about that on average. So that is indeed sustainable, but who of us can eat 252 grams carbs per day without medication on top of metformin?

 

[IanD]

How many portions should you eat in a day? 7–14

Problem is of course the 7-14 portions a day, NOT the size of one portion. presumably depending on things like male/female etc. So, a slice of bread is about 18 grams carbs. 7 portions is 126 grams carbs (bottom end) and 14 is 252 grams (top end) Some of the portions are more than 18 grams carbs, some less, probably about that on average. So that is indeed sustainable, but who of us can eat 252 grams carbs per day without medication on top of metformin?

The further problem is the energy provided.

126 g carb is about 500 kcals, so we need to get another 1300-1500 kcals from something other than fat ...

252 g is about 1000 kcals, so we need to get another 800-1000 kcals from something other than fat ...

And we all "know" that too much protein damages our kidneys.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Problem is of course the 7-14 portions a day, NOT the size of one portion. presumably depending on things like male/female etc. So, a slice of bread is about 18 grams carbs. 7 portions is 126 grams carbs (bottom end) and 14 is 252 grams (top end) Some of the portions are more than 18 grams carbs, some less, probably about that on average. So that is indeed sustainable, but who of us can eat 252 grams carbs per day without medication on top of metformin?

Again its all about portion control Grazer, I dont see why some people find this so strange but its certainly not a problem, take an average day for me:
Breakfast = cereal 1 portion
Lunch 2 slices of Burgen 2 portions
and one apple 1 portion
Evening meal potato, rice etc 1 portion
onion plus green/red pepper 1 portion
Peas 1 portion Could be substituted for any other veg dish.
Broccoli 1 portion Could be substituted for any other veg dish.

Thats 8 portions right there before any snacks are taken into consideration. If one night I only eat two portions of veg it isnt going to kill me just as it wont kill me if I eat more in a day. As long as my levels remain within my limits then I'm happy, and they do.

OK I dont run marathons or work out at the gym 3 times a week but neither do most people, I would guess that I probably get as much exercise as say an office worker or a taxi driver that do a similar amount of exercise. Obviously the 14 portion recommendation would be for those at the other end of the physical/age/sex scale.

So I just laugh when people either say or insinuate that if I dont low carb and eat loads of fat my diet is not sustainable :lol: I also dont think there is much wrong with the NHS advice providing one sticks to the portion control and that includes all food groups not just carbs. No one has ever lost weight by piling their plate with food at every meal, thats how I got fat in the first place.

Today I had Corn Flakes for breakfast and a ham sandwich and an apple for lunch and I may have a small slice of Ginger Cake with a cup of tea later (shock horror) it wont put me over mid 6's I doubt. I keep reading recently on here that very low carbing makes you more sensitive to carbs, now to my mind that doesnt seem like a road I want to take as it took a lot of hard work to loose weight and reduce my insulin resistance, the last thing I want to do is increase my sensitivity to carbs :thumbdown: But each to their own

 

[alaska]

The 7-14 portions we're talking about here is of "Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes"

So, in your example day above, you're taking in:

Breakfast cereal = 1 portion
Lunch 2 slices of Burgen = 2 portions
and one apple
Evening meal potato, rice etc = 1 portion
onion plus green/red pepper
Peas -Could be substituted for any other veg dish.
Broccoli -Could be substituted for any other veg dish.

So that's 4 portions of 'bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes'.

Looks a healthy balance you've got there though.

Ed

 

[Sid Bonkers]

The 7-14 portions we're talking about here is of "Bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes"

So, in your example day above, you're taking in:

Breakfast cereal = 1 portion
Lunch 2 slices of Burgen = 2 portions
and one apple
Evening meal potato, rice etc = 1 portion
onion plus green/red pepper
Peas -Could be substituted for any other veg dish.
Broccoli -Could be substituted for any other veg dish.

So that's 4 portions of 'bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes'.

Looks a healthy balance you've got there though.

Ed

Oh, OK I was assuming that it meant carby type foods ie fruit and veg as well as bread, rice, pasta etc.

In that case I would have to agree that it is not best advice