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What is your go to food when feeling unwell

annabell1

Well-Known Member
Messages
639
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
rude people
not able to do as much as I used to do due to health issues
onions
leek
Hi everyone looking for ideas on meals as sometimes when I'm not feeling well and nauseas etc I can found it to be difficult to eat something but if my BSL is too low I have to force myself to eat even when the thought of eating is making me queasy and I'm too lethargic to cook or make anything. so my question is was when you are feeling unwell and need to eat What is your go to food that you go to? Thanks.
 
Hi @annabell1

I’m not sure how things work with your medications and skipping meals. Like you, I’m not an insulin user, but as I also don’t take BG lowering meds, missing a meal is not a problem and I tend to be guided by my body - if I don’t feel like eating, I don’t, but if I do, I tend to feel that if I ‘fancy’ eating it, my body will deal with it.

In your shoes I’d go for something ‘bland’ and innocuous. Perhaps some chicken soup - maybe keep a stock in the freezer? Or some plain yoghurt? Something like that.
 
Not the healthiest option but probably ready salted crisps, usually under 15g of carbs so your BG goes up but doesn’t shoot up.

Salt & pepper crackers too, they’re usually under 4g so you can control the snacking without needing insulin.

I wouldn’t always use it to replace a meal but it would most likely get the nausea under control enough to eat later.
 
Yes me too!
 
I found itsu brilliant broth, sold by m&s now available at ocado. Long shelf life.
 
Although I’m type 1 and I know situation is different , my go to food when I feel under the weather shall we say is Knor packet chicken noodle soup . I just find it easy to eat and it’s yummy
 
Cream cracker and crème fraîche dips. Blood sugar rises, but…

Hot toast with marmalade and cheese.

They're go to, occasional, intermittent, rare, not part of normal diet.

OH NO!! Ice cream of course, the panacea of all things unwell, plain and simple, pure white if I can get it, such as Roy's of Wroxham, Aldous in Norwich

Edit: + 1
 
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Im not on insulin but the medications I am on do drop my BSL the suggestions of something salty makes sense
 
Resurgam said:
If I feel unwell I normally do not eat at all. A warm drink and bed is my usual solution.
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that is what I try to do but when my BSL has dropped then that is when I have to eat so I don't get low. etc .
 
thank you every one for your ideas it is interesting what everyone go to is when they feel unwell.
 
Struma said:
Cream cracker and crème fraîche dips. Blood sugar rises, but…

Hot toast with marmalade and cheese.

They're go to, occasional, intermittent, rare, not part of normal diet.
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oh cheese and marmalade ooh that sounds good actually I don't think I have every tried it.
 
@annabell1 - I'm fortunate enough to have a constitution built on the Clyde, and thankfully rarely feel unwell. I'll generally just go for warn drinks and a decent sulk, which I wholly appreciate doesn't answer your question.

I appreciate from reading elsewhere you have other health challenges meaning you may feel "off" more than me, and maybe even more than many, so maybe give us a clue, roughly, how often you need these alternatives? I think that can really influence choices.
 
annabell1 said:
that is what I try to do but when my BSL has dropped then that is when I have to eat so I don't get low. etc .
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So it is to counteract your medication that you need to eat?
Perhaps adjusting the medication is what you need to do when you feel ill, as without it, an ordinary type two is just like anyone else when it comes to lows, a warm drink and bed is the best option. We don't need to eat to maintain blood glucose levels, in fact it is a bad idea for me, as it just causes insulin to be released and then I feel hungry soon after.
 
Hi @DCUKMod hopefully I explain this well as It can be unpredictable due to the nature of my disease but I'm more nauseas unwell fatigue say around a week before and also after one of my treatments for my IBD which is an injection given every 8 weeks. Also if flaring I found food hard to stomach so its hard for me to really say how often...

The reason I asked on here was in my IBD groups when ask a lot of the recommendations are white carbs which yes used to be what my go to was before starting doing Low carb but as I am doing my best doing low carb these days eating tomuch white carbs is not exactly the best options for diabetes.

@resurgum I'm on 2 meds for my T2D Januvia and diamicron I was told to always take my Januvia daily regardless but the diamicron to take about 30 minutes before breakfast. And when I talk to dietitian about not eating they tell me I must eat every 4 hours regardless so stopped listening to that advice... so to be honest I get confused on what I should do I just presume had to take them regardless so my BSL does not rise ..

so if not eating I'm guessing best avoid taking diamicron but then what happens if BSL goes high sorry for the lots of questions so much to learn .....
 

I wasn't suggesting you were being in any way evasive, and of course, how much anyone reveals of themselves is their choice. My concerns were, if folks are fortunate enough to be in that place once a year, then several slices of toast, or a small island sized baked potato, or whatever could be a shrug of the shoulders, but regularly those things might be viewed differently.

Ask as many questions as you need to, but I think sometimes just that extra bit of context in the question (or response) can really make a difference.

You have a lot on your plate, and it seems to be a real juggling act.
 
A cheese and onion toastie using Edam cheese and red onions. Onions get my stomach working and always make me feel less nauseous. Sounds mad, but it works.
 
type two paul said:
A cheese and onion toastie using Edam cheese and red onions. Onions get my stomach working and always make me feel less nauseous. Sounds mad, but it works.
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Ah yes Nothing beats a good cheese toastie haha .... sadly I can't eat onions as I'm allergic to them..but it's interesting how onions helps you with your nausea...
 
It does sound like you have a lot on your plate.

It may be worth thing about have a few different options available. That might be by way of soup or something else in the freezer, maybe some very low carb ice cream if you are a sweet person. If more of a salty/savoury person having some cheese may help. You may want to add some ginger to any soup or meal in the freezer as that can help nausea. Or even having some (relatively) low carb ginger beer which is easy to drink and contains arbs and the ginger may help the n nausea.

Good luck- let us know what of the ideas seem achievable as that may guide future suggestions..
 
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