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What to look for on food labels.....

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Nimacado

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I'm newly diagnosed with type 2 and have had polycystic ovary syndrome for many years. I believe both conditions create issues around insulin resistance. My diet is quite carb heavy though I've switched to wholemeal bread/pasta but can't imagine life without potatoes (I guess it's the Irish in me). Is there a simple way of knowing, from the nutritional information label, what food is ok to eat? I did a diet years ago where you could eat pretty much anything as long as it contained no more than 4% fat. Is there a similar approach here too?


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It's more logic than labels really.
You learn to substitute your old faves, and you learn to eat a massively varied diet.

I used to love potatoes. I grew up on jacket spuds. Haven't had one in 8 months and don't miss them either. I substitute with celeriac, kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, anything goes really.


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Look at the total carbohydrate (not just the sugar) content; high figures will be a good guide to what's best to avoid, but you also need to find out how you react to these as well, as different people seem to be able to tolerate (or otherwise!) different starchy, or sugary foods.

Robbity
 
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I love all veg but usually with a good portion of carb too - I'll try and cut them down and have them as a treat instead. I tried sweet potato but hated it so went back to traditional spuds. I've seen lots of people talking about low carb high fat diets - do any of you follow that? What might a typical meal look like???


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Carbohydrate content is most important, followed by 'of which sugars'.

Also whether artificial sweeteners are in it
 
So, my Saturday morning treat is a bacon sarnie - it's usually brunch actually. From what I've read the bacon is not the problem, it's the bread that's the problem. Is it better to have bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes rather than the bread. Or is it ok to have the bread as long as it's wholemeal? Particularly if I add lettuce and tomato?? Also, is brown sauce a no-no. Sorry for the dumb ass questions - it's a major life change for me at the moment.....


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Nimacado said:
So, my Saturday morning treat is a bacon sarnie - it's usually brunch actually. From what I've read the bacon is not the problem, it's the bread that's the problem. Is it better to have bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes rather than the bread. Or is it ok to have the bread as long as it's wholemeal? Particularly if I add lettuce and tomato?? Also, is brown sauce a no-no. Sorry for the dumb ass questions - it's a major life change for me at the moment.....


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Your right it is the bread. Try one slice if you must but do look for the amount of carbs on the label as they do vary considerably. Small portion of sauce wont be too bad but look for the 'reduced salt & sugar' versions if you can. Add an egg as well either scrambled or dry fried (just wipe some olive oil around a non stick pan).


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Always look at the ingredients list. Nearly everything in a supermarket packet seems to have sugar in it - even a can of baked beans!

Sugar can be disguised in many ways on the packet but the most common seem to be high fructose corn syrup, flavourings, anything ending in "ose", natural flavourings and many more...
 
I always look for the carbs but just before I'm about to bolus.

If I'm buying cereal, I always look for the amount of fibre per 100g, some cereals are like fresh air with as little as 2g of fibre per 100g serving. I always buy cereals which have 9.9 to 13.5g of fibre per 100g serving, ( I have about 45g for my breakfast and use the 100g value as a gauge )
This may seem like a pain in the rear end but it has saved me from the hypo monster!
 
Nimacado said:
I love all veg but usually with a good portion of carb too - I'll try and cut them down and have them as a treat instead. I tried sweet potato but hated it so went back to traditional spuds. I've seen lots of people talking about low carb high fat diets - do any of you follow that? What might a typical meal look like???


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I do LCHF and do wonderfully on it. I haven't had this energy for years and my bg is perfectly normal, as are my cholesterol readings.

Basically its very simple. Don't eat carbs, eat fat instead. Tonight we had salmon and spinach, put enough butter in it to make it properly satiating.

Celeriac is a nice alternative to spuds.

Tomorrow we will have duck, red cabbage and roasted celeriac.
 
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