Where to find diabetic food

Hi Gwyneth,

That must be very upsetting for you

Someone will be along shortly with a pile of useful information that you can give to your brother, but if his levels are that high I think he really should be going back to his GP ASAP. What medication is he on and how long has he been diagnosed?

TP

Bit of a long answer here, but he won't find specialist diabetic food to help him. He just needs to eat the right type of normal food. Here's some advice i've offered other newcomers

In general terms you will need to reduce the total number of carbohydrates you eat per day. All carbohydrates turn to sugar when we eat them, and no type 2 diabetic on diet only, or on diet and metformin only, can control their blood sugars (BGs) without controlling their carb intake. Even those on strong medication normally choose to control their carb intake to keep the level of medication they take down. The total number of carbs per day you can eat depends on how advanced your diabetes is. It’s perhaps worth starting at about 50% of normal levels for a non-diabetic then adjusting up or down according to how you get on. So that means eating 150 grams of carbs per day for a man, 125 for a woman. You can read the total carb content of food under “nutritional info” on the packet or wrapping, or look it up on the internet for loose food. Just google “carb content..”
You also need to stop or reduce the bad carbs; that is the starchy ones that make your BG go up quickly.
So obviously no sugar or glucose! But also no white bread, white rice, pasta, flour products like pastry, cake and batter. You can eat a little basmati rice, wholewheat pasta or the tri-color pasta fusilli ones in small quantities. Boiled new potatos (again not too many) are OK but not old pots mashed, boiled or in their jackets. (Roast is not so bad, the fat slows their absorption and conversion to glucose in the blood) Amongst other veg, parsnips are about the worst for BG, and carrots not great but ok in smaller amounts.
Multi grain bread (not wholemeal) is not SO bad, but lots of us eat Burgen soya and linseed bread from tescos and sainsburys, although all bread should be in limited amounts.
All fruit has carbohydrates, and needs to be included in the amounts of carbs you eat in a day. For most people, bananas are about the worst for pushing our BG up and berries (like strawberries, raspberries etc) are the least bad.
No sweeties!
Exercise is important. I tend to exercise about an hour after eating when I know my BG will be peaking. This helps to bring it down quicker and further. I do ten minutes hard work on an exercise machine, but you could run up and down stairs for ten minutes or go for a brisk walk.
Returning to types of food and quantities of carbs - you can only find out how many you can eat by testing. Most type 2’s are not given access to testing equipment, so you should get your own – although try arguing with your Doc that you want to manage to NICE guideline blood sugar levels, and can’t do that without testing! If you have to buy a meter, they are cheap and most manufacturers will give them away for free. They make their money on the strips you have to use! So go for the meter with the cheapest testing strips. The SD Codefree available on the internet is about the cheapest at the moment. Some people test before and after eating, on waking (fasting test) and before bed. But if you have limited strips because of cost, the key to me is testing 2 hours after eating. If your BG is above, say, 7.8 at that stage, you need to cut down on the carb content the next time you have that meal. Test after various different meals and you soon get to see a pattern of what you can and can’t eat, and in what quantities. Keep careful records of what you ate and when, together with the result, so you can refer back at a later date. You can then reduce your testing. I said “below, say, 7.8” because NICE guidelines are below 8.5 but most of us think that’s a little high. 7.8 is the max. level at 2 hours after eating that a non-diabetic normally gets to so is perhaps a better target. Some then set progressively lower targets.
Do ask lots of questions; there is normally an answer on here. The more you get to learn about your diabetes, the better it will be.
Good luck!

Hi Gwyneth and welcome to the forum
I'm afraid I can't help you with recommendations for foods in specific supermarkets as I live abroad, but I think this information that we give to new members will help you to help your brother. Ask all the questions you like as there is always someone here to 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 well over 30,000 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 ... rains.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 blood glucose 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.
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Please sign our e-petition for free testing for all type 2's; here's the link:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/petition/

Do get your friends and colleagues to sign as well.

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Personally, I think 33 is VERY high. He must be testing his own glucose levels? What's his diet like at the moment?

I agree,33 IS high but it's early days and hopefully some dietary changes can bring those down gradually,would be useful to know what Meds the OP's brother has been prescribed.

Yes, everyone can read the thread, and you're doing it perfectly.

Hi gwyneth!

Don't worry,when you reply to the thread,we all see it. :wink:
That would be great if you could find out what meds(if any) Darren has been prescribed(and what diet advice he may have been given) as it helps us build up a picture of things and is very useful. :wink:
Darren is very lucky indeed to have such a great sister like you! :thumbup:

Best wishes

Paul

Sorry tree-peony,I think we must have both hit the send button at the same time!! :lol:

LOL that's ok!

Paul1976 said:

Hi gwyneth!

Don't worry,when you reply to the thread,we all see it. :wink:
That would be great if you could find out what meds(if any) Darren has been prescribed(and what diet advice he may have been given) as it helps us build up a picture of things and is very useful. :wink:
Darren is very lucky indeed to have such a great sister like you! :thumbup:

Best wishes

Paul

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+1 Paul, I agree on all counts.

just a bit :shh: !!!

Hi again Gwyneth. I have to warn you that the dietary advice your brother receives may be different to the advice you receive here. That's because the NHS has a standard response to all diabetics which is safe and easy for them but not necessarily conducive to best blood sugar control as experienced by people on here. You'll have to choose who to believe or trust. I'll just say that we're the diabetics, and on the wje we have excellent blood sugar control from diets discovered by experimenting on ourselves. You ask how we Coe with such a dreadful disease - its easy because it's not dreadful if you deal with the issue. That is, controlling blood sugar levels. And we all, in the main, do that exceptionally well and far better than the general population of diabetics who haven't discovered this forum. Do don't worry, and tell your brother not to worry. It can be dealt with. Whatever type of diabetic he is, and whatever medication rege he is put on, there will be someone here expert on it who will answer any queries you may have.
It isn't that bad. I plan to live far longer than is reasonable for ANYONE and to enjoy it.
Best regards.

Hi Gwyneth. I agree with all the advice the others have given. Yes, start with diet. My diabetes GP doesn't attach much importance to diet and just says 'keep it healthy and balanced' (?). Many GPs are the same and rely on medication as the first line of attack. I've found out the importance of carbs and quantity on my sugars through my meter and whilst I also have to have tablets I'm delaying the time that I may need insulin. By managing your sugar levels you can hopefully avoid the serious complications that many have in later life when they avoid facing the fact that they have diabetes and NHS diet advice, sadly, can keep sugars too high. Do ask more questions as needed and I'm sure we can all help with answers.