which foods can i eat?

Hi.

Quite simply those foods that you mention contain high levels of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates include sugars, so it is the total carbs you need to monitor on food labels, not just sugars.

Carbohydrates cause your Bg levels to rise. so, if your levels are elevated then it makes sense to reduce their consumption to a level that does not effect your Bg levels so much.

The only way to do that is by testing 2 hrs after foods and seeing what the levels are. Test before as well then you will see what effect certain foods have on you. Keep a food diary at the same time to refer back too.

Get yourself a carb counter book from W H Smith/Waterstones/Amazon. All around £3.99 each.

mumnpops said:

im confused, can i eat potatoes, rice, and bread?
im not sure what foods i can eat.
i know im not allowed sugar.

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I had exactly the same problem, but fortunately found this forum fairly early on. The problem is that starch and carbohydrates in general all get converted into glucose courtesy of an enzyme called ptyalin (the 'p' is silent). This means that if you eat 20 grams of carbohydrate, it is converted into 20 grams of sugar, so at first sight, potatoes, rice, pasta and bread all look as though they get the heave ho.

But, it seems that the speed with which these carbohydrates get turned into sugar varies considerably (and even from person to person). Thus you may be able to eat some bread, potatoes, rice or pasta. This is the advantage of self testing your blood glucose. Once you have it fairly stable by avoiding sugar and carbohydrates, you can try (say) a potatoe or two and see what it does. You may find something that converts to glucose slowly enough that your BG level stays with target. Eventually, you will get to know what works for you (I'm reliably informed - and indeed hope) and can then balance the carbs without your BG level going where you would rather it didn't.

I am still experimenting, but have discovered that beer is not good. I have also discovered that you can't make cheese sauce with low fat spread.

IanS

IanS said:

[I am still experimenting, but have discovered that beer is not good. I have also discovered that you can't make cheese sauce with low fat spread.

IanS

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Sorry about the beer, however you CAN make a cheese sauce with low fat cheese spread. You need to warm some milk until just below boiling point THEN add the cheese - IT MUST NOT BOIL. Keep the sauce warm on a low heat whilst adding spices etc. and watch you don't recduce the sauce too much in the proces and if it goes thick, you must add warm milk - NOT cold. Wine is NOT a good idea to add to such a sauce.

Alice

IanS wrote.
I am still experimenting, but have discovered that beer is not good.

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No...no....no....no. !! :shock:

Just do as you do with the foods, test after a drink or two. See what effect it has. I find that Guinness is great to drink, it has a minimal effect on Bg levels for some reason, despite being a 'carby' drink ?' Even some others on here have tried it and found the same effect.

There are other beers which also do not have a massive effect on Bg levels - experiment ?

Having said that my weekly intake is two pints, so maybe it's the quantity that is the cause here ?

Just noticed - Great Ticker Alice!!! Almost there!

Well done - John

cugila said:

Having said that my weekly intake is two pints, so maybe it's the quantity that is the cause here ?

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Well that was the bit that I left out. An occasional pint would probably be OK. My problem was that I had 4 pints in one evening. Still I had to know. Probably a good thing with hind sight.

However, red wine has absolutely no effect (and dry white has minimal effect) so I can still be sociable.

IanS

Vodka and diet coke has no effect on my BS, in fact it seems to lower them.
My early morning results are lower after a night on the voddie/dc than other nights.

Sometimes I just love things like this

Yes - I was only looking at something yesterday that showed that beer, lager, cider etc has quite a lot of carbohydrate. However, wines and spirits have very little. I hadn't realised that myself.

Test test and test again unfortunately , then you'll build up a picture.
2 slices of brown toast gets my levels up from 9 to 15, but, and this is the good bit !!!
6 pints of John Smiths and a curry hardly makes any difference - woo hoo. Still get a hangover though and I'm not sure the dietician would approve.

Hi Dingbat.

I take it you aren't a low carber then...... :lol:

6 pints @ 10.3 carbs per pint and a curry !! :shock: :shock: When did you test after this carb binge ?

sugarless sue said:

6 pints @ 10.3 carbs per pint and a curry !! :shock: :shock: When did you test after this carb binge ?

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Perhaps he didn't a have one of those very large naan breads with his curry!!!! :roll:

dingbat said:

6 pints of John Smiths and a curry hardly makes any difference - woo hoo. Still get a hangover though

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You lucky <expleteve deleted>. 4 pints pushes me way up. It just demonstrates how we are all different though and the importance of self testing. Shame though I used to like my beer and I'm having difficulty finding something long to drink in front of the box. Someone suggested a whisky diet. It works - I've lost three days already. :!: Curry doesn't change my BG even if it has a good helping of carbs in it.

I gave up hangovers years ago because I didn't particularly like them. :mrgreen: The only problem with not having a hangover, is waking up and knowing that that is the best you are going to feel all day. :lol:

IanS

My DN told me alcohol lowers bs. Yipee I said throw away the Met. and lay me down a wine cellar!

Wouldn't wine push your levels up? I don't drink enough for it to be a problem as I prefer Pepsi and Water.

i thought alcohol increased bs espec wine as full of sugar

Alcohol has a different effect in different people. It might make blood sugar go up while you’re drinking (there are some carbohydrates in alcohol), but generally blood sugar will drop later.

Drinks such as spirits, which have a high alcohol concentration and little carbohydrate, can drive blood sugar levels down quickly and profoundly, especially when taken on an empty stomach. Keep well away from liquers and sweet wines.

A small glass of Red Wine also has been shown to have beneficial effects, both cardiovascular and Bg wise. Don't drink to excess and just take it all in moderation.

cugila said:

Alcohol has a different effect in different people. It might make blood sugar go up while you’re drinking (there are some carbohydrates in alcohol), but generally blood sugar will drop later.

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According to my handy guide to carbs: gin, vodka, bacardi and red wine have absolutely zero carbohydrate. Whisky and dry white wine has so little, it's not worth worrying about. Medium dry white wine has some so needs to be considered in the carb count. Sweet white wine, not unsurprisingly, has a lot of those nasty carbs and is best avoided. Beer similarly, is carb rich but not so rich that a pint or two won't do too much damage. Offset it against a potato or two :? .

My tipple is now Bacardi and coke zero which is zero carb . Also red wine and dry white wine which is zero and negligible respectively . It's just the beer that's a problem - and I do like my beer .

IanS

My BG testing suggests that alcohol intake seems to slow the absorbtion of carbohydrate into sugar, but as ever, this may not apply to everyone.