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Diabetes and diet

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After having type 1 diabetes for several years i have now been advised by my consultant to have a low carb diet and reduce my insulin. This sounds like a good idea to me ................. but
what on earth can i eat? I know what i can't eat but plowing through pages of advice on the internet has fogged my brain.
Any practical tips especially breakfast for a girl on the go would be greatly appreciated.
eat plenty of meat!-oh sorry, i see from your pics you already do! lol
I have been following a low carb diet for my diabetes for some time. It was recommended by a thoroughly nice chap off here who also recommended Dr Bernsteins books on the subject.
I haven't bought bread or potatoes or pasta or cereals for about a year now and have never felt better.
They key to making it easy is to eat plenty of good fat. I was amazed to find my cholesterol levels normalise to the extent that I no longer need a statin. My blood sugars are way better than they have ever been too.
Good luck.
I, too try to follow a low-carb diet, as I felt I was showing early signs of developing diabetes. I struggle to find ideas for breakfasts, especially if I haven't got much time to prepare or eat it in. All suggestions welcome.
Kippers/roll mops
Bacon
Mushrooms/leeks/beansprouts fried in olive oil.
Eggs
It can be a real pain finding things to eat so I'd welcome suggestions too.
I understand some cereals are better than others. Good rough oats for instance. Could offer a bit of a change. What about dairy products? Are they good or bad? If they are ok, a bowl of fruit and a good yogurt is quick and enjoyable.
As for breakfast ideas - what about making a home-made meat-loaf full of good stuff and have slices of it cold for breakfast.
When I work in Germany I often have a breakfast which is a plate of cold meats, cheeses, bread (including rye or sunflower solid kinds or crispbreads) with coffee and juice. If you have the makings in - it wouldn't take long to throw something onto a plate.
The only warning I would put with low carbs - is you B vitamins mostly come from cereals so you may want to take a supplement.
Good point on the B vitamins foxy my specialist puts all his diabetics on them cos it helps avoid the neuropathy and also because metformin in particular affects absorption.
the problem id have with a low carb diet is that im sure id feel hungry cus of no bread potato etc ?
or do the other foods fill u up ok ?
Atkins diet?
Is that the one that makes you fart - or is that the F-Plan? dunno
Good luck in your quest.
.
The fat fills you up fine.
the atkins is really restrictive on carbs though, to the extent in first 2 weeks can only have 20g a day, that is a very tiny salad and nothing else
My dad was diabetic and he was also told to say away from foods that contained aspartame which i believe is an artificial sweetener, asda now does a diet coke without it
thanks for all your advice i will try and implement it
more questions is there a bread substitute and where do you get it
and what are good fats
thanks for your help xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I eat as low carb as I can (although of course I'm no angel and have my danish pastry moments!). The problem with carbs is a lot of people think they 'fill you up' but unfortunately the effect isn't long lasting. If you loads with refined carbs then you can suffer a sugar spike, where loads of insulin is released to deal with what the body thinks it needs to digest the meal ... invariably there is too much insulin, the blood sugars drop rapidly triggering the 'I'm hungry' message to the brain. Hence you can get hungry only a couple of hours after a carb heavy meal (we all know the chinese take away analogy!)
That's why low GI foods are recommended for keeping hunger at bay as they have a more 'drip feed' effect. I also find protein staves off hunger - some tuna topped with a bit of sweet chilli sauce does the trick for me.
oh i have loads of tuna and a bottle of sweet chilli sauce ill try that
Carbs fill your stomach but they don't switch off your hungry signal. The hungry switch (in your brain) is only switched off by protein, which is why the Atkins's diet works - you get satisfied quicker.
For me a typical diet meal is loads of veg, a little carb and a couple of ounces of protein - and I don't get the nibbles later. Swap the protein for a baked potato and I will be at the biscuits in half an hour.
For diabetics it's a different purpose, but the same effect. And you may be able to get away with more protein. biggrin
Quote by foxylady2209
Carbs fill your stomach but they don't switch off your hungry signal. The hungry switch (in your brain) is only switched off by protein, which is why the Atkins's diet works - you get satisfied quicker.
For me a typical diet meal is loads of veg, a little carb and a couple of ounces of protein - and I don't get the nibbles later. Swap the protein for a baked potato and I will be at the biscuits in half an hour.
For diabetics it's a different purpose, but the same effect. And you may be able to get away with more protein. biggrin

>>>Off to find someone called Atkins to shag>>>
Hi I'm Ngde I'm a diabetic and what I want to know is ....can I safely eat .....a banana????
Did your specialist not refer you to the dietion? Your diabetic nurse should be able to point you in the right direction too.
As an aside, is it just me or do us diabetics seem to be a randy lot :P
Quote by Jewlnmart
Did your specialist not refer you to the dietion? Your diabetic nurse should be able to point you in the right direction too.
As an aside, is it just me or do us diabetics seem to be a randy lot :P

I was just about to say that.
My grandad was diabetic. For most of his life he could control it very well without injections. He had tablets, plus a careful diet. By careful I mean, he was never really really strict, he was allowed some bread (2 slices per day), a small amount of potatoes, rice or pasta. His dietitian actually recommended he didn't cut carbs altogether. It was full sugar foods that he was told to cut out - chocolate, biscuits etc, not complex carbs. It worked very weel for him. Your needs may be different but I am sure a dietitian could help loads.
The problem with dietitians is they havent yet caught up with the latest diabetic specialist research. You will be told that complex carbs are fine yet any diabetic who monitors their blood sugar will identify blood sugar peaks caused by bread pasta cereals and fruit.
Quote by niceguysdoexist
Hi I'm Ngde I'm a diabetic and what I want to know is ....can I safely eat .....a banana????

yes
i think
pmsl its all too confusing
well 2 days of low carbs and my blood sugar is down to 6.1
btw sainsbury organic rye and sunflower bread is disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bergen bread is good. a low gi one becse theres loads of seeds in it.
our oldest lad is type 1 and has been for 13 years now and since going on the D.A.F.N.E project (Dosage Adjustment For Normal Eating) we have managed a full year without a hospital visit for a D.K.A it is so good now i actually almost forget he is diabetic some days
it means he can eat watever he desires he just adjusts his dosage of insulin and injects at every meal plus a long acting background insulin daily
i believe they call this project diff things in diff areas but it deff worth asking about its changed things for the better for him and us we now worry way less than we used to
Fruit are good things to eat aswell as the natural sugars they contain are slow releasing - hence keeping ur blood sugars at an even keel and reducing the risk of hypo/hyperglycaemic attacks wink
Actually, fruit and fruit juices are possibly the worse things a type 2 diabetic can consume. Firstly because everyone is being told they are healthy so they tend to eat and drink more than they should and because of this conviction, don’t test themselves afterwards. As every individual is different, the only way to know if your body can handle fruit or not is to test every 15 minutes or so for a few hours after eating some, the same as they should do after any food. After seeing the results I got, fructose raises the blood sugar more slowly, but then it stays high a lot longer, Personally, I won’t touch the stuff. After all, why as a diabetic, eat something that can be up to 20% sugar even if it is fructose.
Quote by midsprincess
btw sainsbury organic rye and sunflower bread is disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try the Tesco one, it's fab especially if you use olive oil instead of butter :lickface:
Quote by earthchild
My dad was diabetic and he was also told to say away from foods that contained aspartame which i believe is an artificial sweetener, asda now does a diet coke without it

Aspartame is nasty stuff for anyone so anyone using sweeteners instead of sugar should watch out for it. If you have to take sugar, try demerera rather than refined as you only need half the amount.
My Mum's diabetic and she starts the day with porridge made with half milk, half water and manuka honey
Quote by Kryps-jaq
Actually, fruit and fruit juices are possibly the worse things a type 2 diabetic can consume. Firstly because everyone is being told they are healthy so they tend to eat and drink more than they should and because of this conviction, don’t test themselves afterwards. As every individual is different, the only way to know if your body can handle fruit or not is to test every 15 minutes or so for a few hours after eating some, the same as they should do after any food. After seeing the results I got, fructose raises the blood sugar more slowly, but then it stays high a lot longer, Personally, I won’t touch the stuff. After all, why as a diabetic, eat something that can be up to 20% sugar even if it is fructose.

My brother is/was severely diabetic injecting 3x a day at one point. However he now eats no fruit will not touch it and though vegetarian he controls hos levels mostly by diet researched through some very promising medical studies. He's reduced injecting to once a day now though agreed a celery smoothie for brekkie as he has must be very hard to keep down. But hey he's healthier than he;s been in 20 years!
Quote by Sassy-Seren

btw sainsbury organic rye and sunflower bread is disgusting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try the Tesco one, it's fab especially if you use olive oil instead of butter :lickface:
Quote by earthchild
My dad was diabetic and he was also told to say away from foods that contained aspartame which i believe is an artificial sweetener, asda now does a diet coke without it

diabetic people should not be taking sugar of any kind be it white brown pink purple or honey.
Aspartame is nasty stuff for anyone so anyone using sweeteners instead of sugar should watch out for it. If you have to take sugar, try demerera rather than refined as you only need half the amount.
My Mum's diabetic and she starts the day with porridge made with half milk, half water and manuka honey
well i have reduced carbs well and insulin is down. No blood sugar peaks.
work days due to having to be out early still consists of my 2 pieces of bread , now seeded batch or bergen with marmite. This i can cope with. Evening meal is same just with tiny portion of potatoe rice or pasta.
Two problem areas though 1. Lunch time i cant face another bowl of cucumber tomato rocket with meat or fish. 2. Eating out. We eat with friends most weekends and they are brilliant chiefs. I go with every intention of not eating teh carbs they produce but 1 look and im wasted.
fruit in quantity is a no no and concentrated fruit juice is awfull as the fructose content sends my blood sugar into orbit. I have cut down my diet pops coz basically im fed up of the same old diet coke or diet tango. I have become the caffine monster.
Thanks for all your advice. I have read your experiences and will balance it with my knowledge and that of medical research but already my amounts of insulin had decreased significantly. JUst hope my weight does too soon.