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Best alternatives to bread , pasta

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
I use leeks as pasta and also courgette. There is low-carb pasta out there but I am not a fan as they are bland and have an aftertaste. I love celeriac instead of potato. However, nothing is as good as the original.
 
I found soy bean noodles are OK. A bit firmer and with a nuttier taste, but fine with my home made ratatouille. I also like roasted squash wedges instead of potato ones.
 
Taffyboyslim said:
I know about califlower rice

Can you get low carb pasta and is nimble the best bread for diabetics ?
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There's a soya bread called livlife that's 3.8g carb per slice. The taste and texture is a little like rye bread, which I really like, but it isn't for everyone.
 
Taffyboyslim said:
Oh that's good I like rye bread
Click to expand...
Oh then give it a go! I can only find it in Waitrose, but there's one near a friend so I go to hers and stock up on the way home. Freezes fine, toasted I would choose it over any wholegrain bread I've tried. Not cheap at £1.90 a loaf but also 1 loaf has done me 7 days and survived even in this heat. Doesn't seem to mold the same as regular bread, probably because the sugar is so low.
 
Rae said:
Oh then give it a go! I can only find it in Waitrose, but there's one near a friend so I go to hers and stock up on the way home. Freezes fine, toasted I would choose it over any wholegrain bread I've tried. Not cheap at £1.90 a loaf but also 1 loaf has done me 7 days and survived even in this heat. Doesn't seem to mold the same as regular bread, probably because the sugar is so low.
Click to expand...
There's a waitrose 5 mins drive from me . Will check it out , thank you
 
Hi the coop also stocks Livlife bread. I find that it doesn’t last long out of the freezer though. I have had it go mouldy in only a few days. Tastes very nice though.
I found brown pasta did not raise blood glucose like white pasta so that may be worth a try.
Tried conjac pasta sold as slimming pasta. It was vile! Can’t believe I actually put it in my mouth!!
 
I think bread is one of those very individual things. Some people find that seed breads or stoneground are easier in their BGs, while others find little difference in the BG bump they see. Still others find that breads are absolutely fine... but the get a sharp rise with potato or rice.

Opting for smaller slices and/or lower carb options (Liv life / Vogel) can help - but it’s tricky to know for sure unless you can measure the results for yourself.

Have you got a BG meter @Taffyboyslim ? Have you seen what happens to your BG after bread? What sorts of BG rises are you getting?
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I think bread is one of those very individual things. Some people find that seed breads or stoneground are easier in their BGs, while others find little difference in the BG bump they see. Still others find that breads are absolutely fine... but the get a sharp rise with potato or rice.

Opting for smaller slices and/or lower carb options (Liv life / Vogel) can help - but it’s tricky to know for sure unless you can measure the results for yourself.

Have you got a BG meter @Taffyboyslim ? Have you seen what happens to your BG after bread? What sorts of BG rises are you getting?
Click to expand...
I was diagnosed with type 2 , given metaformin , have had one appointment with the nurse and that's been it . I have another bloods in mid September but that's it . No mention of regular self testing . I was wondering if this is normal or my GP service is just c**p ?
 
You got an appointment with a nurse?
More than I did - though I was, eventually sent to the local library to have three 'educational' sessions with a group of others - we were told that a good lunch would be baked potato and beans. Something to avoid, I said - rather loudly.
 
Taffyboyslim said:
I was diagnosed with type 2 , given metaformin , have had one appointment with the nurse and that's been it . I have another bloods in mid September but that's it . No mention of regular self testing . I was wondering if this is normal or my GP service is just c**p ?
Click to expand...

Sadly it’s not at all uncommon. And especially so with the increased pressures that the health service has been under for several years, and the backlog that built up in the system.

Some enlightened surgeries encourage self monitoring, but those are significantly in the minority.

For many HCPs and diabetes nurses the main reason to self monitor is to check for hypoglycaemia, so surgeries are unlikely to prescribe a monitor and strips unless you are on a medication that can cause hypos.

There is research that people with type 2 find self monitoring depressing, inconvenient, painful and confusing. And there are scientific studies that show it has limited positive impact. However those same studies also acknowledge that there is a ‘subset’ of people with type 2 who find self monitoring very helpful, and for whom it can be a vital tool in their diabetes management arsenal.

I would say that whatever this subset is, it appears to be exactly the sort of people who join this kind of diabetes forum - who want to understand how their diabetes behaves, and who want a way of discovering, “Can I eat that?” or more accurately “How much of that is my body able to digest effectively?”

Nutritional guidelines and general principles can be extremely helpful, but unfortunately diabetes hasn’t always read the text book, and sometimes just decides to misbehave for larks. Swapping the glucose responses in people between two foods one of which is generally thought to be slow release and the other which has a reputation for being a bit tricky diabetes-wise.

I’ve even had the bizarre experience of spaghetti reliably and consistently having a different glucose absorption profile to pasta shapes. Same material… different shape - and a confoundingly different glucose response. Craziness!

Like to try using a BG meter to see how you respond to foods, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50. Some brands’ strips might cost £25 or more for a pot of strips. 😱

One popular strategy on the forum is then to take pairs of readngs - immediately before eating, and again 2hrs after the first bite. Ideally you’d want to see a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L between the before and after readings. In a sense, to begin with the actual numbers themselves are almost less important than the rise. If you can tweak your menu, and base your meals around foods that keep your meal rises down, then your overall levels will come down gradually on their own.
 
I cut myself more slack on the rise.
It was said that a rise to 8 is ok, as that's a normal sort of peak.
Quite often I could be less than 5 after exercise, so I was good if I rose more.

Also meters aren't that accurate so a reading ng of 8 can is reality be anything from 7.8 to 9.4, so I didn't beat myself up if I got an odd one.

Nimble wholemeal is a choice for me, it is actually quite low carb by default.
Warburtons wholemeal 400g is similar as well.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sadly it’s not at all uncommon. And especially so with the increased pressures that the health service has been under for several years, and the backlog that built up in the system.

Some enlightened surgeries encourage self monitoring, but those are significantly in the minority.

For many HCPs and diabetes nurses the main reason to self monitor is to check for hypoglycaemia, so surgeries are unlikely to prescribe a monitor and strips unless you are on a medication that can cause hypos.

There is research that people with type 2 find self monitoring depressing, inconvenient, painful and confusing. And there are scientific studies that show it has limited positive impact. However those same studies also acknowledge that there is a ‘subset’ of people with type 2 who find self monitoring very helpful, and for whom it can be a vital tool in their diabetes management arsenal.

I would say that whatever this subset is, it appears to be exactly the sort of people who join this kind of diabetes forum - who want to understand how their diabetes behaves, and who want a way of discovering, “Can I eat that?” or more accurately “How much of that is my body able to digest effectively?”

Nutritional guidelines and general principles can be extremely helpful, but unfortunately diabetes hasn’t always read the text book, and sometimes just decides to misbehave for larks. Swapping the glucose responses in people between two foods one of which is generally thought to be slow release and the other which has a reputation for being a bit tricky diabetes-wise.

I’ve even had the bizarre experience of spaghetti reliably and consistently having a different glucose absorption profile to pasta shapes. Same material… different shape - and a confoundingly different glucose response. Craziness!

Like to try using a BG meter to see how you respond to foods, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50. Some brands’ strips might cost £25 or more for a pot of strips. 😱

One popular strategy on the forum is then to take pairs of readngs - immediately before eating, and again 2hrs after the first bite. Ideally you’d want to see a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L between the before and after readings. In a sense, to begin with the actual numbers themselves are almost less important than the rise. If you can tweak your menu, and base your meals around foods that keep your meal rises down, then your overall levels will come down gradually on their own.
Click to expand...
I would like to know if after a couple of months of metaformin and some lifestyle changes , predominantly cutting out junk food , that my next blood level , due to be taken in 2 months will give me some idea of if I am getting on top of things ?

I am confused as I was when I was first diagnosed to be honest .
 
Taffyboyslim said:
I would like to know if after a couple of months of metaformin and some lifestyle changes , predominantly cutting out junk food , that my next blood level , due to be taken in 2 months will give me some idea of if I am getting on top of things ?

I am confused as I was when I was first diagnosed to be honest .
Click to expand...
Absolutely! As a general marker of progress those 3 monthly checks can be a great help. And for sure, regular self monitoring of BGs just doesn’t appeal to some people.

And that’s fine.

HbA1c might be enough.

But I think the reason ‘eating to your meter’ appeals to many here is that it can show very specific details of which meals and/or sources of carbs suit you best as an individual... and which are best avoided or minimised. A meter doesn’t have an agenda, or any preconceptions. It just tells you what happens for you and your unique combination of metabolism, genetics, and gut biome. 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sadly it’s not at all uncommon. And especially so with the increased pressures that the health service has been under for several years, and the backlog that built up in the system.

Some enlightened surgeries encourage self monitoring, but those are significantly in the minority.

For many HCPs and diabetes nurses the main reason to self monitor is to check for hypoglycaemia, so surgeries are unlikely to prescribe a monitor and strips unless you are on a medication that can cause hypos.

There is research that people with type 2 find self monitoring depressing, inconvenient, painful and confusing. And there are scientific studies that show it has limited positive impact. However those same studies also acknowledge that there is a ‘subset’ of people with type 2 who find self monitoring very helpful, and for whom it can be a vital tool in their diabetes management arsenal.

I would say that whatever this subset is, it appears to be exactly the sort of people who join this kind of diabetes forum - who want to understand how their diabetes behaves, and who want a way of discovering, “Can I eat that?” or more accurately “How much of that is my body able to digest effectively?”

Nutritional guidelines and general principles can be extremely helpful, but unfortunately diabetes hasn’t always read the text book, and sometimes just decides to misbehave for larks. Swapping the glucose responses in people between two foods one of which is generally thought to be slow release and the other which has a reputation for being a bit tricky diabetes-wise.

I’ve even had the bizarre experience of spaghetti reliably and consistently having a different glucose absorption profile to pasta shapes. Same material… different shape - and a confoundingly different glucose response. Craziness!

Like to try using a BG meter to see how you respond to foods, the most affordable meters members here have found are the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Tee2 - which both have test strips at around £8 for 50. Some brands’ strips might cost £25 or more for a pot of strips. 😱

One popular strategy on the forum is then to take pairs of readngs - immediately before eating, and again 2hrs after the first bite. Ideally you’d want to see a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3mmol/L between the before and after readings. In a sense, to begin with the actual numbers themselves are almost less important than the rise. If you can tweak your menu, and base your meals around foods that keep your meal rises down, then your overall levels will come down gradually on their own.
Click to expand...
I would like to know if after a couple of months of metaformin and some lifestyle changes , predominantly cutting out junk food , that my next blood level , due to be taken in 2 months will give me some idea of if I am getting on top of things ?

I am confused as I was when I was first diagnosed to be honest .
everydayupsanddowns said:
Absolutely! As a general marker of progress those 3 monthly checks can be a great help. And for sure, regular self monitoring of BGs just doesn’t appeal to some people.

And that’s fine.

HbA1c might be enough.

But I think the reason ‘eating to your meter’ appeals to many here is that it can show very specific details of which meals and/or sources of carbs suit you best as an individual... and which are best avoided or minimised. A meter doesn’t have an agenda, or any preconceptions. It just tells you what happens for you and your unique combination of metabolism, genetics, and gut biome. 🙂
Click to expand...
There is a point at which self monitoring is not advised or needed or is seen as hassle and .......its absolutely imperative .......and I have no idea as to when that is . I feel the GP and his team should at least be giving me that nudge ......
 
Taffyboyslim said:
There is a point at which self monitoring is not advised or needed or is seen as hassle and .......its absolutely imperative .......and I have no idea as to when that is . I feel the GP and his team should at least be giving me that nudge ......
Click to expand...

Going by the experience of others on the forum, I would say it is very likely that your diabetes nurse and/or GP would say that you don’t need to test.

However you may decide that you think it would be helpful to you. In which case self-funding for your own experiments might be something you choose to explore.

But there’s no imperative to do so, if you are happy going along as you are for now 🙂
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Going by the experience of others on the forum, I would say it is very likely that your diabetes nurse and/or GP would say that you don’t need to test.

However you may decide that you think it would be helpful to you. In which case self-funding for your own experiments might be something you choose to explore.

But there’s no imperative to do so, if you are happy going along as you are for now 🙂
Click to expand...
I would think my view would be that I would test regularly if it helped me deal with diabetes and the effects on my body in a positive or preventative way . Obviously I am new to all this and would be guided by my doctor , nurse and others such as the lovely people on here .
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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