Morning all

[Tina Valkeith]

I have read through the replies to yesterdays thread and thank you all for your tips and advise, did finally get to sleep but was very apprehensive before going to bed, had at the strangest of dreams about sitting with my husband at a coffee shop and having a coffee with our dog, I had just remarked that we never saw anyone or had anyone speak to us when all of a sudden this man turns up with free Apple pie to which I replied cannot have it as I am now a Diabetic so he took it away, then seconds later a mother person turns up with a great big plate of Cadburys Chocolate biscuits he was giving away did laugh when I told my husband this morning. Feeling better know I have spoken to the doc on the phone as she has said she will refer me to a dietician. she also reassured me that I did not need a monitor as the tablets I am on are to bring my sugar levels down and are not a high risk of a hypo attack hence they did not give me a monitor. Have had tea with milk no sugar and a weekabix with milk no sugar this morning and just had a cup of coffee milk no sugar and a piece of toast with butter. trying not to feel scared about what I eat at the moment.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Glad to hear you are feeling better Tina. And great that you are getting support and appointments that can help and reassure you.

There's no need to feel scared about what you eat. And what you eat is your choice and no one elses. Likewise the decision of whether you want to be able to check your own BG levels around food or not is entirely personal, and you should only do that if you think it will help you build a better understanding of how you and your diabetes are getting on.

Lots of members here find it very helpful, but it's not right for everyone, and it's entirely your choice.

 

[Tina Valkeith]

Thank you for that, I think I will wait until I see the nurse in three weeks and go from there and if I decide I need a monitor I will get one. I do have a question though silly one if I have to choice between and Orange an Apple a Banana or two Nice Biscuits which would be the lowest in sugar? this are the silly things I wish to know.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thank you for that, I think I will wait until I see the nurse in three weeks and go from there and if I decide I need a monitor I will get one. I do have a question though silly one if I have to choice between and Orange an Apple a Banana or two Nice Biscuits which would be the lowest in sugar? this are the silly things I wish to know.

Well... I could make a guess about which of those would be gentlest on your BGs (my guess would be the apple) but it is just that... a guess. Because often the way our bodies react to food is similar to other people, but everyone is an individual and there are no guarantees.

Here are a few 'on averages' while you are finding your feet...

On average the more carbohydrate in something (not just sugar, but total carbohydrate) the more it will impact your BG levels.

On average the higher the sugar content (as a proportion of total carbohydrate) the less BG-friendly a thing will be compared so something else with the same amount of carbs.

To put those into context: a single Weetabix will have something like 10-12g or carbs in it. Skittles are almost entirely fast acting carb and are around 1g of carbs each. It feels a bit counter-intuitive but actually there is likely to be more BG upheaval from 1 Weetabix than 3 Skittles (even though the skittles are 'sweet') because the overall amount of carbs is greater.

Obviously it follows that in general items which are *both* lower in carbohydrate and lower in sugar content are likely to cause least BG upheaval.

As for your suggested food choices...

On average the more 'tropical' a fruit, the more rapidly it seems to affect BG levels. So bananas, papaya and mango might be best avoided, and grapes have a pretty bad reputation on the forum. Oranges are more of a mixed picture - suiting some people not others. Apples and pears seem to be OK for more people on average. Berries tend to be the preferred choice.

A piece of medium sized fruit is likely to have around 15-20g of carbs in it.

Nice biscuits are something like 5g each.

So two Nice biscuits you *might* be able to get away with, but the apple will have fibre in it to slow down the carbs along with vitamins, whereas biscuits are just empty refined carbs and processed fats.

I would suggest an apple would be your best bet. But as I say, I'm just guessing. You'd need a way of measuring what happened as it could be orange or banana instead for you as an individual.

 

[Tina Valkeith]

Well... I could make a guess about which of those would be gentlest on your BGs (my guess would be the apple) but it is just that... a guess. Because often the way our bodies react to food is similar to other people, but everyone is an individual and there are no guarantees.

Here are a few 'on averages' while you are finding your feet...

On average the more carbohydrate in something (not just sugar, but total carbohydrate) the more it will impact your BG levels.

On average the higher the sugar content (as a proportion of total carbohydrate) the less BG-friendly a thing will be compared so something else with the same amount of carbs.

To put those into context: a single Weetabix will have something like 10-12g or carbs in it. Skittles are almost entirely fast acting carb and are around 1g of carbs each. It feels a bit counter-intuitive but actually there is likely to be more BG upheaval from 1 Weetabix than 3 Skittles (even though the skittles are 'sweet') because the overall amount of carbs is greater.

Obviously it follows that in general items which are *both* lower in carbohydrate and lower in sugar content are likely to cause least BG upheaval.

As for your suggested food choices...

On average the more 'tropical' a fruit, the more rapidly it seems to affect BG levels. So bananas, papaya and mango might be best avoided, and grapes have a pretty bad reputation on the forum. Oranges are more of a mixed picture - suiting some people not others. Apples and pears seem to be OK for more people on average. Berries tend to be the preferred choice.

A piece of medium sized fruit is likely to have around 15-20g of carbs in it.

Nice biscuits are something like 5g each.

So two Nice biscuits you *might* be able to get away with, but the apple will have fibre in it to slow down the carbs along with vitamins, whereas biscuits are just empty refined carbs and processed fats.

I would suggest an apple would be your best bet. But as I say, I'm just guessing. You'd need a way of measuring what happened as it could be orange or banana instead for you as an individual.

Thank you it is all so trial and error I suppose.

 

[grovesy]

Thank you it is all so trial and error I suppose.

Yes , afraid so.

 

[Mark Parrott]

It is all trial & error, but the only way we know that is through testing.🙂

 

[Drummer]

Absolutely - if you are going to eat high carb foods then you really do need to check to see if you can cope with them or not - and eating them with cream or suitable fat is also a good idea as it slows the impact so you get longer spikes but not at so high numbers.

To get normal readings I have to avoid cereals - that is all grains, potatoes, starchy vegetables and can only eat a small portion of low carb mixed berries with cream - but as I can eat anything else I am fine with that.

 

[Davein]

Tina, it's absolutely no problem eating apple pie and biscuits in your dreams-it's when you wake up they aren't such a good idea!

 

[mikeyB]

I’ve just eaten an apple as I always do in the afternoon. Doesn’t make the slightest difference to the Libre trace with me. We’re all different, that’s the problem with advice on fruit.

 

[Grannylorraine]

I have read through the replies to yesterdays thread and thank you all for your tips and advise, did finally get to sleep but was very apprehensive before going to bed, had at the strangest of dreams about sitting with my husband at a coffee shop and having a coffee with our dog, I had just remarked that we never saw anyone or had anyone speak to us when all of a sudden this man turns up with free Apple pie to which I replied cannot have it as I am now a Diabetic so he took it away, then seconds later a mother person turns up with a great big plate of Cadburys Chocolate biscuits he was giving away did laugh when I told my husband this morning. Feeling better know I have spoken to the doc on the phone as she has said she will refer me to a dietician. she also reassured me that I did not need a monitor as the tablets I am on are to bring my sugar levels down and are not a high risk of a hypo attack hence they did not give me a monitor. Have had tea with milk no sugar and a weekabix with milk no sugar this morning and just had a cup of coffee milk no sugar and a piece of toast with butter. trying not to feel scared about what I eat at the moment.

Glad you are feeling a bit better today. Sorry haven't read all the replies, but docs say T2 on tabs do not need to test as they do not cause hypo's, but apart from checking what foods affect your blood glucose levels, as what can make one person's bgs rise, is perfectly fine for another person to eat, it will also tell you if your bgs if high on waking. I had to go to the docs a few weeks ago as mine was 20 when I work up, turns out I had a urine infection and the high bg was the first indication, but doc said to me, she was glad I bought a meter and was testing as bg as at that high I should have gone to A&E.