Hi

[ShellyBeee]

Both my hubby and my mum have recently been told they are pre-diabetic so I'm doing some research for them to see if they can maintain/reduce their current readings for as long as possible to stay as healthy as they can.
Mum is 90 and has a very sensitive stomach. She eats pretty healthily but her diet is fairly restricted, although she does have a fondness for chocolate eclairs! Exercise isn't so easy for her as she gets tired easily.
Hubby has a pretty healthy diet and as a dog owner fairly active walking for a couple of hours every day.
I'm hoping to find as much information as I can to pass on for them to read because the info from the GP practice is fairly limited given that they are already doing most of the things suggested, and they already don't eat pastry often/high fat etc etc.
Neither are overweight.
Any pointers gratefully received!
ShellyBeee

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi, Many Type 2 diabetics use a lower carbohydrate (than officially advised) Higher (traditional) Fat (than officially advised) 'Way Of Eating' which can not only prevent Diabetes (the Type 2 variant), but can also effectively reverse the symptoms of it, But be aware that this is a lifetime thing - not just a temporary diet.

The most successful NHS GP using this method of treatment in the UK is Dr David Unwin. If you (or they) are interested there are several videos featuring him on YouTube.

 

[ShellyBeee]

Hi, Many Type 2 diabetics use a lower carbohydrate (than officially advised) Higher (traditional) Fat (than officially advised) 'Way Of Eating' which can not only prevent Diabetes (the Type 2 variant), but can also effectively reverse the symptoms of it, But be aware that this is a lifetime thing - not just a temporary diet.

The most successful NHS GP using this method of treatment in the UK is Dr David Unwin. If you (or they) are interested there are several videos featuring him on YouTube.

Ah, thank you for that. I'll have a look and send Hubby the links.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome

It is great that you are doing this research on behalf of your mother and your husband as having the support of family and/or friends is really helpful with diabetes.
As @ianf0ster says many people find a low carbohydrate, higher fat diet can help to push Type 2 diabetes into remission. There is a common misconception that diabetes is all about sugar, but the body breaks down other carbohydrates like starches into glucose quite efficiently, so cutting down of all forms of carbohydrates is important. Some of us even go so far as to cut out bread and pasta and rice etc altogether. Even healthy foods containing carbohydrates like porridge and fruit and fruit juice can be a problem so reducing them also will help.... fruit juice and smoothies particularly are very easily broken down by the digestive system and cause our Blood Glucose levels to spike.

Because carbohydrates are normally the bulk of food that we eat, it often means that significantly reducing them leaves us feeling hungry. Increasing dietary fat in the form of full fat dairy like cream and butter and cheese creamy Greek natural yoghurt and eating oily foods like nuts and avocados and olives and fatty cuts of meat will make our food taste better and keep us fuller for longer because fats and oils take longer to digest. It also means that we do not feel deprived because we are eating foods which taste good and therefore such a diet becomes sustainable long term because we enjoy it.
Start with a simple change like eggs for breakfast instead of cereal/porridge/toast if that is what they usually have. I find a 2 egg mushroom onion and cheese omelette with a salad really tasty and filling and sets me up for the day when I have time to prepare one.... or it can be eaten for lunch if they can't face a big breakfast. The occasional bacon eggs, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes will work too but try to avoid the baked beans, hash browns or bread/toast with it. Try cauliflower mash instead of potato. Make it with a dollop of cream cheese and a spoonful of mustard and it goes great with bangers or gammon and other veg or as a topping for cottage pie. If he is a fussy eater, make it half and half with potato initially and each time you make it, use a bit less tattie in it but everyone here who has tried it, loves it. Cauliflower is a wonderfully versatile veg for us diabetics as you can also grate it or finely chop or even buy it like that and use in place of rice or couscous in recipes.
Anyway, these are just some ways of reducing carbohydrates in the diet and thereby lowering BG levels. Since they are both just pre-diabetic it should only need small dietary changes to push them back into the normal range.

 

[ShellyBeee]

Hi and welcome

It is great that you are doing this research on behalf of your mother and your husband as having the support of family and/or friends is really helpful with diabetes.
As @ianf0ster says many people find a low carbohydrate, higher fat diet can help to push Type 2 diabetes into remission. There is a common misconception that diabetes is all about sugar, but the body breaks down other carbohydrates like starches into glucose quite efficiently, so cutting down of all forms of carbohydrates is important. Some of us even go so far as to cut out bread and pasta and rice etc altogether. Even healthy foods containing carbohydrates like porridge and fruit and fruit juice can be a problem so reducing them also will help.... fruit juice and smoothies particularly are very easily broken down by the digestive system and cause our Blood Glucose levels to spike.

Because carbohydrates are normally the bulk of food that we eat, it often means that significantly reducing them leaves us feeling hungry. Increasing dietary fat in the form of full fat dairy like cream and butter and cheese creamy Greek natural yoghurt and eating oily foods like nuts and avocados and olives and fatty cuts of meat will make our food taste better and keep us fuller for longer because fats and oils take longer to digest. It also means that we do not feel deprived because we are eating foods which taste good and therefore such a diet becomes sustainable long term because we enjoy it.
Start with a simple change like eggs for breakfast instead of cereal/porridge/toast if that is what they usually have. I find a 2 egg mushroom onion and cheese omelette with a salad really tasty and filling and sets me up for the day when I have time to prepare one.... or it can be eaten for lunch if they can't face a big breakfast. The occasional bacon eggs, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes will work too but try to avoid the baked beans, hash browns or bread/toast with it. Try cauliflower mash instead of potato. Make it with a dollop of cream cheese and a spoonful of mustard and it goes great with bangers or gammon and other veg or as a topping for cottage pie. If he is a fussy eater, make it half and half with potato initially and each time you make it, use a bit less tattie in it but everyone here who has tried it, loves it. Cauliflower is a wonderfully versatile veg for us diabetics as you can also grate it or finely chop or even buy it like that and use in place of rice or couscous in recipes.
Anyway, these are just some ways of reducing carbohydrates in the diet and thereby lowering BG levels. Since they are both just pre-diabetic it should only need small dietary changes to push them back into the normal range.

Thank you Barbara, some really useful ideas there. Never thought about the hash browns, they are a weakness!
Best wishes
ShellyBeee

 

[Drummer]

I had to look up what a hash brown is - having never come across them - I was surprised to see them referred to as an essential part of an English breakfast, but they are fried potato.
I suppose that you could always try substituting cauliflower, as that is a common switch to make.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome @ShellyBeee, glad that you have found the forum.

As @rebrascora has said changes to the diets need to be sustainable. Simply starting by knowing how many carbs your are eating at present is a good starting point. In doing that (using the info on packs, or Googling) you get to know which foods are loaded in carbs. Then it is easier to start to reduce those carbs.

Some find that they need to take their carbs down very low, others find that they manage their glucose levels just by reducing the amounts. Some use smaller plates, so that the smaller portions don’t look so bad. Armed with the information about the carbs helps us to make decisions.

Targeting certain meals is a good plan, and we found breakfast the easiest one to sort. Simply changing from porridge to a homemade cereal from roasted quinoa flakes, coconut and loads of nuts halved the carbs we were eating. My focus was to reduce the spikes in my glucose I was getting and to inject less insulin. The focus for you in helping your Mum and hubby is different, but the carbs are the information we all need.

 

[ShellyBeee]

Welcome @ShellyBeee, glad that you have found the forum.

As @rebrascora has said changes to the diets need to be sustainable. Simply starting by knowing how many carbs your are eating at present is a good starting point. In doing that (using the info on packs, or Googling) you get to know which foods are loaded in carbs. Then it is easier to start to reduce those carbs.

Some find that they need to take their carbs down very low, others find that they manage their glucose levels just by reducing the amounts. Some use smaller plates, so that the smaller portions don’t look so bad. Armed with the information about the carbs helps us to make decisions.

Targeting certain meals is a good plan, and we found breakfast the easiest one to sort. Simply changing from porridge to a homemade cereal from roasted quinoa flakes, coconut and loads of nuts halved the carbs we were eating. My focus was to reduce the spikes in my glucose I was getting and to inject less insulin. The focus for you in helping your Mum and hubby is different, but the carbs are the information we all need.

Mmmm, I think starting with breakfast could be a good plan because that is one meal where he tends to have hash browns, a bread roll and beans so I'm guessing too high in carbs.
Also useful for my Mum, I think minor changes will be easier for her to manage. It's more of a struggle as she tends to buy in ready made meals but given the amount of meat she saves for our dog I think she is eating way more potatoes in proportion. I did notice when she stayed with us over Christmas that she is eating several biscuits a day!
Thank you 🙂

 

[ShellyBeee]

I had to look up what a hash brown is - having never come across them - I was surprised to see them referred to as an essential part of an English breakfast, but they are fried potato.
I suppose that you could always try substituting cauliflower, as that is a common switch to make.

I think cauliflower is going to come in very useful! 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Chocolate eclairs made me chuckle @ShellyBeee

Though take heart, while they are still very much in the ‘treat’ rather than ‘mainstay’ category, I’ve always found chocolate eclairs (the bakery variety) to be quite BG friendly. The Choux pastry usually doesn’t pack too much of a punch, and the cream slows down the absorption of the carbs 🙂

 

[ShellyBeee]

Chocolate eclairs made me chuckle @ShellyBeee

Though take heart, while they are still very much in the ‘treat’ rather than ‘mainstay’ category, I’ve always found chocolate eclairs (the bakery variety) to be quite BG friendly. The Choux pastry usually doesn’t pack too much of a punch, and the cream slows down the absorption of the carbs 🙂

She will be thrilled she's very stuck in her ways @everydayupsanddowns

 

[trophywench]

Yeah I'm a big fan of fresh cream eclairs myself and the sort you buy in supermarkets that come in a box of 4 for just over £1 (used to be exactly £1 LOL) only come in at just over 10g apiece cos they ain't exactly huge. The snag is - only eating ONE !