A few food conundrums!!

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NickS

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Type 2
Hi Everyone,
I was diagnosed T2D in October 2021 with an A1c of 118! I'm delighted to report, that with a mix of metformin, diet and exercie, my latest A1c was 43.
I have relaxed a little, but generally am low(ish) carb, exercise more, etc, etc.
I have a few food related questions. If anyone would like to chip in with advice, thoughts, stuff to read, I'd be very grateful.
1. Ghee, Good or bad? I have read conflicting reports abot this and other dairy fats. Butter, cheese, cream, full fat milk, etc. etc.
2.Likewise grains. Does the good in a whole grain outweigh the bad in that they are carb heavy?
3.Similarly fruit. Does the nutritional boost from fruit outweigh the sugar hit? I have been eating apples and berries, but haven't had a banana for over a year!
4.Porridge. I know it's also a grain, but porridge? Good or bad?

I am trying to eat as healthily as I can, sausages aside, I'm doing ok, but any guidance would be very much appreciated.
Cheers Nick
 
I think all of these depend on you individually and when you eat them.

For me a bowl of porridge gives perfect blood sugars, so long as I take my insulin 40 minutes beforehand. For others porridge will make them spike.

Banana I eat before swimming as they raise bgs enough to sustain me during the swim. I don’t think there’s any nutrients in fruit that you can’t get in vegetables.

Ghee I’ve not had but in general the type of foods you list with that are high in saturated fats so it depends, how’s your cholesterol?

Do you test your blood sugars to see how they react to all these foods?
 
We are all different.
What you are asking is whether the foods you mention are good for YOU.
The only way to know is to measure. Test your blood sugars before eating and 2 hours later. If there is a rise of less than 2.5 mmol/l , your body can tolerate it. If the rise is higher, the food is not for you.
 
Up to you to weigh up pros & cons of each question.

From own view as type 1.

1, dont like Ghee find it repeats, rest do eat & have no issues with.

2, enjoy healthy whole grains, just bolus for them so have no problems eating them.

3, eat most fruits including bananas, same with veg as good mixture is key to good health.

4, eat porridge most morning so obviously good in my opinion.
 
As Type 2 all of the foods you mention have to be taken in the context of you whole dietary approach. Are they something you want to have every day or occasionally.
If you are testing then you may find a banana would be too much but half a banana would be fine if you fancy it but maybe not every day. Similarly a portion of porridge with cream may or may not be fine for you, testing will tell you.
It is all about what YOU as an individual can tolerate and if those carbs are worth it for enjoyment and flavour.
 
Thanks everyone. having read all the replies, I realise that I asked the wrong question.
I think we now all know that if we eat carbs in any form we are going to get some sort of rise in blood sugar, How much and for how long is individual. I think what I meant to ask is, do others feel the rise in blood sugar is woth it for the benefit of the healthy food, for the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc? Or is bllod sugar everything?
 
NickS said:
How much and for how long is individual. I think what I meant to ask is, do others feel the rise in blood sugar is woth it for the benefit of the healthy food, for the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc? Or is bllod sugar everything?
Click to expand...
I'm very happy to eat tasty nutritious food that is heavily meat based and not get a rise in blood sugar.

Meat, fish, dairy, eggs has pretty much everything we need in terms of vitamins and minerals. That's "healthy" food.

Edit to add ... also lost 35 kgs and maintained that loss eating that way as well as putting sleep apnea, hypertension, acid reflux, constant peeing and inability to walk more than 100m into remission too.
 
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NickS said:
Thanks everyone. having read all the replies, I realise that I asked the wrong question.
I think we now all know that if we eat carbs in any form we are going to get some sort of rise in blood sugar, How much and for how long is individual. I think what I meant to ask is, do others feel the rise in blood sugar is woth it for the benefit of the healthy food, for the nutrients, vitamins, minerals, etc? Or is bllod sugar everything?
Click to expand...

I tend to eat a lot of fruit and veg (And nuts) as they have a lot of good stuff in them, especially fibre. BG is going to go up, as it will in anyone, but always comes back down again after a couple of hours to normal levels. Stuff like broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, tomatoes, onion, celery, avocados, radishes, cabbage, lettuce, peas, etc, are all good and low in carbs and contain a lot of vital minerals and nutrients. All part of a good balanced meal with the protein from meat and fish and the fats from things like olive oil.

I also make a Daal which is nice and low in carbs.

Today for lunch I mixed up some leftover chicken, olive oil, greek yoghurt, seasoning, apple and celery and it was delicious.

I occasionally make Banana cake, banana and peanut butter fritters and eat a lot of oranges and apples.
 
NickS said:
Hi Everyone,
I was diagnosed T2D in October 2021 with an A1c of 118! I'm delighted to report, that with a mix of metformin, diet and exercie, my latest A1c was 43.
I have relaxed a little, but generally am low(ish) carb, exercise more, etc, etc.
I have a few food related questions. If anyone would like to chip in with advice, thoughts, stuff to read, I'd be very grateful.
1. Ghee, Good or bad? I have read conflicting reports abot this and other dairy fats. Butter, cheese, cream, full fat milk, etc. etc.
2.Likewise grains. Does the good in a whole grain outweigh the bad in that they are carb heavy?
3.Similarly fruit. Does the nutritional boost from fruit outweigh the sugar hit? I have been eating apples and berries, but haven't had a banana for over a year!
4.Porridge. I know it's also a grain, but porridge? Good or bad?

I am trying to eat as healthily as I can, sausages aside, I'm doing ok, but any guidance would be very much appreciated.
Cheers Nick
Click to expand...

I focus on all health issues, not just BG.
As said, some of us do the same, some focus solely on BG alone, and trade off weight, cholesterol, among other things.
For me, weight loss was the key to reversing my diabetes, I exercise, eat a Mediterranean style diet, keep my cholesterol in the "heart healthy" zone, and my BG falls into place because I do that.
I still have an annual check up, all my numbers are good, so that works for me.
 
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