Fustrated and Confused

[Martin.A]

Thanks for the great advice. I was under the impression lentils and quinoa were the go to substitute for pasta and rice (and chips) for diabetics.
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I've swapped rice for riced cauliflower and buy the FullGreen one, which takes 2 minutes in the microwave, having failed miserably to make my own. Mashed cauliflower is also a great swap for potato. There are some non-grain pastas around - I buy red lentil pasta but limit my portion size to 40g - but they tend to be more expensive. Celeriac is also a good swap for potato as you can have it mashed or to make chips.

 

[Drummer]

@Gaztop77 I do swede in a pressure cooker, as that seems to be the best way to get it really soft. I then mash it and have some with dinner, then use the remainder to make a baked dish - beating in eggs and grated cheese and topping it with more cheese, or using it for bubble and squeal - a variant of bubble and squeak, fried with bacon.
I can get extra carbs from beans and peas, it seems - one or two others have mentioned the same thing. They seem to provide almost double the spike they should, if I want to be exact it is 180% of the listed carb amount.
I have lost all patience with 'healthy options' which are pushed at us even though we can't cope with carbs. If ever there was a diet deserving of the description of a 'fad' it is the low nutrient fancy carb substitutes which are scarcely any better for us than the originals.

 

[harbottle]

I'm happy to hear my graph looks mainly OK.

I will start measuring my portions of the good carbs and bulk out with extra veg as suggested to try to reduce the big spikes.

Thanks for all the responses. Most helpful.

That should help.

Research has shown that post-meal levels are the first to rise, so this is a good point to tackle it and stop it from progressing (Next step is elevated morning fasting levels, followed by high levels pretty much all night). It's also why your graphs are showing pretty normal fasting levels, but elevated post-meal levels.

 

[TarnishedHalo]

I eat lentils as I make a daal, but they don't send my BG up to the levels you are seeing, and they seem to take ages to digest as it goes up after around 2 hours! (Usually just into the sixes.)

The daal has around 11g of carbs and the lentils used per portion is around 80g. Almost half the carbs in lentils is fibre, so 80g of lentils is pretty low in carbs that get turned to glucose.

I've discovered lentils are delicious with marmite stirred into them (depends whether you're a love it or hate it, though)

 

[rebrascora]

I've discovered lentils are delicious with marmite stirred into them (depends whether you're a love it or hate it, though)

.... and how your body responds to lentils. I love them (and Marmite.... currently eating a Ryvita with butter and Marmite) but they release almost twice as much glucose as they are supposed to contain in my digestive system, so I have to restrict my intake of lentils.

 

[Inka]

I ignore the ‘they don’t release all their carbs/glucose’ thing and just count the carbs as I normally would. I’m upping my lentil and pulses consumption after letting it slip a bit. Every healthy diet I look at has them in, so I’m making an effort to go back to eating them more. I just got a bit lazy, I think.

 

[vesvo1]

Hello there my name is Gary, I'm 47 and recently found out I am pre-diabetic. It came as quite a shock as I eat quite healthily and am active. I'm 5'6 and weigh 57kg so no weight issues either. My blood test done by the GP showed HbA1c of 48.

At my own cost I have started wearing a libre2 sensor and my fasting mmol/L is around 6. I was surprised to see huge spikes from my go to 'healthy' breakfast of porridge and berries to 15 mmol/L. Eating a slice of wholemeal bread shows similar results. These spikes last around 2-3 hours before returning to normal.

I have changed my diet to eat more diabetes friendly foods such as avacado, eggs, Greek yogurt, brocoli, berries, nuts and seeds etc and am mostly keeping my spikes down to around 10 mmol/L.

I've not really had any support from my GP. They seem to want to wait for me to be diagnosed with diabetes before they take action. I'm struggling to understand if the levels mentioned above are something to be worried about. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi,
I' ve been pre diabetic alreday 5 years. I am 163 cm and have 51 kg. So no way, I want to loose weight. How I can buy Libre 2 to see, what I am eating wrong. Do I need dr prescription? I am in uk.

 

[Drummer]

I ignore the ‘they don’t release all their carbs/glucose’ thing and just count the carbs as I normally would. I’m upping my lentil and pulses consumption after letting it slip a bit. Every healthy diet I look at has them in, so I’m making an effort to go back to eating them more. I just got a bit lazy, I think.

You might have an instinctive aversion to them.
If I feel that I need more veges I have swede or cauliflower these days. My husband only eats peas as vegetables, so I have a small amount of them a few times a week, and coleslaw in the warmer weather.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi,
I' ve been pre diabetic alreday 5 years. I am 163 cm and have 51 kg. So no way, I want to loose weight. How I can buy Libre 2 to see, what I am eating wrong. Do I need dr prescription? I am in uk.

Welcome to the forum.
What dietary regime are you following, as it is carbohydrates which people have a problem with then reducing carbs but making sure you have plenty of protein and healthy fats in your diet should help to reduce blood glucose but help maintain weight, you can add low carb snacks like nuts, avocado, full fat Greek yoghurt, eggs.
You can get a free2 week trial of the LIbre ie 1 sensor but need a compatible phone, but you can buy directly without a prescription but they are expensive approx £40 for a sensor which lasts 2 weeks.
The alternative is strategic use of finger prick testing with a home blood glucose monitor which you would have to self fund but inexpensive monitors can be bought on line, ones with the cheaper strips are the Gluco Navii or TEE2 which people find satisfactory. You can then test your meals and make better choices.

 

[Inka]

You might have an instinctive aversion to them.
If I feel that I need more veges I have swede or cauliflower these days. My husband only eats peas as vegetables, so I have a small amount of them a few times a week, and coleslaw in the warmer weather.

No, I like beans and pulses - I’ve just been too lazy to cook them. My favourites are chickpeas, butter beans, flageleot beans and black beans, but I like them all apart from kidney beans which I’m not so keen on.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

No, I like beans and pulses - I’ve just been too lazy to cook them. My favourites are chickpeas, butter beans, flageleot beans and black beans, but I like them all apart from kidney beans which I’m not so keen on.

I way prefer black beans as a kidney bean stand-in.

To your list I’d add: black-eyed, cannelini, pinto, borlotti, aduki, and of course the humble haricot.

And those tinned green lentils are super-handy too

I’m one that hardly needs to count the carbs in pulses at all. They seem to pass right through me!

 

[Inka]

Oh, aduki beans! I forgot those - probably because they’re harder to get locally here. I make a lovely pie with those called Red Dragon Pie - vegan so completely dragon-free . Cannellini and borlotti beans are nice with pasta; black-eyed beans are great with mushrooms and nuts in a bake; I’ve rarely seen dried pinto beans here or haricot. I know I can get them tinned but I do prefer cooking them myself if I can. Beans and lentils are underrrated IMO.