GRR. Why all this talk about special food and recipes for diabetics?!

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sophieee

sophieee

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I can't seem to understand why people on here are talking about restricting, and even denying themselves certain foods, and special diabetic recipes. None of this to me seems necessary. Unless of course, you're a t2 diabetic and controlled by diet alone. As I've just said on someone else's post, one of the first things I was told, was;

''There is NOTHING you can't EAT, and nothing you can't DO. Just everything in moderation, and adjust insulin accordingly.''

Obviously some of you are aware that my sugars are way too high, but that's for different reasons entirely, and for the last few days, whilst I've been managing to DO my insulin, my blood sugars have been near perfect, and that is without adjusting, or denying myself any food or drink. It seems to me that with all the restrictions being placed on you, you're bound to get angry, uptight, and confused, even worried. Especially newly diagnosed patients. Whilst I also understand, that some of you have found certain things that you HAVE to avoid, because thats personal to you, I don't understand why the medical profession is feeding the stereotype, that diabetics can't eat sugar etc.
I was also told on diagnosis, that my diabetes had to fit into my life, not my life fit into diabetes. And I still believe that that is very true. And key to accepting it. No offence meant to anyone!
 
Im type 2 and not diet controlled and if i did not restrict myself from certain foods then id have big problems.I try and control my diabetes and not let it control me but as i am just out of hospital i can never get to blazee as i know if i did id get some kind of kick in the teeth, all i can do is manage it and try my best, I dont cut out sugar all together i just limit it .Good thread topic by the way sophieee.
 
Steff2010 said:
Im type 2 and not diet controlled and if i did not restrict myself from certain foods then id have big problems.I try and control my diabetes and not let it control me but as i am just out of hospital i can never get to blazee as i know if i did id get some kind of kick in the teeth, all i can do is manage it and try my best, I dont cut out sugar all together i just limit it .
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I did ackknowledge in my original post that Type 2's may need to, but there are an awful lot of Type 1's on here who are under the impression that they have to aswell x
 
sophieee said:
I did ackknowledge in my original post that Type 2's may need to, but there are an awful lot of Type 1's on here who are under the impression that they have to aswell x
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Ah right well I cant type for them, but I guess the only things i moderate myself on is sugar and carbs.oh yeah choccy is a nightmare for me but now i go for a carrot stick instead of a stick of twix grrrr.
 
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Hi Sophie,

No offence taken!🙂

My son is on a pump and we carb count. However, certain foods *do* do bad things to his levels - no matter what we try to do to get around this - there are foods that will cause havoc!😡

People on here are not saying that any food is 'banned' - its just that because we carb count and we test a lot - we have all learnt that certain foods are just not worth the hassle. This is why we have started that 'big night in' were we all eat the same meal and test over the next 5 hours and its a brilliant way of seeing what certain foods do to certain people. So far I have learnt that Alex is fine on pizza as long as we do a dual wave over 5 hours and let the insulin trickle in, but he really cant tolerate fajhitas! He went up to 14 i think - which isnt good for good control. So now we will try them again and change the way we do the dual wave etc..

If you would like to join in on Wednesday I think we are having something with rice as lots of people find that rice makes them very high after 4 or 5 hours as it takes so long to digest!😱

As you have said - you do sometimes have high levels - so perhaps it would be a good idea to 'test' certain foods and see which ones are harder to get right than others. People on MDI do split injections so they dont get a spike and then no high levels. You only get high levels because the insulin doesnt match the rate at which a particular food is being digested - so it makes sense to either avoid these foods - or work out a way to inject or use your pump to make sure you dont go high.

You are right - no food is banned - but some foods are a nightmare to inject for as they cause such high spikes.

When my son was on MDI I used to think it wasnt so bad for him to have levels of 11 or 12 at the 2 hour check - but now i panic because i realise that these sort of levels will cause retinopathy etc and i will do everything within my power to decrease his hba1c - and if that means avoiding some foods if we cant stop the spike - then so be it. No food is worth going blind for.

His hba1c has gone down from an awful 9.6 on injections - to 7.1 on the pump after just 6 months. This makes me feel that he has a fighting chance of no complications.🙂Bev
 
Hear, Hear Sophieeeee.!!

I am Mum to a 12 yr old with T1.

We were also told very early on that no food is forbidden and obviously following a healthy balanced diet is important, but that is the case for people without diabetes too.

I put no restrictions on O's diet, he adjusts his insulin accordingly, and we do correction doses if necessary according his BS readings.
He will generally wait till dinnertimes to have sweets etc as he often doesn't want to do an extra injection, but again, thats not a bad thing to not eat sweets between meals.
His last few HBA1C's have been brilliant, so we muct be doing something right.
Its just another pre-conception of diabetes, and I take great joy when we eat out or in other peoples homes and someone will say ''ooooh can he have a bit of cake/ice-cream/whatever??'' and I say yes, of course he can!!

Of course its diffferent for T2 , I do understand that.....But well done , Sophieee for being a really positive role model. x
 
ZoZo said:
Hear, Hear Sophieeeee.!!

I am Mum to a 12 yr old with T1.

We were also told very early on that no food is forbidden and obviously following a healthy balanced diet is important, but that is the case for people without diabetes too.

I put no restrictions on O's diet, he adjusts his insulin accordingly, and we do correction doses if necessary according his BS readings.
He will generally wait till dinnertimes to have sweets etc as he often doesn't want to do an extra injection, but again, thats not a bad thing to not eat sweets between meals.
His last few HBA1C's have been brilliant, so we muct be doing something right.
Its just another pre-conception of diabetes, and I take great joy when we eat out or in other peoples homes and someone will say ''ooooh can he have a bit of cake/ice-cream/whatever??'' and I say yes, of course he can!!

Of course its diffferent for T2 , I do understand that.....But well done , Sophieee for being a really positive role model. x
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Well your son is obviously very lucky to have an understanding mum. My mum was exactly the same when I was diagnosed. And granted my bloods have been appalling the last months/couple of years, but at my age, there wasn't really a lot she could do. And again, but that was more to do with not doing my insulin/not doing enough insulin. It downright ANNOYS me when people TELL me, or assume that I can't eat certain things!
It gets to me that newly diagnosed type ones are being scared half to death! And especially children, how are they supposed to accept it when they're being denied things they like? Not being denied, and making insulin adjustments, meant I could accept it a lot quicker than I've realised other people do. x
 
Thankyou Sophieee.

I hope then that my son grows up as sensible and as well balanced as you then. I am expecting him to go off the rails a bit in the next few years, as teenagers will, diabetic or not! But I'm prepared to deal with as best I can.

I dont want to be a neurotic mother, I never have beeen in the past and he is getting to age where I have to trust that he will do the right thing for himself (with my guidance) . While his health is HUGELY important, there is more to his life than that, and I dont want diabetes to take over everything, because it only does that if we let it. 😛
 
well i can only speak for myself i was told it is a healthy balance diet but was told no sugar, chocs or diabetics food i am on tablets and i canot adjust them to suit what i eat so i need to pay a bit more attention to "what it said on the tin" in relation to sugar, carbs and fat.

everyone is different what works for one doesnt mean it will work for everyone works for some but not all.
 
Hiya Topcat I agree with you totally.

Sophiee, sorry but I really don't think you can criticise the people on here about how and what they eat. It is choice. To come on here in the first place generally means they are trying to better themselves or to help others so are learning on a daily basis. Yes docs say don't eat this or don't eat that.

The type 2's have to watch what they eat. The type 1's that you are speaking of have taken time to see what works for them and what doesn't. If my daughter has sweets she rockets, or pasta she rockets about 5 hours later so like Bev said we learn to adapt a healthy balanced diet incorporating the food that works well for the best levels that can be obtained.

My daughter's HbA1c is 7.8% I've worked very very hard to get it there. Jessica has other huge complications, as do others on here, like yourself, have, she was 9.3 two years ago and slowly we have got that down to the 8.0's and now 7.0s and for her future health we will carry on taking that down. To achieve that I am not depriving her of anything or stopping her doing anything. If she wants sweets or pasta or chinese I'll work it into her diet and deal with it but it is not something we have on a regular basis as I am thinking of her long term health.

I don't think there are any type 1's on here who stop sometime totally unless it is a tried and tested nightmare food and that does happen.

The medical profession is a different story. The ones worth their salt, know what they are talking about and will say a healthy diet but they don't all know what pasta will do for one person but nothing to another person, it is all a personal thing and by joining a forum like this it is a step on the upward journey. I'll say about Louise again (hope you don't mind Lou). She is a prime and good example of someone who has finally realised no more mucking around and so found us and she is doing so good, it is brilliant. She is now watching what food does to her and may have to cut back on some foods which she never used to.

Food is such a personal thing about what it does. You are extremely lucky if you can eat anything and your levels are great. I wonder how many times you test yourself and what about the levels in between testing. To work out what food does to your levels you should be testing pretty much 2 hourly, so lots of tests, sometimes hourly. Its the only way.
 
As you say Sophie, your control isn't great and your levels have been high so I dont think you can moan about the way other people control their diabetes until yours is under control.
 
smile4loubie said:
As you say Sophie, your control isn't great and your levels have been high so I dont think you can moan about the way other people control their diabetes until yours is under control.
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well said and I totally agree. Sophieee, your post really touched a nerve. Alot of us have extreme difficulties with certain types of food - take for instance myself, I very rarely have pizza nowadays as it really plays with levels. Aswell as takeaways too. Alot of foods are a nightmare, so I really don't think that you can come on here and critisise.

I've been managing to DO my insulin, my blood sugars have been near perfect, and that is without adjusting, or denying myself any food or drink
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If this is the case, then you are very lucky indeed. And to be honest I honestly can't see that happening as carb contents are different in every food you eat. If you say you eat "anything you want" and have fixed doses, then I can really imagine your levels being through the roof. This is why so much emphasis is put on carb counting, so we can know what foods affect us, and what foods to avoid.

The food avoidance is a personal thing, and many T2s HAVE to avoid things. T1s are slightly luckier in that we can "dose" for it, but it is still one heck of a ball game getting it right each and every time. Certain foods will play havok as I have already mentioned, hence why its avoided.

I totally agree with what Adrienne and Lou have said, you really can't come on here and critisise what other people are doing to manage their own diabetes when your own isn't exactly perfect (even though I understand that you have your reasons and whatnot, but still)
 
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Way i see things and my opinion on this is , it is MY diabetes i will restrict where i want when i want , if i want to cram myself full of sugar (which i never would) but if i did it would be my chioce id have to live with the consequence.Diabetes is very personal condition.
 
Great posts on here🙂 I agree with everybody! By this I mean that we are all different in what we can and can't eat -obviously some foods will have a worse effect on our levels than others but the worst thing I find is guilt!

It has taken me a lifetime to come to terms with who I am and what food does to me - forums like this inspire and teach but can scare at the same time, especially if you are newly diagnosed and bewildered. All advice is welcome but sometimes we need to mull it over and see how this fits in with what our bodies tell us. Some people are allergic to pollen, some to strawberries, some to washing powders so why be surprised if one can tolerate pizza but not pasta etc- if you are having problems with levels or bored with your regime, dip into the huge resource this forum provides and pick an idea which fits in with what you like - try it, test and work out if it likes you! However, if everything is going well - don't rock the boat just because someone says you should!
 
As a T2 on diet control only, I know that if I eat a "standard healthy balanced diet", restricting nothing but eating everything in moderation, I can run my levels in the 5 to 7 range. I also know that if I avoid certain foods like pasta, rice, bread and potatoes and carefully control the carbs I eat, I can run in the 4 to 5 range.

We all have choices to make and it's a very individual decision. For me, the correct choice was obvious but not easy. I choose to run in the lower range because I believe it reduces my risk of complications and saves whatever pancreatic function I still have. I exercise because I believe it assists in reducing my insulin resistance.

I have no experience of T1 and can't say anything about it - but if I had a choice between my restricted diet and being able to cover foods with injections, I'd choose the restricted diet every time. For all of you who have to inject, I salute your courage and bravery in dealing with it - it's a place I don't want to be and I believe that my diet may put off that day for a good many years, if not for all time. That's why I control what I eat.
 
I am feeling a bit sorry for Sophie. From her post what I picked up was that she couldn't understand why people with Type 1 diabetes were restricting things when it seemed at odds with her own medical advice. I don't think she was deliberately criticising anyone.

My tuppence for what its worth. If you are type 1 then its not so much what you eat but the quantities - a little of something that may upset your BMs may make you feel less angry than completely avoiding it, though too much and you will wish you never had it.

The DSNs in my hospital who haven't been trained to do carb counting recommend that you have meals with similar amounts of carbs in them. It is possible if you stick with x carbs for breakfast, y for lunch and z for dinner to come up with a regime that will work, it just doesn't allow you to have much flexibility. The ones who do know Carb counting know how it can open up a more flexible routine.
 
Sophie,

Really good post. You said nothing controversial and, in my opinion, you are spot on.

As a type 2, I am fortunate (so far) in that I can eat what I like (even a spot of sugar in my morning coffee). I just need to be careful of portion size and make sure that my diet is balanced.

Andy
 
I'm a type 1 and I'm about 2 stone underweight for my height. Both my DSN and dietician are fantastic and I have never been told to avoid eating anything if anything they have tried to encouage me to eat a more varied diet (which I now do).

I am generally in good health and don't really have a sweet tooth but I can see what sophie is saying as I too get frustrated when people tell me I can't eat a bar of chocolate because I'm diabetic. There are, as has been mentioned, certain foods that can cause issues so I can understand why people would prefer to avoid them rather than risk messing things up.
 
I'm really sorry if you've all taken it that way, I wasn't criticising. I DID cover in my post, that I understand T2s being diet controlled and so on, and that there are people with personal foods to them that they've come to notice they have to avoid. But I've noticed that a lot of newly diagnosed patients seem to be getting all the information piled on them at once. And I couldn't understand it. I've never done carb counting, just trial and error, and learnt from experience, what foods I need more insulin with. Such as high sugar foods, or pizza. I'm not on fixed insulin, I thought that was quite clear in my post when I said I adjust my insulin..

I wasn't getting at anyone imparticular, and I think a few of you have taken it this way. I just ask that you re-read what I wrote to start with. :(

I just saw (And I could be wrong), that NEWLY diagnosed are getting too much piled on them that they can cope with, so of COURSE they're going to feel like their life is over
 
Generally I think newly diagnosed are not getting enough information early enough. We get plenty of newly diagnosed here who are on fixed doses and carb counting and insulin djustment has not been mentioned to them. We are the ones to tell them to go back to their teams.

I eat pretty much what I want and no foods cause me enough problems that they aren't worth dosing for. I am lucky in that respect.
 
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