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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Hi All
- Thread starter PeteyC
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adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi Inka,
He doesn't as yet but he's been warned that he's at risk, not first the first time. I thought the site might be useful to make it all seem a little less scary and also for dietary tips too. He's quite old and is a widower and needs to cook more rather than eating ready meals all the time but I think some general health advice will be helpful anyway, least I hope so.
He doesn't as yet but he's been warned that he's at risk, not first the first time. I thought the site might be useful to make it all seem a little less scary and also for dietary tips too. He's quite old and is a widower and needs to cook more rather than eating ready meals all the time but I think some general health advice will be helpful anyway, least I hope so.
Hi Adrian,
Please see my response to Inka. I'm hoping preventative measures are the way forward to be honest, but he seems a little concerned so I thought I'd find some useful resources for him just in case. I sense he's worried about it so anything that can help de-mystify the condition I hope will be a good thing.
Many thanks,
Pete
Inka
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Ah, ok @PeteyC Well, a good starting place is to look at what he’s eating now and see little places it can be improved. Cutting down on carbs helps. Also, if he’s able, any exercise like a walk will help control his blood sugar and be good for his general health. Even pottering around the house rather than sitting down all day can help.
If you’d like to give a rough idea of what he eats, then you’ll get some more tailored advice of possible dietary tweaks.
If you’d like to give a rough idea of what he eats, then you’ll get some more tailored advice of possible dietary tweaks.
adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Has ha had a blood test for his blood glucose? It is called an HbA1c and will return a number in the 40s (if he is classified as pre-diabetic). Do you know what the number was? It is a useful starting point to see how far he has to travel. The advice would be to try and cut back a bit on carbs - things like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta etc. These are rapidly converted by the body into glucose. Replace them with things like green veg and he'll soon be on top of things
He's very active which is obviously a good thing as he plays gold 4 times a week. He tires me out when we play as he charges around the course, but with a full lockdown in place that's no longer possible. I'll nudge him to make sure he stays active while it lasts. I'll ask him to do a food diary too as I think he eats more than he lets on!! 🙂
I don't as yet Adrian - he only told me yesterday so I think we're probably both trying to understand the implications and next steps. I'll find out about his blood test though as he's definitely had one. Yesterday I had no remotely intelligent questions to ask so I'm swatting up a little for me as well!!
I shall also mention the carbs - I think like me, he was thinking it was more to do with sugary foods but as I'm reading up, this does seem something of a misconception.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Aah well when he was younger (and me!) it was commonly referred to as 'sugar diabetes' and let's face it, insulin treatment was only discovered in 1923 so the role that insulin plays in the body was hardly known. Always a misnomer anyway.
Fact is, all carbohydrate is very swiftly converted into glucose which starts actually in the mouth, before we even swallow it. The reason the body does that is because glucose is the fuel that all our cells need in order to function. Insulin is the key that opens the cell doors to let glucose in - so both are essential to life 24/365.
Sugar itself is very nearly but not quite, 100% carbohydrate - but plenty of starchy things are nearly but not quite as bad as sugar - anything with flour in it eg cake, bread, pasta, pastry, rice - spuds - root veg have a fair bit too with parsnips being by far the worst offenders, so do 'pulses' eg beans peas and lentils. Fruit - all tropical ones are high so bananas, pineapple, mangoes, grapes and oranges. Dad will confirm - we only got oranges during the winter, in season when he was a lad and I was a girl - individually wrapped in gorgeous purple tissue paper, livening up the display no end in the local greengrocers!
Fact is, all carbohydrate is very swiftly converted into glucose which starts actually in the mouth, before we even swallow it. The reason the body does that is because glucose is the fuel that all our cells need in order to function. Insulin is the key that opens the cell doors to let glucose in - so both are essential to life 24/365.
Sugar itself is very nearly but not quite, 100% carbohydrate - but plenty of starchy things are nearly but not quite as bad as sugar - anything with flour in it eg cake, bread, pasta, pastry, rice - spuds - root veg have a fair bit too with parsnips being by far the worst offenders, so do 'pulses' eg beans peas and lentils. Fruit - all tropical ones are high so bananas, pineapple, mangoes, grapes and oranges. Dad will confirm - we only got oranges during the winter, in season when he was a lad and I was a girl - individually wrapped in gorgeous purple tissue paper, livening up the display no end in the local greengrocers!
@trophywench I have to disagree about glucose being essential for all cells. Muscles etc. function well without glucose and even brain cells (especially in dementia patients) function better with (low safe levels) of ketones. See articles/tweets etc from Dr Ian Lake, Dr R Berstein and others.
That is why Low carb diets have been known to work in childhood epilepsy for around 100yrs.
That is why Low carb diets have been known to work in childhood epilepsy for around 100yrs.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Good God, you expect me to know that armed only with my JMB Biology O level 1966 and 48+ years of Type 1 - and describe the absolute minutiae of the human body which I have no need to know about myself, when it was intended as a straightforward conversational explanation for a 55 year old man who freely admits he knows nowt about diabetes, and who is trying to a) understand D better himself and b) be able to discuss it with his 75-ish year old dad?
Keto diets and childhood epilepsy are totally irrelevant to PeteyC's current conundrum anyway IMHO..
Keto diets and childhood epilepsy are totally irrelevant to PeteyC's current conundrum anyway IMHO..
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I think you risk overstating the ‘carbs are not essential’ though. Glucose is the preferred energy source, as i understand it, because it is easier to process and absorb, and it is widely available in foods that don’t run away, or try to gore you. 😛
If glucose wasn’t a good bet for supplying energy (even in foods that contain little of it like nuts and berries) I imagine we wouldnt have such efficient ways of accessing it?
Fir a newcomer asking about ‘at risk of diabetes’ far more modest dietary changes are likely to be far more sustainable and suitable. 🙂
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