-
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 everyone
- Thread starter pat7762
- Start date
- Status
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
It's ALL carbohydrates that we have to add up, NOT just the 'of which sugars' content, Pat.
Doesn't matter what shape, description or colour they are or what they are contained in - stick em in a mammal's mouth and their body will turn them into glucose since that's how the body get them into their bloodstream to transport around the body via the bloodstream, cos it's what every single individual cell in the body, will use as fuel. And the brain needs more than any other organ!
Doesn't matter what shape, description or colour they are or what they are contained in - stick em in a mammal's mouth and their body will turn them into glucose since that's how the body get them into their bloodstream to transport around the body via the bloodstream, cos it's what every single individual cell in the body, will use as fuel. And the brain needs more than any other organ!
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @pat7762
All carbohydrate turns to glucose in the blood stream. If you were comparing two identical products (eg a prepared tomato sauce) then the ‘of which sugars’ might steer you between one and the other, but many things which have very little added sugar (eg whole grain breakfast cereals like Weetabix) can have a huge impact on BG levels within a few minutes - depending on your individual reactions to foods.
Total carbohydrate is usually a much better indication of likely impact on BG levels. And using a meter to check individual responses to different foods is even better, because people’s reactions vary so widely depending on metabolism, and gut biome.
All carbohydrate turns to glucose in the blood stream. If you were comparing two identical products (eg a prepared tomato sauce) then the ‘of which sugars’ might steer you between one and the other, but many things which have very little added sugar (eg whole grain breakfast cereals like Weetabix) can have a huge impact on BG levels within a few minutes - depending on your individual reactions to foods.
Total carbohydrate is usually a much better indication of likely impact on BG levels. And using a meter to check individual responses to different foods is even better, because people’s reactions vary so widely depending on metabolism, and gut biome.
Ralph-YK
Much missed Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I just self tested and saw the reaction.
Mini Shredded Wheat (no sugar) took me from 6 to 11.7 after an hour.
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello pat7762, welcome to the forum.
The answer to your question on how many carbs per day, is that it is different for every body and you need to find our what works for you.
Some guidelines say less than 130grams/day. Personally this is far to high for me and I find that between 50 and 70 grams per day work well. Some people find that they need to be lower than this.
It will help if you can find out which foods cause your blood sugars to rise, and eventually arrive at a lists that lets you maintain good blood sugar levels, that you enjoy eating, and fits your lifestyle in terms of how much preparation and cooking you like and have time to do.
The way to find out what works for you is to use a blood glucose tester.
If you read test-review-adjust it will give you some ideas on how to do this.
Please keep posting and asking questions, and we will always try to help.
hi toucan,thanks,i started yesterday counting carbs,60.2 and my bloods were excellent,i was only counting the sugar before and couldn't get it right,the one before you get out of bed this morning was 4.7.looks like i won't get my diabetic check in june,i put some of the raised BG as i'm getting over a cancer op on my face.
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @pat7762
I think the reports in the news and radio just confuse people as they so often talk about ‘sugar’ rather than carbohydrates. (I have a good shout at the radio every now and then!). As others have said it is every bit of carbohydrates that you eat that will be converted into glucose once inside you, so I am glad to hear that you are no ignoring the ‘of which sugar’ bit as in managing Diabetes that is irrelevant.
As for what is a sensible level for each meal, it depends on what your body, in particular your pancreas can tolerate, in that after each meal you are expecting it to produce some insulin to deal with the carbs. The more carbs you are eating the more insulin you will need. You are already testing your glucose levels in the morning. If you also test before you eat and then about two hours after a meal, you can see the impact of the amount of carbs you have just eaten. If after two hours you are not back to where you were before the meal than you may need to reduce the carbs for that meal. This could be by doing a swap from high carb foods to lower ones, or by reducing portion sizes.
When we started carb counting we were surprised by how many we were eating, and just reduced them to our target and now stick to that (ish).
I think the reports in the news and radio just confuse people as they so often talk about ‘sugar’ rather than carbohydrates. (I have a good shout at the radio every now and then!). As others have said it is every bit of carbohydrates that you eat that will be converted into glucose once inside you, so I am glad to hear that you are no ignoring the ‘of which sugar’ bit as in managing Diabetes that is irrelevant.
As for what is a sensible level for each meal, it depends on what your body, in particular your pancreas can tolerate, in that after each meal you are expecting it to produce some insulin to deal with the carbs. The more carbs you are eating the more insulin you will need. You are already testing your glucose levels in the morning. If you also test before you eat and then about two hours after a meal, you can see the impact of the amount of carbs you have just eaten. If after two hours you are not back to where you were before the meal than you may need to reduce the carbs for that meal. This could be by doing a swap from high carb foods to lower ones, or by reducing portion sizes.
When we started carb counting we were surprised by how many we were eating, and just reduced them to our target and now stick to that (ish).
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Well done Pat, 4.7 is a good morning reading, sounds as if you are well on track for keeping blood sugars under control.
If you want to see the variations that some members get, take a look at https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/group-7-day-waking-average.20148/page-2890#post-969193
Ralph-YK
Much missed Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
After 2 hours I was 8.5. I don't eat them anymore. Though don't tell the diabetic dietican, she'd told me not to change my diet and would by anoyied.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Well you did change your diet Ralph, hence you are a compliant soul and win brownie points. LOL
To be honest, I never hardly ate more than 100g carb a day anyway before I was diabetic, so why the hell I should want to eat more of them once I'd been told I had a condition which meant my body would for the rest of my life have difficulty coping with carbohydrates, would have been ridiculous to me. We did a 'Food Diary for a week' thing on DSF years ago - EDUAD then pointed out that most days I'd actually eaten less than 80g most days that week - providing I'd been truthful of course and I had. Now I don't worry what I eat in terms of cumulative carbs, cos as always if presented with a huge pile of food, it puts me completely off eating it at all.
Went out for Pete's birthday in January and for dessert I requested ONE scoop of vanilla icecream please, with a wafer it poss. Brought me an enormous sundae dish with 3 huge scoops in. Never mind, 8yo Caleb made short work of what I left since the children's desserts were, er, child sized!
Pat - your body's tolerance for carbs (or indeed any other type of food) is personal to you, so nobody can tell you 'eat X amount of only these things'. Much the same as whether radishes always give you indigestion - or not!
To be honest, I never hardly ate more than 100g carb a day anyway before I was diabetic, so why the hell I should want to eat more of them once I'd been told I had a condition which meant my body would for the rest of my life have difficulty coping with carbohydrates, would have been ridiculous to me. We did a 'Food Diary for a week' thing on DSF years ago - EDUAD then pointed out that most days I'd actually eaten less than 80g most days that week - providing I'd been truthful of course and I had. Now I don't worry what I eat in terms of cumulative carbs, cos as always if presented with a huge pile of food, it puts me completely off eating it at all.
Went out for Pete's birthday in January and for dessert I requested ONE scoop of vanilla icecream please, with a wafer it poss. Brought me an enormous sundae dish with 3 huge scoops in. Never mind, 8yo Caleb made short work of what I left since the children's desserts were, er, child sized!
Pat - your body's tolerance for carbs (or indeed any other type of food) is personal to you, so nobody can tell you 'eat X amount of only these things'. Much the same as whether radishes always give you indigestion - or not!
- Status