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I am new on here

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M

Maz2

Well-Known Member
Hello. First I need to check that it is OK to post on here if you have not been diagnosed as Type 2. I will tell you the background.

I have been taking part in some research for the University of Cambridge and, as part of this, I was asked to have blood samples taken. These were for cholesterol and triglycerides and also fructose levels I believe. Anyway, I received a letter from my GP surgery asking me to have an HBA1C test which I have to admit I had not heard of. I went along and then was asked to make a routine appointment with my GP which I did. She told me that the reading had come back as not diabetic or pre-diabetic but that they were the higher side of normal. I was gobsmacked to say the least as I had always believed I had had a healthy diet, at least that is what I thought until I started researching on here.

One of my work colleagues did a "low sugar" diet and she gave me some info on the carb load of certain foods. I had always thought eating plenty of fruit was a good thing. However, when \i told my GP that she asked me how much. I told her I had an apple mid morning, another one at lunchtime, a banana, a few grapes and a few blueberries then in the evening an orange and strawberries. I was also guilty of sometimes eating dried dates just before I went to bed!!! She told me to cut down the amount of fruit I am eating as this is too much. She said to have more veg. Eat fruit because it is good for you but cut it down to 2-3 only.

When I checked my carb load I was quite surprised at it so I have cut that down and am going to have more exercise.

I read Michael Moseley's book about the 8 week blood sugar diet but he said you cannot do it if you are under BMI 21. I am 21.7. GP is not too concerned as she said my weight is fine and blood pressure is fine but gave me a booklet about "prediabetes" and said to make some changes,. She wants to re-run the test in 3 months.

I have been upset about this ever since and want to try really hard to sort this out. I may not be able to now but at least I can make an attempt. Last week I had no idea what to eat but am slowly learning by reading the forums how to modify the carbs and substitute other foods.

I keep hearing about kidney failure, blindness, amputations and am scaring myself to death. I am an anxious person anyway.

Is it OK for me to post on here? Thanks.
 
Everyone is welcome on here, from full blown taking every tablet in sight to no real symptoms and hoping to keep it that way.
Welcome, take a look around, ask any questions you have, stop reading Dr Google 🙂
 
Hi Maz2, welcome to the forum 🙂 Yes, of course it's OK to post here! 🙂

I suspect a lot of people might get an HbA1c that is slightly elevated these days. The problem is that our diets are very carbohydrate-heavy nowadays as everyone has been desperately trying to avoid fat for the past 20-30 years. The solution by food manufacturers is to replace fat in food with carbohydrates, quite often sugar (which is just form of carbohydrate). You may be aware of how this thinking is changing in the media, with the message now being that maybe fat isn't so bad, but sugar is the real demon! 🙄

Fruit naturally contains a lot of sugar, so eating a lot of it will be giving you a very high sugar diet. Your pancreas tries to keep your blood glucose balanced by releasing insulin, but it is being overstressed by the high sugars, having to produce more and more insulin. For this reason, it can't always manage to keep the blood glucose levels steady, so the HbA1c will creep up over time. Diabetes is diagnosed when this control is all but lost and levels become unmanageable.

Most people don't reach that stage, despite all the hype in the media, but it does tell you that maybe the diet you thought was healthy, actually isn't really. The solution is to eat things in moderation, avoid obvious high sugar/high carbohydrate foods and select food that will release its energy slowly and steadily, creating less stress on the pancreas and making blood glucose levels easier to control. I'd suggest looking into the GL Diet - The GL Diet for Dummies is a very good introduction, and describes how to select and combine foods so that they have this slow, steady impact on blood glucose levels. 🙂

Please don't worry yourself with the scare stories, you are a VERY long way from developing any of those problems 🙂

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have and we will be happy to help! 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here....

I guess you are fortunate to have found a problem with your blood glucose before it starts to become a major problem.... Changing your diet will help in preventing diagnosis of Diabetes (and you will likely feel better for it as well). Remember though that the problem is not sugars but carbs in general so not only look at the fruit but starchy vegetables, rice, pasta, cereals, breads etc.
 
Hi maz2 & welcome to the forum.🙂
 
Thank you very much for your replies. I am sorry to say I was a great lover of bread, cereals and pasta although not in ridiculous amounts. I am going to have to watch those too. My husband thinks I maybe should watch my portion sizes too as I tend to give us equal amounts of food. What a wake up call this is. For a couple of days I cursed the day I went into that research but then thought how lucky I was that this was noticed. Otherwise, I would have carried on regardless.

Thank you Northerner for your post; that is most helpful. I will certainly take a look at the GL Diet for Dummies. I have done some research over the past couple of weeks into this and will have to look at it more carefully.

I have a couple of diabetes cook books which I will use a lot more. I have a friend and a neighbour who are Type 2 and two others who are "borderline." Also my friend's husband is diabetic and he is actually underweight so so much for it being a problem of "obesity."

I have dropped some of the carb load but, because I was so used to having so much of it, I don't think I am eating enough now. However, with my diabetes books I should hopefully sort that out.

Once again thanks for this Forum. It is so useful to hear other people's viewpoints.
 
Thank you Annette for your comment about Dr Google. I actually work in a hospital and one of our surgeons has said before that people scare themselves to death with the internet and medical matters. He calls them vomits - victims of medical information technology.

I told myself that I should not read all the horror stories on the internet. Will stick to the forum in future. Much more knowledgeable and sensible.
 
As well as considering diet, please also consider exercise / activity. If you live near Cambridge University, you can probably cycle more easily for commuting to work / study / shopping than in other places. Plus you could cycle to Wandlebury / Milton Country Park / Coton Countryside Reserve. Or do parkrun at Milton / Wimpole / Hinchingbrooke. Or look at West Anglia Orienteering Club for Wed evening events. They might have a free event next Wed for World Orienteering Day. Lots of possibilities to increase your activity levels, as I learned living in Cambridge for 13 years until a couple of years ago.
 
Hi Maz2 and welcome to the forum. I also had to cut back on the amount of fruit I was eating, I would have 6-7 portions a day now have between 1-3, and lots more veggies. And apparently a punnet of grapes isnt classed as a portion!!! (I would quite happily munch my way through an entire tub!) But anyway welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks Copepod. I live in the West Midlands. The study is a nationwide one. However, that is no excuse not to exercise. I do about 30 a day on my 3 days a week commute and do Zumba once a week but am guilty of sitting about in the evening and sometimes during the day on a day off. I have walked up to our park and ride this morning instead of taking the car. I do like walking so am certainly going to do more of that and taking more classes as I do enjoy Zumba and fitness classes.

I was shocked Stitch147 about the fruit when the GP told me. I had heard this before but thought it was a lot of media nonsense. Have cut mine down now and doing my best to eat more sensibly, cutting down carbs and having more fish and poultry, veg etc.

The advice on here is so useful. Thank you for having me.
 
My lovely late MIL (diagnosed T2 in her 70s) always described grapes as individual little bags of sugar! She was correct ......

However a whole handful of raspberries, blueberries or strawberries has only about the same amount as ONE ordinary grape. And you can't stop at ONE, can you? well - I can't ...... so consequently - I just don't have even one any more - unless there is actually only one left in which case I might ..... LOL

So - there are always more sensible substitutes that you'll enjoy just as much if not more - with an absolutely clear conscience!
 
Hi Maz and welcome 🙂

Fruit varies, as Jenny says, so as well as cutting down a bit, think about what fruit you are having. Dried fruit sends your blood sugar up really quickly (I sometimes use dried fruit to treat low blood sugar if I've had too much insulin!) so best to drop the dates, whereas berries are very low in sugar. Apply the same principle to other foods too - eg, if you want a biscuit have something like an oatcake rather than a very sugary one, and go for small amounts of dark high cocoa chocolate rather than a whole sugary milk chocolate bar. I'd also avoid white bread, white pasta, and white rice, and have smaller portions of brown instead. And avoid honey!
 
TheClockworkDodo said:
Meant to say, @Copepod - I lived just outside Cambridge for 13 years and moved away a couple of years ago too - spooky!
Click to expand...
Hope you made the most of places like Wandlebury (where I worked for most of my years living in Cambridge), Therfield Heath, Wicken Fen etc. 🙂
 
I am so pleased that I have joined this Forum. Last week when I first heard I was at a "high risk" I felt overwhelmed but, since coming on here, there has been so much support and sensible advice, I feel much better about things.

I did wonder whether it would be worth my getting a test machine or is that only useful once you are Type 2? I do think it would be a good idea to find out what carbs and sugary foods are causing more problems than others. Is there any way you can tell without testing, i.e. feeling tired or something like that after you have eaten something?
 
I would always advise getting a meter. Checking what foods affect you is important to your well being.
 
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