The diabetes website has details on products for healthy eating, but then I am constantly asked to join the low carb diet which advising in the majority of cases not to eat these products- which do I choose? Thanks for any advise, type 2 10years+ trying to get sorted once and for all
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Low carb diet v healthy eating
- Thread starter Mark D
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Hello @Mark D
I’m not sure which websites you have been visiting. Diabetes UK (the national diabetes charity with a generally blue website) has lots of free resources that can help, including ’enjoy food’ and the ‘Learning Zone’ (orange tab above).
There is also a commercial website with a large presence (generally red in appearance) which sometimes gets confused with Diabetes UK and has a low carb diet eating plan product that they encoirage people to pay for.
On this forum we encourage people to find their own way of eating that suits their needs, their tastes, their weight goals and their BG levels.
We can give you pointers on how people find their own individual eating plan if you are interested?
I’m not sure which websites you have been visiting. Diabetes UK (the national diabetes charity with a generally blue website) has lots of free resources that can help, including ’enjoy food’ and the ‘Learning Zone’ (orange tab above).
There is also a commercial website with a large presence (generally red in appearance) which sometimes gets confused with Diabetes UK and has a low carb diet eating plan product that they encoirage people to pay for.
On this forum we encourage people to find their own way of eating that suits their needs, their tastes, their weight goals and their BG levels.
We can give you pointers on how people find their own individual eating plan if you are interested?
Toucan
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello Mark, welcome to the forum.
I have also been living with Diabetes for around 10 years, and also in the first few years was very confused by the sometimes contradictory information and advice available.
There is no 'one-size-fits-all' though and there was a lot of trial-and error before I found a solution that worked for me.
Do you have a blood glucose meter? Using one of these was the main things that helped me worked out what foods spiked my blood sugar levels, and eventually led to an eating pattern which reduced my readings and keeps them at a steady level.
If you don't have one then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.
One of the areas that advice varies on is how much carbohydrates to include. For me I found that it is not just the obvious sugary things (biscuits,cakes, etc) that causes spikes. but also the starchy carbs (e.g rice, pasta, potatoes, bread )as these are a large source of glucose. The amount and exact items which individuals can tolerate these varies widely, which is where testing helps to find out what is right for you.
I also avoid most processed food, eat lot of 'above the ground' vegetables.
I find that this plan not only keeps blood sugars down, but I also feel a lot better and have more energy.
I have read that low-carb eating over a period of time can be harmful, but I've been doing this for several years and haven't fallen apart yet. BUT if you read the forum you will find that others have found different solutions that work well for them.
So it is worth taking the time to try things out and find the right solution for you, and my theory is that if I can keep blood sugars down, and generally it 'feels right', it may not be perfect but it is the best I can do for me.
It is worth reading around the forum and getting other views, and please ask any questions and let us know how it is going for you.
Very best wishes
I have also been living with Diabetes for around 10 years, and also in the first few years was very confused by the sometimes contradictory information and advice available.
There is no 'one-size-fits-all' though and there was a lot of trial-and error before I found a solution that worked for me.
Do you have a blood glucose meter? Using one of these was the main things that helped me worked out what foods spiked my blood sugar levels, and eventually led to an eating pattern which reduced my readings and keeps them at a steady level.
If you don't have one then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.
One of the areas that advice varies on is how much carbohydrates to include. For me I found that it is not just the obvious sugary things (biscuits,cakes, etc) that causes spikes. but also the starchy carbs (e.g rice, pasta, potatoes, bread )as these are a large source of glucose. The amount and exact items which individuals can tolerate these varies widely, which is where testing helps to find out what is right for you.
I also avoid most processed food, eat lot of 'above the ground' vegetables.
I find that this plan not only keeps blood sugars down, but I also feel a lot better and have more energy.
I have read that low-carb eating over a period of time can be harmful, but I've been doing this for several years and haven't fallen apart yet. BUT if you read the forum you will find that others have found different solutions that work well for them.
So it is worth taking the time to try things out and find the right solution for you, and my theory is that if I can keep blood sugars down, and generally it 'feels right', it may not be perfect but it is the best I can do for me.
It is worth reading around the forum and getting other views, and please ask any questions and let us know how it is going for you.
Very best wishes
Low Carb is healthy eating for me and many others, but may not be suitable for all.
However the 'Food pyramid is unhealthy for all diabetics and probably the majority of the population! It was that which set me on the road to a triple bypass and T2D.
This website (and forums) is less in favour of Low Carb than is the 'other one'. I'm a member of both forums.
Type 2 diabetes is an intolerance to carbohydrates, so the simplest treatment for it is just to cut down on them which I did with the aid of a (self -funded) Blood Glucose Meter ( a TEE2 in my case).
While both Protein and Fats are required for life (there are lots of vitamins in fats), Carbohydrates are NOT! They do provide energy, but your body can 'burn fat' especially our own fat which is why we get fat eating carbohydrates - think of bears eating piling on the pounds for winter. The body finds it easier to burn carbohydrates, so unless we restrict them it won't use up our own fat stores and will just add to them whenever we eat too much!
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