I'm told my blood sugar is 51, and the GP hasn't put me on any medication. How do I know what to eat? e.g. any bread at all/no bread? I've been reading other posts, and now understand pasta is also a problem, with someone recommending it made from edamame beans or black beans. How much fruit in a day? My breakfast is Greek yoghurt, a little skimmed milk, in which I soak 2 dessertspoons of porridge oats, and a bit of fruit. What else do people find to be 'no-nos'?
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My user name is Aylwin. How much is ok?
- Thread starter Aylwin
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djdave
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Hi @Aylwin and welcome to the forum.
Have you tried using one of the carb counting apps you can get for your mobile device? There are a few good apps and I'm sure people will tell you their preferences. Most of them come with a short free stint after which you pay a monthly or annual subscription. Personally I use NutraCheck which requires entering weights of portions, but with the full app you can scan bar codes for most foods and it gives you a breakdown of nutritional information - saves trying to read the tiny print many manufacturers use for such info!
Each person will react slightly differently to foods so you have to work things out by taking one step at a time. Don't try change everything overnight, rather change one thing at a time to find out how it affect you personally.
As mentioned in a few posts it is good to know what your BG levels are and a simple testing kit will help a lot.
Wishing you low BGs in the future
Have you tried using one of the carb counting apps you can get for your mobile device? There are a few good apps and I'm sure people will tell you their preferences. Most of them come with a short free stint after which you pay a monthly or annual subscription. Personally I use NutraCheck which requires entering weights of portions, but with the full app you can scan bar codes for most foods and it gives you a breakdown of nutritional information - saves trying to read the tiny print many manufacturers use for such info!
Each person will react slightly differently to foods so you have to work things out by taking one step at a time. Don't try change everything overnight, rather change one thing at a time to find out how it affect you personally.
As mentioned in a few posts it is good to know what your BG levels are and a simple testing kit will help a lot.
Wishing you low BGs in the future
Leadinglights
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You are not a huge way into the diabetes zone, the threshold is anything over 47mmol/mol and at that level it would be premature to give you any medication as dietary changes should be sufficient to bring it down.
As you rightly mention bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, potatoes, and some fruits and fruit juice are all high in carbohydrates. I do use those 2 pastas you mention and they are acceptable alternative to wheat based pasta, they need not as much cooking otherwise they can be mushy. Oats are something that some people tolerate better than others.
Basing your meals on protein, meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy with vegetables, salads and fruit like berries )as they are lowest carb of the fruits with very small portions of any high carb foods and giving things like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice a wide berth.
Have a look at this link for some do's and don'ts as well as good information and some menu plans and recipes you will see just what tasty meals you can have. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
PerSpinasAdAstra
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This site illustrates the carbohydrate content of various fruits. Keep in mind that it's as much about quantity as carb content. Grapes for example are very high in sugar compared to most fruit, but if you were only eating 3 or 4 grapes that wouldn't add up to much. You could eat around triple that number of raspberries and be eating the same amount of sugar. Generally speaking, berries are best, and tropical fruit is the worst, by weight.
www.dietdoctor.com
Low-Carb Fruits and Berries – the Best and the Worst - Diet Doctor
What are the best and the worst fruits and berries to eat on a low-carb diet? Here’s the short version: most berries are OK low-carb foods in moderate amounts, but fruits are candy from nature (and full of sugar). For more details, check out this amazing visual guide, with the lower-carb options...
www.dietdoctor.com
Docb
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Hi @Aylwin and welcome to the forum. In answer to your question about how high is too much. In general terms, the trigger points on the HbA1c scale are 42 and 48. The first gets you an "at risk" diagnosis, and 48 gets you a full diabetes diagnosis. I think what you are asking is for some context on where your 51 fits in and my thoughts are based on my rather pragmatic view of things being, like you, in what I tend to refer to as wrinkly territory.
If you are thinking in the short term, then it is no problem. If you are found in a heap one day, then it will no doubt be due to something other than diabetes.
If you are thinking in the longer term, then unless your HbA1c result goes up by a long way, then the chances are that something else will get you long before anything diabetes related hits you.
There is some discussion about how to look at HbA1c for us wrinklies but the view of the medics seem to be that results in the 50's, although over the diagnosis limit, are perfectly reasonable and keeping an eye out is the best way forward rather than active treatment.
Thats fine by me although I have made adjustments to keep it around 55 because if I did not then it would be likely to be 70+ and that would be a different kettle of fish.
Hope that helps with understanding your GP's reaction (i.e. not being too concerned) with the result
If you are thinking in the short term, then it is no problem. If you are found in a heap one day, then it will no doubt be due to something other than diabetes.
If you are thinking in the longer term, then unless your HbA1c result goes up by a long way, then the chances are that something else will get you long before anything diabetes related hits you.
There is some discussion about how to look at HbA1c for us wrinklies but the view of the medics seem to be that results in the 50's, although over the diagnosis limit, are perfectly reasonable and keeping an eye out is the best way forward rather than active treatment.
Thats fine by me although I have made adjustments to keep it around 55 because if I did not then it would be likely to be 70+ and that would be a different kettle of fish.
Hope that helps with understanding your GP's reaction (i.e. not being too concerned) with the result
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
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I hadn't noticed your age in your profile so new guideline are a bit more lenient for more mature people so I wouldn't be too concerned about your level unless you start to get any symptoms that make you feel unwell.
Aylwin, the answer to your question depends on whether you view your diagnosis as a nuisance or a wake up call. I knew mine was a wake up call having seen a photograph of myself with my granddaughter at a family wedding three months before. I was overweight, i needed to change my diet and exercise more again. My GP prescribed Metformin to keep my blood levels under control but I soon discovered T2D is now known to be a condition reversible by diet. I will post some links tomorrow.
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Welcome to the forum @Aylwin
As others have said, HbA1c generally climbs a little in later age, so you may find that only relatively modest tweaks to your menu are sufficient to steer your glucose levels in the right direction.
In terms of managing your carbohydrate content and aiming for a way of eating that your body finds easier to manage, there are two popular approaches on the forum. One is to adopt a general daily limit for the amount of carbohydrate, and to spread that through the day. The precise amount varied from person to person, but often 130g of carbohydrates per day or less (total carbs not just ‘of which sugars’) is a common starting point.
The other approach involves getting a home glucose monitor (the Spirit Tee2 and Gluco Navii are popular because of their relatively affordable strips), and then checking immediately before eating and again 2hrs after the first bite. Aiming for a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3 at the 2hr mark, and to stay below 8.5mmol/L at 2hrs after meals. This allows you to fine tune your menu to suit your unique metabolism, and develop a menu that suits your body best - but it may be that you feel this approach is a bit too much faff, and just aiming for a general daily limit feels like a better fit for you?
As others have said, HbA1c generally climbs a little in later age, so you may find that only relatively modest tweaks to your menu are sufficient to steer your glucose levels in the right direction.
In terms of managing your carbohydrate content and aiming for a way of eating that your body finds easier to manage, there are two popular approaches on the forum. One is to adopt a general daily limit for the amount of carbohydrate, and to spread that through the day. The precise amount varied from person to person, but often 130g of carbohydrates per day or less (total carbs not just ‘of which sugars’) is a common starting point.
The other approach involves getting a home glucose monitor (the Spirit Tee2 and Gluco Navii are popular because of their relatively affordable strips), and then checking immediately before eating and again 2hrs after the first bite. Aiming for a ‘meal rise’ of no more than 2-3 at the 2hr mark, and to stay below 8.5mmol/L at 2hrs after meals. This allows you to fine tune your menu to suit your unique metabolism, and develop a menu that suits your body best - but it may be that you feel this approach is a bit too much faff, and just aiming for a general daily limit feels like a better fit for you?
Tomorrow never comes, well sometimes ...
Here are some links to diets which may help you put your T2 into remission and then, if you need/wish, lose a bit more weight to revert to your former healthy self.
Dr David Unwin
This is a link to Dr David Unwin's low carb diet leaflet from the Public Health Collaboration website. It answers the question of what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as giving lots of useful information:
phcuk.org/wp-content/uploads/A_5_page_low_carb_diet_leaflet_Unwin_2021-converted.pdf
Most of those diagnosed T2D at Dr Unwin's Norwood Surgery opt for diet rather than medication. Over 130 of them have gone inro remission in the past ten years. 93% of their pre-diabetic patients return to normal following the Norwood guidelines.
Dr Unwin explained the nuts & bolts of drug free T2 diabetes remission, and how he lost weight, in this presentation last year:youtube.com/watch?v=t9Nvj2lfs2Y
Zoe Harcombe
The Norwood Diet is remarkably similarl to the Harcombe Diet. After suffering various eating disorders and years of yo-yo dieting, Zoe Harcombe devised her diet to cut out cravings, lose weight, and sustain weight loss for the future. It is based on her detailed understanding of the best nutritional research. Dozens of reviews of her books on Amazon US and Amazon UK prove the diet is successful in practice.
Here is a link to my blog post of an article on the Harcome Diet with some useful added links at the end:
The Harcombe Diet: How to eat your favourite foods and still lose weight
The Harcombe Diet: How to eat your favourite foods and still lose weight By Prima Team PUBLISHED: 21 APRIL 2016 Do you dream of a weight l...
diabetes-type2-remission.blogspot.com
Having lost 22 kg, I am adopting the princople of this diet to ensure I don't put it all back on again.
Dr Kim Andrews
The Freshwell Low Carb project has a really clear explanation of why the lo-carb approach is good for most people, best I've seen: https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/going-low-carb/
Dr Andrews' 4 Week Meal Planners may be just what you are looking for. You can download them here: https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/resources/meal-planners/
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s'nic
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As I understand it, doubt has been previously cast on authenticity of Amazon reviews (in general, not specifically to this). So it may be better to judge the diet for what it is, rather than go by Amazon reviews.
EDIT: just went and fact checked myself on this as it was a while ago I read about Amazon reviews ... these 2 articles are from oct and dec last year
One in 10 Amazon customers offered ‘bribes’ for positive reviews - Which? News
A Which? investigation reveals the scale of incentivisation, and how it's driving fake five-star reviews on Amazon
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Thank you for drawing attention to that possibility. I was expecting it but not the articles - will have a look later.As I understand it, doubt has been previously cast on authenticity of Amazon reviews (in general, not specifically to this). So it may be better to judge the diet for what it is, rather than go by Amazon reviews.
EDIT: just went and fact checked myself on this as it was a while ago I read about Amazon reviews ... these 2 articles are from oct and dec last year
One in 10 Amazon customers offered ‘bribes’ for positive reviews - Which? News
A Which? investigation reveals the scale of incentivisation, and how it's driving fake five-star reviews on Amazonwww.which.co.uk
My aim was to get some figures on how much weight people have lost over what period on the Harcombe Diet. Most of the posts mentioning that seemed genuine enough to me. I found a couple of dozen. I will plot them on a scatter diagram and open a thread asking, how much did you lose over what period on what diet?
Perhaps Diabetes UK could put something like that up to get a better response. The results could be very informative all round, even if not especially scientific or compiiant with medical reporting standards.
s'nic
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- At risk of diabetes
Thanks for not taking any offence JITR 🙂
Sharing info is something I'm a great fan of, but in my experience not all folks are equally internet savvy, and I do worry about those who view all things they see on the web as 'published' and therefore trustworthy.
Sharing info is something I'm a great fan of, but in my experience not all folks are equally internet savvy, and I do worry about those who view all things they see on the web as 'published' and therefore trustworthy.
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I think @Eddy Edson has posted a compare-and-contrast piece of research about weight loss and how that is or isn’t maintained over several years, but after a bit of looking around I’ve failed to find it.
If I remember rightly, there was no one clear winner in terms of dietary approaches (low calorie vs low carb etc etc). Some of the emerging weight loss meds seem to offer some promising support.
On the forum we have lots of anecdata that suggests the most important thing is finding the method that works for you as an individual, both in terms of the weight loss phase, and also in transitioning to a maintenance menu that keeps the weight off.
Thanks for this.
I hope @Eddy Edson will repost that research.
Not so sure about weight loss drugs but I am sure a Concerted Action to pull everything together would map common ways forward. That worked for Food Traceability 25 years ago and no reason why it shouldn't work for Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome today.
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