New to the forum

[pipthepoogey]

Hello - I've joined today. My mom is type 2 diabetes and on tablets to control it. She's struggling to keep her sugar under control - I can't understand it - she has very little sugar - we are really struggling to think what she can eat. Any advice would be really appreciated. 🙂

 

[robofski]

Welcome to the forum 🙂

When people hear diabetes they instantly think sugar! The problem is that it's not just sugar you have to worry about its everything that your body will turn into sugar, i.e. carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc. these are all converted to sugar during digestion, so just switching from sugar to sweetners in your coffee or diet coke instead of regular isn't likely to be enough.

There is some great reading material around, check out the sticky at the top of the newbies forum for some suggested reading for type 2's and if you have any questions ask away there's always someone around to offer some friendly advice or be an ear when you just need to rant.

 

[Northerner]

Hi Pip, welcome to the forum 🙂 Diabetes is not just about sugar, all carbohydrates will raise blood sugar levels, so bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc. are all things that need to be considered in diet. I would recommend reading up about the Glycaemic Load diet which explains how to choose foods that will have a gentler effect on the system - The GL Diet for Dummies is a good introduction 🙂 Does your mum have a meter to monitor her levels? Ideally, she needs to test her blood before and one or two hours after eating so she can find out what she can tolerate well and what might need to be eliminated from her diet.

 

[pipthepoogey]

Thanks

Welcome to the forum 🙂

When people hear diabetes they instantly think sugar! The problem is that it's not just sugar you have to worry about its everything that your body will turn into sugar, i.e. carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice etc. these are all converted to sugar during digestion, so just switching from sugar to sweetners in your coffee or diet coke instead of regular isn't likely to be enough.

There is some great reading material around, check out the sticky at the top of the newbies forum for some suggested reading for type 2's and if you have any questions ask away there's always someone around to offer some friendly advice or be an ear when you just need to rant.

Thanks for your help - it's definitely helped me.

 

[pipthepoogey]

Thanks

Hi Pip, welcome to the forum 🙂 Diabetes is not just about sugar, all carbohydrates will raise blood sugar levels, so bread, potatoes, rice, pasta etc. are all things that need to be considered in diet. I would recommend reading up about the Glycaemic Load diet which explains how to choose foods that will have a gentler effect on the system - The GL Diet for Dummies is a good introduction 🙂 Does your mum have a meter to monitor her levels? Ideally, she needs to test her blood before and one or two hours after eating so she can find out what she can tolerate well and what might need to be eliminated from her diet.

Thanks for the advice - I've got the book on order .🙂