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New to this
- Thread starter JPS
- Start date
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @JPS
You have found a good place to tap into a wealth of experience from people living with Diabetes.
I see that you are just on the edge of the diabetic readings so some small changes to you meals and levels of exercise should enable you to bring you back into normal range.
Fire away with any questions that you have. Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.
You have found a good place to tap into a wealth of experience from people living with Diabetes.
I see that you are just on the edge of the diabetic readings so some small changes to you meals and levels of exercise should enable you to bring you back into normal range.
Fire away with any questions that you have. Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.
Welcome to the motley crew @JPS. Were you living in Germany or the States the DN would probably have said get your 43 down to 38 or less. They would not be wrong.
Dr David Unwin is the 'sugar guru' in the diabetes community. Here is the link his diet sheet to spark off some your questions:
- https://phcuk.org/wp-content/uploads/A_5_page_low_carb_diet_leaflet_Unwin_2021-converted.pdf
10,000 steps a day is good.
Dr David Unwin is the 'sugar guru' in the diabetes community. Here is the link his diet sheet to spark off some your questions:
- https://phcuk.org/wp-content/uploads/A_5_page_low_carb_diet_leaflet_Unwin_2021-converted.pdf
10,000 steps a day is good.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Welcome, looking at your age, recent guidelines from NICE are that for more mature people then a more lenient blood glucose level is appropriate so at 43mmol/mol that would seem to be what would be acceptable. Just making sure you are being careful with your diet and eating healthily being careful of your carbohydrate intake. Having things like cakes and biscuits as treats and reducing portions of other higher carb foods should hold you where you are. If you do not need to lose weight then make sure you have protein and healthy fats.
There is some good explanation in this link which may give you ideas for suitable meals. It is designed for people who do have work to do to reduce blood glucose and lose weight but if you just go easy. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
Thank you Leadinglights, oddly enough I found lowcarbfreshwell site last night. I am a worry bunny about my health, I am determined not to end up diabetes. My downfall is sweet things and I take on board what you have advised re: carbs, thanks very much for your post.
@JPS Acceptable HbA1c levels sometimes cause confusion. This is a matter for the individual as much as the GP/DN. Here is the link to the NICE Patient Decision Aid: Type 2 diabetes: agreeing myblood glucose (HbA1c) target (Feb 2022).
On page 3, you will see the big two-way arrow says:
- A lower HbA1c target may be better (e.g. 38 or lower): Thinking about my age and my health overall, my quality of life in the long term is important to me.
- A higher HbA1c target may be better (e.g. 42): Thinking about my age and my health overall, my quality of life in the shorter term is more important to me.
As far as I know the significance of these numbers in rather broad terms is:
- HbA1c <=38: normal.
- HbA1c 39-42: pre-prediabetes, insulin resistance begins, liver glucose control affected by visceral fat.
- HbA1c 43-47: prediabetes, insulin secretion falls, fatty liver develops leading to CV risks.
- HbA1c >=48: diabetes, progressive loss of glucose control, rising risk of of complications.
Many people are happy to control their diabetes with HbA1c in the 50s, many others want to achieve remission by getting HbA1c down below 48 without medication, and some decide to lose weight to get their HbA1c down into the 30s as it was years ago. All three options require a conscious effort to adopt a healthy diet and keep your body in shape.
It is much easier to go for the third option when you are prediabetic. Dr Unwin has a 93% success rate with his prediabetic patients, compared with a 50% rate with T2 patients. However chances are very high for the newly diagnosed, as I was lucky enough to discover.
Good luck to you.
On page 3, you will see the big two-way arrow says:
- A lower HbA1c target may be better (e.g. 38 or lower): Thinking about my age and my health overall, my quality of life in the long term is important to me.
- A higher HbA1c target may be better (e.g. 42): Thinking about my age and my health overall, my quality of life in the shorter term is more important to me.
As far as I know the significance of these numbers in rather broad terms is:
- HbA1c <=38: normal.
- HbA1c 39-42: pre-prediabetes, insulin resistance begins, liver glucose control affected by visceral fat.
- HbA1c 43-47: prediabetes, insulin secretion falls, fatty liver develops leading to CV risks.
- HbA1c >=48: diabetes, progressive loss of glucose control, rising risk of of complications.
Many people are happy to control their diabetes with HbA1c in the 50s, many others want to achieve remission by getting HbA1c down below 48 without medication, and some decide to lose weight to get their HbA1c down into the 30s as it was years ago. All three options require a conscious effort to adopt a healthy diet and keep your body in shape.
It is much easier to go for the third option when you are prediabetic. Dr Unwin has a 93% success rate with his prediabetic patients, compared with a 50% rate with T2 patients. However chances are very high for the newly diagnosed, as I was lucky enough to discover.
Good luck to you.
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @JPS and a warm welcome to the forum from me too!
As you can tell, there's a lot of very helpful and knowledgeable Users here so if you'll ever have any questions at all - ask away! We're also eager to hear about people's progress through the months as they try different things, the good and the bad so if you'll feel comfortable to share - please feel free to do so.
As you can tell, there's a lot of very helpful and knowledgeable Users here so if you'll ever have any questions at all - ask away! We're also eager to hear about people's progress through the months as they try different things, the good and the bad so if you'll feel comfortable to share - please feel free to do so.