Newly diagnosed IGT

[Katieb]

You are probably self-funding the test strips I guess. I would guess that you might be able to drop down to once a week. But first its good to test more often to get a feel for what your body does at different times of the day and after specific meals.

What numbers you should aim for depends on where you read them, but my targets are less then 6 on waking/pre-meal and less than 8 one hour after the meal.

To get a good feel for the post-prandial results you might want to understand how much carbs you have eaten. You might want to get a book such as Carbs & Cals to help with estimating how much carbohydrates are in different foods, but with a good set of digital scales and a calculator its usually not to hard to figure it from the label on the food.


I've never really believed the "8" for a non-diabetic - although I guess it is feasible if they really did eat a large amount of carbohydrates. I've never tested my wife over 5.2 and she was 4.8 one hour after eating a large slice of chocolate cake (so unfair!). A non-diabetic is supposed to have a very tightly regulated blood sugar.

Hi Mark. Good advice, thank you. I will look into the Carbs & Cals book as I am not great at weighing and measuring as a failed attempt at Weight Watchers proves! I am also concerned about hidden sugars in things like yogurts, ketchups and sauces (I buy the light versions and reduced sugar and salt if available). Are these danger areas?

 

[Northerner]

Hi Mark. Good advice, thank you. I will look into the Carbs & Cals book as I am not great at weighing and measuring as a failed attempt at Weight Watchers proves! I am also concerned about hidden sugars in things like yogurts, ketchups and sauces (I buy the light versions and reduced sugar and salt if available). Are these danger areas?

Be careful that the 'light' or 'low-fat' 'fat-free' things aren't loaded with sugar! Also, bear in mind that it's not just sugar but any form of refined carbohydrate that will have a big impact on blood sugar levels. So, fo example, avoid white flour products - white bread actually has a higher glycaemic index (GI) than ordinary sugar! 😱

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hi KatieB

Welcome to the forums 🙂

As others have suggested it's ALL carbs, not just sugar that you need to be aware of. And as Alan says while some things are gentler on the BGs, others will have an unexpectedly fast action (eg Weetabix), and most things vary from person to person too which is where your meter comes in so handy.

Interesting that you talk about low fat/light versions. You may already have read about the effect of fat on carbohydrate digestion... Higher fat things can have the effect of slowing the absorption (effectively lowering the GI) of a food by delaying the absorption of the carbs. This can be slightly problematic, but it's worth knowing as it can help in certain circumstances.

 

[Katieb]

Hi KatieB

Welcome to the forums 🙂

As others have suggested it's ALL carbs, not just sugar that you need to be aware of. And as Alan says while some things are gentler on the BGs, others will have an unexpectedly fast action (eg Weetabix), and most things vary from person to person too which is where your meter comes in so handy.

Interesting that you talk about low fat/light versions. You may already have read about the effect of fat on carbohydrate digestion... Higher fat things can have the effect of slowing the absorption (effectively lowering the GI) of a food by delaying the absorption of the carbs. This can be slightly problematic, but it's worth knowing as it can help in certain circumstances.

Hi Mike. I wondered about the sugar in low fat yogurts etc but never really gave a thought to fats slowing down food absorption. I guess the answer is to test their affect on my BG to see how they affect me. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Robster65]

A general rule of thumb is to look on the nutrition labels and compare known 'safe' foods with others and check the carb contents per 100g, etc with the 'of which sugars', which generally will tell you whether it's going to act fast or not. Fibre is also a good thing to include to slow down absorption.

If you can also include omega-3 unsaturated fats, there is evidence that they can help to burn off fat, providing you're expending enough energy of course !🙂

Rob

 

[teapot8910]

Welcome to the forum Katie 🙂 x