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Newly diagnosed type 2.
- Thread starter Lisaj
- Start date
- Status
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hi and welcome
Basically, your digestive system will break down all carbohydrates into glucose which will then be absorbed into your blood stream making you have high blood sugar levels. Non diabetic people produce insulin which enables that glucose to be removed from the blood and stored and burned as energy in the cells. Type 2 diabetics usually become insulin resistant, so that their body ignores the insulin which is produced and the glucose doesn't get removed from the blood very efficiently. Eating less carbs will therefore enable to body to cope better by not putting too much glucose into the blood stream.
Carbohydrates are both sugars and starches, so you need to avoid or reduce your portion size of foods high in sugar and starch. Sweet stuff like chocolate and cakes and biscuits and sugar and honey and maple syrup etc is the obvious first choice to cut out but fruit in all it's forms (fresh, dried and juiced) is also high in sugar and needs to be restricted. Starchy foods are anything made from grains, like bread, pasta, couscous, rice, breakfast cereals, even otherwise healthy porridge is high in carbs and also root vegetables like potato, sweet potato, parsnips, cassava etc. Reducing your portion size of these foods and the frequency you have them will help significantly too. That may seem like there is not much left to eat but meat, fish, eggs, nuts, cheese and full fat dairy produce are all on the menu along with plenty of leafy green veg like cabbage, spinach, kale. broccoli, cauliflower with lots of cheese is a big favourite with many of us diabetics and salads with generous portion of creamy coleslaw (not the low fat versions which are higher in carbs) Creamy (not low fat) natural Greek yoghurt with berries and mixed seeds and chopped nuts makes a good breakfast and many of us enjoy a coffee made with double cream instead of milk. Another breakfast option I enjoy is a 2 egg omelette with a variety of fillings including mushrooms, onion, peppers, ham, courgettes and cheese.... usually a combination of several of those and served with a side salad and coleslaw.... that keeps me going until tea time without having to worry about lunch.
Many type 2s find it really useful, invaluable even, to self fund a BG meter so that they can test their blood glucose (BG) levels at home and use the info they get from it to adjust their diet to their meter readings. If you are interesting in doing this they are relatively inexpensive (approx. £15) to buy but the on going cost of test strips for them can tot up, so buying a meter which has the cheapest test strips is important. For that reason we recommend the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. You get through a lot of test strips in the first couple of months, so make sure to order at least 2 extra pots of test strips when you order. We will advise on a resting regime if you are interested in getting one.
Anyway, hope the above is useful. It is really helpful to keep an honest food diary so that you can see where you are eating most carbs and where you can make reductions. Then if you get a meter, you can log your readings with the meals you have eaten and create a database of meals and portion sized which work for you.
Basically, your digestive system will break down all carbohydrates into glucose which will then be absorbed into your blood stream making you have high blood sugar levels. Non diabetic people produce insulin which enables that glucose to be removed from the blood and stored and burned as energy in the cells. Type 2 diabetics usually become insulin resistant, so that their body ignores the insulin which is produced and the glucose doesn't get removed from the blood very efficiently. Eating less carbs will therefore enable to body to cope better by not putting too much glucose into the blood stream.
Carbohydrates are both sugars and starches, so you need to avoid or reduce your portion size of foods high in sugar and starch. Sweet stuff like chocolate and cakes and biscuits and sugar and honey and maple syrup etc is the obvious first choice to cut out but fruit in all it's forms (fresh, dried and juiced) is also high in sugar and needs to be restricted. Starchy foods are anything made from grains, like bread, pasta, couscous, rice, breakfast cereals, even otherwise healthy porridge is high in carbs and also root vegetables like potato, sweet potato, parsnips, cassava etc. Reducing your portion size of these foods and the frequency you have them will help significantly too. That may seem like there is not much left to eat but meat, fish, eggs, nuts, cheese and full fat dairy produce are all on the menu along with plenty of leafy green veg like cabbage, spinach, kale. broccoli, cauliflower with lots of cheese is a big favourite with many of us diabetics and salads with generous portion of creamy coleslaw (not the low fat versions which are higher in carbs) Creamy (not low fat) natural Greek yoghurt with berries and mixed seeds and chopped nuts makes a good breakfast and many of us enjoy a coffee made with double cream instead of milk. Another breakfast option I enjoy is a 2 egg omelette with a variety of fillings including mushrooms, onion, peppers, ham, courgettes and cheese.... usually a combination of several of those and served with a side salad and coleslaw.... that keeps me going until tea time without having to worry about lunch.
Many type 2s find it really useful, invaluable even, to self fund a BG meter so that they can test their blood glucose (BG) levels at home and use the info they get from it to adjust their diet to their meter readings. If you are interesting in doing this they are relatively inexpensive (approx. £15) to buy but the on going cost of test strips for them can tot up, so buying a meter which has the cheapest test strips is important. For that reason we recommend the SD Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. You get through a lot of test strips in the first couple of months, so make sure to order at least 2 extra pots of test strips when you order. We will advise on a resting regime if you are interested in getting one.
Anyway, hope the above is useful. It is really helpful to keep an honest food diary so that you can see where you are eating most carbs and where you can make reductions. Then if you get a meter, you can log your readings with the meals you have eaten and create a database of meals and portion sized which work for you.
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello @Lisaj and welcome to the forum.
Diagnosis can be a bit of a shock and diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be positively managed and in many circumstances, you can do a lot to help yourself and as you can see from Barbara's reply there is a great deal of help available.
There is no 'one size fits all' though, and it is important to take time in making adjustments and ensure that you end up with a eating plan that works for you in helping reduce blood sugars, and is sustainable for the long term.
There is more information available on the Learning Zone - link at the top of the page, and here are some other links that may be useful.
If you want to know more about the Low-Carb way of eating then Maggie Davey's letter, shows how this lady approached the problem.
SD Gluco Navii is a meter that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.
I hope that it goes well for you, and please ask about any questions you have and we will always try to help.
Diagnosis can be a bit of a shock and diabetes is a serious disease, but it can be positively managed and in many circumstances, you can do a lot to help yourself and as you can see from Barbara's reply there is a great deal of help available.
There is no 'one size fits all' though, and it is important to take time in making adjustments and ensure that you end up with a eating plan that works for you in helping reduce blood sugars, and is sustainable for the long term.
There is more information available on the Learning Zone - link at the top of the page, and here are some other links that may be useful.
If you want to know more about the Low-Carb way of eating then Maggie Davey's letter, shows how this lady approached the problem.
SD Gluco Navii is a meter that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.
I hope that it goes well for you, and please ask about any questions you have and we will always try to help.
Hello LISAJ and welcome to the Forum
When we eat food the carbohydrates are broken down in our digestive systems to smaller glucose molecules
This glucose is passed through the wall of the intestine into the blood stream where it is carried around the body and transferred into the cells and organs to enable us to live
In the case of diabetes the glucose cannot pass from the blood into the cells, so it accumulates in the bloodstream, and it is this increased amount of glucose that causes the problems
Thus in a diabetic diet we reduce the amount of carbohydrates we consume, which in turn reduces the level of glucose in the blood
Once you've grasped that, the restrictions and changes become easier to understand
It is important to realise that as all carbohydrates are converted into glucose, we must restrict things like bread, pasta, and potatoes, as well as the obviously sweet & sugary things like cakes & biscuits
As for what foods you can eat, go towards the top of the Home page and click on Living With Diabetes -> Enjoy Food
There are various sections on food, meal planners, recipes, etc
As you are newly diagnosed I think it would be very useful for you to have a general book on diabetes
I can recommend 'Diabetes For Dummies'; new or used from Amazon as low as about £5 inc p&p
Make sure you get the UK edition
For many people, when they get diabetes it is an opportunity to get into the whole healthy living thing -- reduce and change the amount of fat; more fruit & veg, ie a healthier diet in general;do some exercise; cut back on booze; stop smoking; lose weight; and all the rest of it
Please ask again if you have More questions, and don't be embarrassed - remember, we were all Newcomers once
When we eat food the carbohydrates are broken down in our digestive systems to smaller glucose molecules
This glucose is passed through the wall of the intestine into the blood stream where it is carried around the body and transferred into the cells and organs to enable us to live
In the case of diabetes the glucose cannot pass from the blood into the cells, so it accumulates in the bloodstream, and it is this increased amount of glucose that causes the problems
Thus in a diabetic diet we reduce the amount of carbohydrates we consume, which in turn reduces the level of glucose in the blood
Once you've grasped that, the restrictions and changes become easier to understand
It is important to realise that as all carbohydrates are converted into glucose, we must restrict things like bread, pasta, and potatoes, as well as the obviously sweet & sugary things like cakes & biscuits
As for what foods you can eat, go towards the top of the Home page and click on Living With Diabetes -> Enjoy Food
There are various sections on food, meal planners, recipes, etc
As you are newly diagnosed I think it would be very useful for you to have a general book on diabetes
I can recommend 'Diabetes For Dummies'; new or used from Amazon as low as about £5 inc p&p
Make sure you get the UK edition
For many people, when they get diabetes it is an opportunity to get into the whole healthy living thing -- reduce and change the amount of fat; more fruit & veg, ie a healthier diet in general;do some exercise; cut back on booze; stop smoking; lose weight; and all the rest of it
Please ask again if you have More questions, and don't be embarrassed - remember, we were all Newcomers once
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Status