Nutritional info on food packs as regards equiv sugar intake

[FGFlan]

The Glucose Goddess is very marmite. Many people have criticised her comments, and I think she’s very overhyped personally.

Spikes are normal in people without diabetes. Blood glucose moves up and down within the normal range. Only going up 1.6mmol would be ridiculous. I’ve measured friends’ blood sugars and they most definitely go up more than 1.6! None of them have diabetes.

I suggest reading from less….extreme? obsessed?…..sources.

Yes that is something I'm noticing, some of her videos are a bit showy and then at the other end of the scale you've got NHS doctors who almost send you to sleep (I won't mention any names). She's not necessarily presenting anything new but what she has managed to do is curry the favour of the media and so more people who need to, are noticing her and the info she is putting out. This can only be a good thing and then hopefully people will find their own way by using many other resources like I'm doing now.

As a matter of fact one of the triggers for me acting now and getting a CGM was her 'Eat Smart' on C4. I would have acted eventually as I was concerned about my glucose anyway (my local GP surgery don't seem too bothered) but it motivated me. My mother was type 2 and it caused her no end of problems at the end of her life and I don't want that for myself.

 

[Inka]

Totally understandable that you have your mum’s experience in mind @FGFlan and it’s great that you want to take action. All I was cautioning against was extremes (and inaccuracies) 🙂 Read widely, sort the wheat from the chaff, and find a way of eating that works for you, not just blood glucose-wise but for your general health.

 

[Leadinglights]

I will see how the diet goes and will introduce the right food gradually. I have a stash of food which I thought was good for me esp boxes of Granola. I'm not going to throw them out but once it's gone I won't be buying it again. As a matter of fact I see it as poison which if I keep taking I will be edging towards type 2. I'm currently 45mmol/l. As long as I can remember I've had highish glucose and colesterol and I'm going back over 20 years. I will be trying out a CGM again once I've pushed out all the carby stuff to see what effect the new food regime is having. I'm hoping I'll notice the difference in my health anyways.

There is no need to ditch the granola but look at how many carbs there are per 100g and then you could just add a small 15g portion as a topping on full fat Greek yoghurt and berries for a low carb breakfast. Once you have used it up then look for ones which are low carb for example the M & S grain free fruit and nut Granola at 9g carbs per 100g.
You are right in the middle of pre diabetic zone so just some modest changes should be all that is needed. I followed the Freshwell principals as it all made perfect sense and seemed to be developed by a reliable team at a GP surgery who found the standard NHS advice did their Type 2 patients no favours. I reduced my HbA1C from 50mmol/mol to 42 in 3 months and to 38 in another 6months where I have hovered for 3 plus years by that low carb approach just being my new normal way of eating.

 

[trophywench]

I have never ever equated total carb in anything with 'teaspoonsful of sugar'. I spose growing up in a home that had assorted teaspoons helped me there, knowing how much the sizes of our spoon bowl differed! (Although there were spoons we used, kept for when we needed them for recipes, eg one heaped Tablespoon of flour weighs 1oz and that's equal to 2 heaped dessertspoons.)

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Good luck with your adjustments and experiments @FGFlan

Hope you find a way of eating that suits you 🙂

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Yes that is something I'm noticing, some of her videos are a bit showy and then at the other end of the scale you've got NHS doctors who almost send you to sleep (I won't mention any names). She's not necessarily presenting anything new but what she has managed to do is curry the favour of the media and so more people who need to, are noticing her and the info she is putting out. This can only be a good thing and then hopefully people will find their own way by using many other resources like I'm doing now.

I quite like Marmite, but will choose Bovril if I have the choice. Likewise with the Glucose Goddess. I don't mind that her presentation style is a bit too "showy or glossy", etc. But: personally I am sure she is right about "certain things" and reducing one's glycaemic variability (GV) is one of "those things". This is my non-medical opinion, ALSO my Consultant's opinion. People without diabetes don't normally get many of the extremes that I sometimes get. Having reduced GV also feels totally sensible - very subjective I know, but it's hard to convince myself otherwise.

 

[harbottle]

From what I'm gleaning and I'm getting this message from the Glucose Goddess is one should aim to not necessarily have a flat glucose line but one that doesn't spike and to avoid rises/spikes of more than say 1.6 mmol/l. There didn't seem to be a focus and what your daily carb intake was but to have a line that doesn't go above, I think it was a figure just below 9 mmol/l.

Ignore her, she's just jumping on the bandwagon with information that's already known (And free) and a diet and supplements to sell.

Making people anxious about health when they don't need to be, in order to make money, seems to be growing trend.

 

[FGFlan]

Exactly, it is essential to notice these things.
I had some raw salmon and the nutrition info said 'when cooked as directed' and their directions said to put oil in the pan. So their nutrition info was based on the amount of oil they chose to use. I personally would not have added that much as I was dealing with high cholesterol.
So yup, watch out for the silliness of the labelling

This is just out of interest since my cholesterol is a bit on the high side. From what I've been learning the last few weeks being on this journey is sticking to healthy oils and avoiding glucose spikes ones fats/cholesterol should drop to healthy levels anyway.
As regards labelling I fell for an oil sold in Tesco called Olivio which had a picture of olives on the label and looked very much like a typical bottle of olive oil. On closer inspection when I got home it only had 15% olive oil in it!

 

[FGFlan]

The Glucose Goddess is very marmite. Many people have criticised her comments, and I think she’s very overhyped personally.

Spikes are normal in people without diabetes. Blood glucose moves up and down within the normal range. Only going up 1.6mmol would be ridiculous. I’ve measured friends’ blood sugars and they most definitely go up more than 1.6! None of them have diabetes.

I suggest reading from less….extreme? obsessed?…..sources.

She as in the Glucose Goddess mentions glucose spikes in people without diabetes. You don't have to have diabetes to experience glucose spikes but regardless according to her book (glucose revolution) they are harmful and should be avoided and I'm inclined to believe her as her logic about what happens in the body makes sense to me. I can't give you context as I'm still figuring all this out. Of course we have to define what we mean by spikes to me. According to NICe the target range to type 2 should be (see below). My spikes were often hitting 12mmol and this has been going on for some time so for me that's worrying as I'm wondering what's it doing to my organs. So saying glucose spikes are normal is worrying to me. What do you mean by normal? How high is the spike? How sharp is the rise? For how long?


Before a meal After a meal (at least 90mins)

4 to 7 mmol/L

under 8.5 mmol/L

​

 

[FGFlan]

I quite like Marmite, but will choose Bovril if I have the choice. Likewise with the Glucose Goddess. I don't mind that her presentation style is a bit too "showy or glossy", etc. But: personally I am sure she is right about "certain things" and reducing one's glycaemic variability (GV) is one of "those things". This is my non-medical opinion, ALSO my Consultant's opinion. People without diabetes don't normally get many of the extremes that I sometimes get. Having reduced GV also feels totally sensible - very subjective I know, but it's hard to convince myself otherwise.

"Glycemic variability (GV)" another new term for me 🙂, swings in blood glucose levels. Yep that's the message I'm getting from the GG and it makes sense to me what's she saying and seems to be backed up by research. I give her credit for highlighting that really most of use are eating wrong and she is one of many voices saying this and they all have their own way of getting the message out there.

 

[FGFlan]

Ignore her, she's just jumping on the bandwagon with information that's already known (And free) and a diet and supplements to sell.

Making people anxious about health when they don't need to be, in order to make money, seems to be growing trend.

I'm hoping people don't ignore her if it get's them to a better place and have a better relationship with food. Her style may not appeal to everyone but if it positively effects at least one person it will have been worth it.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

@FGFlan, for what little it's worth, I agree with the substance of both your replies above. I'm content to give the GG credit for stating things that may well already be findable in other places - but I hadn't found them. I don't begrudge her profiting - I'm old enough to make up my own mind on where I spend my "free-spending" money.

However, I'm not striving to get perfect GV either. It is, for me, just one of those things to remain aware of and factor in when I can. In my insulin dependent world I can "do my bit" to try to get my insulin timings better, trying to match the arrival of my insulin with the glucose from digested food. Things like that should reduce my GV and my personal view is that this is a good thing.

 

[Inka]

She as in the Glucose Goddess mentions glucose spikes in people without diabetes. You don't have to have diabetes to experience glucose spikes but regardless according to her book (glucose revolution) they are harmful and should be avoided and I'm inclined to believe her as her logic about what happens in the body makes sense to me. I can't give you context as I'm still figuring all this out. Of course we have to define what we mean by spikes to me. According to NICe the target range to type 2 should be (see below). My spikes were often hitting 12mmol and this has been going on for some time so for me that's worrying as I'm wondering what's it doing to my organs. So saying glucose spikes are normal is worrying to me. What do you mean by normal? How high is the spike? How sharp is the rise? For how long?


Before a meal After a meal (at least 90mins)

4 to 7 mmol/L

under 8.5 mmol/L

​

Yes, it does depend what you mean by spikes. I agree that if you’re going up to 12 (verified by fingerprick) then that’s not good. However, many of these gurus pathologise normal ups and down in blood sugar. They then wittingly or unwittingly create a market of ‘the worried well’ and can contribute to disordered eating.

Here’s one of many sites examining her claims:

7 Glucose Goddess claims fact-checked by a nutritionist

Nutritionist Sophie Gastman weighs in on the science behind Jessie Inchauspé’s viral blood sugar hacks

www.womenshealthmag.com

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