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Pre-diabetes help please

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sausages

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Hello!
My Mum (who is in her 80s) has been told by the Dr that she is pre-diabetic. With not much more information than that.
She was provided with a link to go on a course, but this turned out to be 14 sessions, in a classroom with practical activities and seemed a bit over the top. Really she just wants some direction in what she can and can't eat in order to try to prevent getting full diabetes.

She obviously knows she needs to try and reduce her sugar intake, but we're not really sure how strict she needs to be.

I've taken her blood sugar three times with finger prick glucose monitor:
Week one, I did in the afternoon about 2 hours after lunch got a reading of 9.1
Last week before breakfast: 6.1
This week before breakfast: 8.0

She doesn't have sugar in her tea.
She has porridge with honey for breakfast.
Is rather partial to cakes and biscuits (who isn't!). I know she's trying to cut these out but finding it very hard.
She likes potatoes with her dinner and doesn't want to change this.
She has changed her usual white bread to a seeded loaf.
She likes a glass or two of white wine in the evening - is this something she should avoid?

She has severe osteoarthritis and struggles to walk far so increasing exercise isn't really an option.

Any help, advice or pointers for information would be gratefully received!
 
Hello @sausages and welcome to the forum.
Unfortunately as many have discovered, the advice to reduce sugar intake is very commonly given but it is as useful as a chocolate tea pot when dealing with type 2 diabetes.
Oats, and all grain are high carb, honey is too, ordinary cakes and biscuits, potatoes, bread of any kind all are high carb.
Unless the wine is very sweet, it shouldn't be a problem.
Some people do find that porridge is not too bad, but you need to test to see how it is digested as it is a very individual thing.
Luckily there are many recipes for low carb cakes biscuits and bread if you want to make your own. There is a useful website, sugarfreelondoner, with many hundreds of recipes.
 
Thanks @Drummer I'll take a look at the recipes.
I'm just wondering how strict Mum needs to be with her diet at her stage of pre-diabetes.
She's rather stuck in her ways and every time I see her I'm being a right Debbie-downer telling her she shouldn't be eating this or that. How bossy do I need to be in trying to persuade her to stick to a low-carb diet? Does it matter how often she has the occasional treat? (her definition of occasional and mine might be different).
 
Hello @sausages and a very warm welcome from me too 🙂. As mentioned we have to look at all carbohydrates - sugars and starches and some foods can be very high. I've the found carbs and calorie book/app very useful as it lists carbs for various foods and portion sizes with photos https://carbsandcals.com/
 
sausages said:
She was provided with a link to go on a course, but this turned out to be 14 sessions, in a classroom with practical activities and seemed a bit over the top.
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That sounds like fantastic support to me! I’d definitely take up the course.
 
Lucyr said:
That sounds like fantastic support to me! I’d definitely take up the course.
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You might feel very differently in your 80s.
 
silentsquirrel said:
You might feel very differently in your 80s.
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Not really, you still have up to 20 years to live even in 80s, and the post says they want to understand how to control it and prevent getting T2 in that time. I think I’d enjoy learning about it in a group setting rather than just reading the internet alone at home.
 
Lucyr said:
Not really, you still have up to 20 years to live even in 80s, and the post says they want to understand how to control it and prevent getting T2 in that time. I think I’d enjoy learning about it in a group setting rather than just reading the internet alone at home.
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With severe arthritis and struggling to walk far just getting to 14 sessions would be very stressful for me.

Try reducing carbs rather than cutting out, it may well make enough difference.
 
Hi and welcome, do you know what her HbA1c level was? pre diabetic is usually between 42 and 47 (48 and over is diabetic).
As above as a type 2, (generally) we need to reduce all carbs, not just sugars.
Check out the learning zone on here and the eatfreshwell website and the sugarfreelondoner website for some good diabetic friendly recipes and food advice. I find the carbs and cals book (written in conjunction with Diabetes UK) is also very useful as it gives lots of info and has photos of actual portion sizes so is a good visual reference.
Note there are many things that can affect blood glucose levels, and it changes all the time throughout the day.
Testing 1st thing in the morning on waking/rising is a good idea to get a baseline fasting blood sugar level.
If testing foods to see how they affect BG levels, its best generally to test immediately before eating, then about two hours after eating, and you are looking at a rise in BG levels of 3, ideally 2. So if BG is 6 before eating you want it to be no higher than 9 and ideally 8 after two hours.
My understanding is that they (medical bods) tend to be a bit more lenient with more elderly folks, possibly?
Good luck with finding something that works for your Mum, and remember that everyone is different, and everyone's response to diabetes and how they deal with it can also be very different to someone else.
Just try to find what works for her....
Cheers
 
sausages said:
Thanks @Drummer I'll take a look at the recipes.
I'm just wondering how strict Mum needs to be with her diet at her stage of pre-diabetes.
She's rather stuck in her ways and every time I see her I'm being a right Debbie-downer telling her she shouldn't be eating this or that. How bossy do I need to be in trying to persuade her to stick to a low-carb diet? Does it matter how often she has the occasional treat? (her definition of occasional and mine might be different).
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Maybe describing it as a way to avoid high carb ingredients causing high blood glucose would make more sense.
Taking out wheat flour and replacing it with almond or coconut to make cakes or puddings, using less bread, more filling when making sandwiches, choosing vege mixtures without sweetcorn, having stirfry rather than potatoes all add up over the days and weeks.
These days I find that what people describe as 'treats' are really unappealing - often loaded with sugar to the point I'd feel ill trying to chew them, or so bland I'd wonder what the point was.
 
Also watch out for the "eat lots of fruit and veg" advice, as lots of fruit and veg are also high in carbs, so avoid, or reduce, all the below ground veg, eg: potato, sweet potato, parsnips, carrot, etc as most below ground root veg are high in carb.
However, most above ground veg and leafy greens and salad stuff is fine.
Likewise with fruit some are very high in carbs, eg: bananas and exotic fruits. Whereas berries and apples are generally ok. But obviously be sensible with portion size and how often you eat them, as they still contain sugar (albeit natural sugar), but sugar is sugar regardless!
 
The more recent NICE guidelines are that for more mature people and I would say your Mum is in that category then a more personalised management and diagnostic threshold is more appropriate taking into account other health conditions and risk factors.
There is some argument that making some modest changes to diet for less carbohydrates would be beneficial in particular if she needs to lose weight and if her HbA1C is at the upper end of the prediabetes range of 42-47mmol/mo.
Just reducing the portion size of any high carb foods, so half as many potatoes, 1 slice of bread rather than 2 and perhaps cutting down on cakes and biscuits.
I see you have a monitor so some strategic testing of some of the meals, so testing before eating and after 2 hours where you are looking for an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l, if it is then the meal is too carb heavy.
Although porridge is often suggested as a good breakfast option it may be something which is pushing her blood glucose up in the morning so is starting the day with a quite high level so that would be something to test.
Many have full fat Greek yoghurt with berries and nut or seeds or eggs for breakfast.
This link may give you some ideas for a few meal options that she could try. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
But I really don't think there is too much to worry about but worth keeping an eye on.
Making sure she is drinking enough is important as elderly people often don't drink enough and can be dehydrated.
Incidentally a couple of glasses of wine should be OK better if not a sweet wine though.
 
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Thank you so much for all your replies. I really appreciate you taking the time out to help.
There is some great advice here. I will check out all the links.

Those links are perfect @JITR Really easy to understand. I will print them out and show Mum.

@Leadinglights thank you that's really helpful. I don't know what her HbA1C was maybe on the lower end of the scale as the Dr just said they will test again in 6 months and didn't seem to be overly worried.
I will try testing before and after her meals so she can have an idea of what is happening when she eats.

I think it will be much easier for her to understand reducing portion size of her staples than trying to introduce new-fangled, exotic foods like stir-fries! :rofl:
 
sausages said:
Thank you so much for all your replies. I really appreciate you taking the time out to help.
There is some great advice here. I will check out all the links.

Those links are perfect @JITR Really easy to understand. I will print them out and show Mum.

@Leadinglights thank you that's really helpful. I don't know what her HbA1C was maybe on the lower end of the scale as the Dr just said they will test again in 6 months and didn't seem to be overly worried.
I will try testing before and after her meals so she can have an idea of what is happening when she eats.

I think it will be much easier for her to understand reducing portion size of her staples than trying to introduce new-fangled, exotic foods like stir-fries! :rofl:
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Hi
Bless your mum ...it's hard when we stuck in our ways.
Re exercise, when I was diagnosed and had to up my exercise I increased my visits to the swimming pool as I have always loved the water. I joined the water aerobics class, it started with a voucher/referral from my GP and then I just carried on with it.
Does, or did your mum enjoy swimming? The classes are mostly attended by those of us that are getting on in years
It's good fun and we can laugh at ourselves and each other, good exercise as the water supports old joints and a good way to socialise and make new friends.
Just an idea.
 
@sausages welcome to the forum, I’m sure with your help following the useful advice and tips you will pick up from this great forum you will be able

help your mother to not tip into the diabetic range, but reduce her Hba1c back into the normal range
I knew the @freshwell site would’ve already been recommended by others, although not something i followed myself but it’s a great idea to a more healthy eating lifestyle that really is good for all

Regarding breakfasts, these days I really enjoy my chopped fruit n strawberries in full fat Greek yoghurt with seeds & nuts
 
Pollyanna said:
Hi
Bless your mum ...it's hard when we stuck in our ways.
Re exercise, when I was diagnosed and had to up my exercise I increased my visits to the swimming pool as I have always loved the water. I joined the water aerobics class, it started with a voucher/referral from my GP and then I just carried on with it.
Does, or did your mum enjoy swimming? The classes are mostly attended by those of us that are getting on in years
It's good fun and we can laugh at ourselves and each other, good exercise as the water supports old joints and a good way to socialise and make new friends.
Just an idea.
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Sorry, I feel bad poo-pooing what would normally be a great idea.
Mum (despite growing up at the seaside) is terrified of the water and can't swim!
But even despite that now wouldn't even be able to cope with the pool. She can't manage steps or stairs and struggles to get herself dressed.
 
sausages said:
Sorry, I feel bad poo-pooing what would normally be a great idea.
Mum (despite growing up at the seaside) is terrified of the water and can't swim!
But even despite that now wouldn't even be able to cope with the pool. She can't manage steps or stairs and struggles to get herself dressed.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear she is so restricted but there are some seated exercises on the NHS website some of which may help her getting moving a bit more.
 
sausages said:
Sorry, I feel bad poo-pooing what would normally be a great idea.
Mum (despite growing up at the seaside) is terrified of the water and can't swim!
But even despite that now wouldn't even be able to cope with the pool. She can't manage steps or stairs and struggles to get herself dressed.
Click to expand...
That's ok ...was just an idea.
Our pool is disability friendly, no steps, double sized changing rooms and the classes are held in the shallow end. My granddaughter came with me for the first few weeks.
And another idea....I haven't been but a friend goes to an exercise class for seniors at our local community hall where it is all done sitting down.
Maybe there is something like that in your area?
I think we all need to brain storm in getting your mum moving
 
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