Red meat/white meat

[Lockdownhero]

Hello, I have prediabetes and from reading the website it appears that red meat is not good for me. I would like to replace with some chicken sausages and turkey mince instead. But are these red or white meat?

Thanks in advance, L

 

[mikeyB]

Hi, @Lockdownhero, welcome to the forum.

There’s no need to avoid red meat. That said, chicken and turkey are white meat, but just eating that for the next 50 years could get brain numbingly boring. It’s carbohydrates you need to worry about - sugars, pasta, spuds, cereals, white bread (try and find lower carb wholemeal bread). Have a look on the Food&Recipes forum on this site for ideas.

Behave like a T2 diabetic - plenty of exercise, a decent diet, and you might not become one. I say might not because sometimes you can’t stop T2 coming on, but give yourself a good chance.

Best of luck🙂

 

[Ljc]

Hello @Lockdownhero welcome to the forum. I eat red and white meat . I would find sticking to white meat incredibly boring
As mike above says it’s carbohydrates we have to worry about as they rapidly turn to syrup in our blood

 

[Drummer]

We evolved eating meat of any kind - so how could it be bad for us?
There is so much 'information' which simply cannot be true.
'Healthy' amounts of carbohydrate would make me ill, I'm supposed to take tablets to reduce my below average levels of cholesterol even though they can elevate blood glucose, and in me, cause symptoms of dementia. It is opinion made true, even if it is wrong.

 

[rebrascora]

I am guessing you were also advised to eat a low fat diet and eat wholemeal/wholegrain carbs like bread and porridge and pasta and sweet potato? NHS dietary advice for diabetics is so far behind the curve!
Many of us find that eating a low carb, higher fat diet helps to lower our blood glucose and reduce our weight and we feel healthier and we happily manage on much less, but tasty food and in some cases our cholesterol even reduces despite eating more saturated fat. I probably eat more red meat than white and if I am going to eat poultry then I almost always have the dark meat from the legs and thighs as it has more flavour and more fat.

 

[Drummer]

Now I am torn between getting chicken thighs or beef steaks out of the freezer.

 

[Lockdownhero]

Blooming 'eck this is complicated. I was just going by the prediabetes part of the Diabetes UK website:

3. Cut down on red and processed meat
Having more red and processed meats like bacon, ham, sausages, pork, beef and lamb are all associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. They also have links to heart problems and certain types of cancer.

Try to get your protein from healthier foods like:

• pulses such as beans and lentils
• eggs
• fish
• chicken and turkey
• unsalted nuts

Fish is really good for us and oily fish like salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3 oil which helps protect your heart. Try to have at least one portion of oily fish each week and one portion of white fish.

 

[silentsquirrel]

Mmmmm.
The forum used to be much more separate from DUK.
I think that because DUK is a charity, it feels it necessary to toe the NHS line on dietary advice.
Unfortunately, the NHS advice is only moving very slowly away from high carb, low fat. It IS moving, but too slowly for many of us (but not all!) on the forum. Hence the confusion between the advice from the NHS and DUK, and what members of the forum say works for them!

You have to find what works for you. I personally eat bacon and ham quite often, and feel the recent research on links to cancer are not nearly as great as over-hyped press reports suggested. I see no problem with eating beef, lamb and pork.

Good luck! Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Ljc]

You have to find what woks best for you as we are all different in this respect.
Basically diabetes is an inability for our bodily to deal with carbohydrates ,sugar is a simple carbohydrate and in the U.K. is already included in the total carbs in the nutritional label mostly on the back of packs etc .

As I said earlier I eat red meat, i also eat full fat things mostly because they often have less carbs that the reduced fat version, they also taste better and keep me feeling fuller longer, however I don’t go overboard on fatty things. I like many others here do not go by the NHS eatwell plate or is it called the healthy eating plate ? as it’s too carby for me , slowly the nhs and our main site is coming round to the idea that with T2 our dietary needs are different.

I still eat things like sausages and burgers except I opt for the very high meat content ones as they have few carbs and they taste wonderful .
A good breakfast for us is the traditional cooked one minus the fried bread, potato products and baked beans.
An omelette .
Scrambled eggs .
Some have yogurt with a few berries.

Now I’ve mentioned fruit , yes it is very healthy however many of us need to be carful with fruit,
It the fructose ( fruit sugar) any fruit with berry as part of is name is often a better choice , nowt wrong with a few strawberries and cream.

Now for some more good news .
With pre diabetes you stand a very good chance if turning this completely around .

My personal non medical opinion is to read up on T2 diabetes in this forum , I will give a link later as well as the learning zone on the main site .

If you can afford it get yourself a glucose meter , it’s the ongoing cost of the testing strips you need to watch out for many brand use strips that cost over £15 for a pot if 50
Where theGluco navii uses strips that cost £8 for 50
If you decide to test then you will need to buy more sptest strips and a box of lancets as the only provide 10 in starter packs .

As promised here is a link to Useful links for people new to diabetes
I know you haven’t fully joined our club , hopefully you never will
Maggie Davies letter in the T2 section was written in the time when fat was believed to be our enemy , but the rest of her advise is spot on.
Test review adjust , explains how we test ourselves so we can make informed choice .
Painless pricks explains the best way to prick your fingers without it hurting

 

[Lockdownhero]

Thanks for your replies. There is some good pieces of reading there. I had some blood tests last week and then got a call from the 'diabetes nurse' saying I was prediabetes. I was hit for six. It is a real wake up call and have been careful with my health for last 4 days. Basically the nurse told me to lose weight and stop eating sugary snacks. She pointed me to the Diabetes UK website and told me to take the advice from the prediabetes section from the main menu.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Blooming 'eck this is complicated. I was just going by the prediabetes part of the Diabetes UK website:

3. Cut down on red and processed meat
Having more red and processed meats like bacon, ham, sausages, pork, beef and lamb are all associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. They also have links to heart problems and certain types of cancer.

Try to get your protein from healthier foods like:

• pulses such as beans and lentils
• eggs
• fish
• chicken and turkey
• unsalted nuts

Fish is really good for us and oily fish like salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3 oil which helps protect your heart. Try to have at least one portion of oily fish each week and one portion of white fish.

Things are rarely simple in diabetes-land!

What you get on the forum is applied and practical knowledge from people living with diabetes. On the Diabetes UK website you get official guidance, based on clinical research. Most of the time there is a lot of overlap, but you will always be able to find instances where what people choose to do here isn’t exactly what is suggested by the NHS / Diabetes UK 🙂

The ‘red meat’ thing, I *think* relates to some research 2-3 years ago where particularly processed and cured meats (burgers, bacon, continental sausages and the like) were found to associate with increased risk of heart disease. But often these pieces of research are observational and identify correlation not causation (people with red hair often have Irish ancestry, but having red hair isn’t what *causes* them to be Irish).

But since people with diabetes are more likely to have heart disease, there is an argument for them to bear it in mind.

However, specific cases may not apply - eg a nice juicy, organic grass-fed steak vs bargain bucket ‘machine-scrapings‘ burgers loaded with preservatives. Both red meat... but unlikely to suggest the same sort of overall diet (and outcome).