I'm certainly coming to the conclusion that I'm on my own with no direction or advice available (given I'm not retired or unemployed). Guess I keep guessing until my legs fall off!
Hey ho! LOL.
Hi Ian, I'd suggest having a read of
Maggie Davey's letter for starters - it should give you a good overview of the best approach to food choices to help you with your diabetes. There's nothing particularly 'special' in the food suggestions she describes which would mean they wouldn't be perfectly healthy for the other members of your household, although obviously some selection would have to be made to cater for the particular regimes of some.
Basically, what you are looking for is food that will release its energy slowly and steadily, meaning that your body is more able to cope with it without sending your levels high, then dropping them lower (a 'spike') or possibly sending them high and they remain high. A good approach is described in the GL(Glycaemic Load) diet -
The GL Diet for Dummies is a very good introduction to this method of selecting and combining food.
🙂 Also, you should be testing your blood sugar levels before and after eating meals in order to ascertain how well, or otherwise, your body tolerates the food (described very well in
Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S ). If you don't have blood glucose monitor then it is well worth getting one. If your nurse or GP won't supply one, then the cheapest option we have come across is the
SD Codefree Meter which has
test strips at around £8 for 50. Once you have established what food choices you tolerate well then you won't need to test as frequently, except perhaps when you want to try something new or for the occasional spot check
🙂
Forget fat as being a problem, it is actually helpful for people with diabetes as it helps to slow the digestion and reducing the possibility of the spikes I mentioned earlier. Its role in weight gain is being largely discredited now, with many studies showing that it is the increase in carbohydrates in our diet that is the principle cause of weight gain in the population over the past 30 years. Here's why, particularly in Type 2 diabetes: when you eat carbohydrates your pancreas releases insulin to allow your body to use the glucose that is released into the blood for energy. Unfortunately, with Type 2, there is something called 'insulin resistance' at play, which means your body is not able to use the insulin efficiently, and your blood sugar levels become elevated as a result. What then happens is that your pancreas tries to overcome this resistance by producing even more insulin. Unfortunately (again!) because your body still can't use all the glucose efficiently, the insulin works to create new fat cells and you gain weight (or, at least, fail to lose any weight). So, reducing your carbs reduces the need for your body to produce excess insulin and less fat is laid down
🙂
When you were exercising this would have hugely improved your body's ability to use insulin efficiently, so your weight would have been much more balanced. If you're not able to exercise to the same intensity now then it's even more important to ensure that your body is not being overstressed by too much carbohydrate which it finds difficult to handle.
Sorry for such a long-winded answer, but I hope it helps you to understand more of what is going on, and a methodical way of gaining control over your diabetes, hope it helps!
🙂
