simple spike avoidance diet. burnt out

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will67

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Type 1
i'm type 1 for 15 years plus. i want a simple carb i can use for all meals that is low gi. at present i eat 100% rye bread, oats uncooked, or brown basmati rice. brown basmati gives me spikes i think. have beginnings of retinopathy so wondering if there is a simple diet. a boring diet. that avoids spikes. will do anything to cut down on spikes. my diet basically is chicken, rye bread, salad, occasional brown basmati rice, lots of oats with just water. ocasional blueberries. red lentils, sort of low carb dal. i still get spikes. i just need a arb thats safe predictable perhaps. someone suggested millet. thanks
 
Hi Will, sorry to hear you feeling so low, diabetes is exhausting sometimes! How high are the spikes you get? I think some are inevitable, and when I try to reduce them by cutting carbs and eating more protein then I get spikes from the protein, which I find less predictable, so I think moderate carbs and some spikes are better!

Having said that I have cut down spikes at breakfast (these were the biggest) by eating things like avocado (I don't need any bolus for this) or a scrambled egg ( I treat as 10g carbs) or something like rye bread or toast with peanut butter to slow down absorption.

With lunchtime something that can help is to go for a walk after lunch, or try taking all your lunchtime insulin 30 mins before, but then saving something like an apple to eat mid afternoon.

Seeded wholegrain foods seem to be the best for reducing spikes, with some protein or fat too, but don't beat yourself up about them too much as you don't want to lose all joy in eating!

I haven't experimented too much with alternative carbs myself, I know some people on here make their own bread etc with almond flour or similar, have a look in the recipe section, but as I say I find these still cause a rise, just hours later!
 
will67 said:
i'm type 1 for 15 years plus. i want a simple carb i can use for all meals that is low gi. at present i eat 100% rye bread, oats uncooked, or brown basmati rice. brown basmati gives me spikes i think. have beginnings of retinopathy so wondering if there is a simple diet. a boring diet. that avoids spikes. will do anything to cut down on spikes. my diet basically is chicken, rye bread, salad, occasional brown basmati rice, lots of oats with just water. ocasional blueberries. red lentils, sort of low carb dal. i still get spikes. i just need a arb thats safe predictable perhaps. someone suggested millet. thanks
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Hi Will, welcome to the forum 🙂 What insulin do you use? I found that whatever I ate I would be likely to have a bit of a spike, but this was largely due to the timing of my insulin dose - the food was digesting and converting to glucose before the insulin had got to work in my body. By injecting some time before eating I was able to reduce the number of spikes the majority of the time. For example, I have found that I can inject my novorapid 45 minutes before eating breakfast, about 30 minutes before lunch and around 15-20 minutes before my evening meal. It can vary from person to person, so you need to find out what works best for you 🙂 Also, if you can get hold of a Freestyle Libre either self-funded or on prescription, then this can really help you with the timing and also to see what foods suit you best. Forgive me if I'm telling you things you already know! 😱

What sort of levels are you getting currently after eating, and how long after eating are you testing?
 
thanks northerner/ and pigeon. i do need to make sure i take novorapid way before eating. i think thats the issue. lantus 29 at night. cant go up or down on that as its near perfect and hypos without awareness at night were a problem at 30. i use novorapid but not quite 30 minutes at lunch so there is part of my problem. i find i have colds often so bg seems far too unpredictable. i do have libre and miaowmiaow. very grateful, thanks)
 
will67 said:
thanks northerner/ and pigeon. i do need to make sure i take novorapid way before eating. i think thats the issue. lantus 29 at night. cant go up or down on that as its near perfect and hypos without awareness at night were a problem at 30. i use novorapid but not quite 30 minutes at lunch so there is part of my problem. i find i have colds often so bg seems far too unpredictable. i do have libre and miaowmiaow. very grateful, thanks)
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Have you considered a pump?
 
Northerner said:
Have you considered a pump?
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i have started to think about it but know nothing about them. I'm on benefits so would probably have to speak to nhs. Otherwise which one do i look for? Using spike, libre mmiaow
 
Benny G said:
Low carb, low protein, high fat has very small spikes.
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many thanks. not heard of that one) does that diet have side affects? i'm 51 so strokes are not my intended route. forgive me if on wrong track)
 
Benny G said:
Side effects usually include; tighter blood glucose control, lower HbA1c, improved lipid profile, reduced insulin requirement and maybe some weight loss.
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could i ask where is the best place to read about it and try?
 
Benny G said:
There are many low carbers on this forum. To begin your quest type 'Low carb' into the search box on the top right of this page (below the donate button)
The theory is actually straight forward. Reduce the carbs, reduce the insulin to match. Lower hypers, less severe hypo. Like anything else it takes work, but the results speak for themselves.
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I will,Thank you)
 
will67 said:
i'm type 1 for 15 years plus. i want a simple carb i can use for all meals that is low gi. at present i eat 100% rye bread, oats uncooked, or brown basmati rice. brown basmati gives me spikes i think. have beginnings of retinopathy so wondering if there is a simple diet. a boring diet. that avoids spikes. will do anything to cut down on spikes. my diet basically is chicken, rye bread, salad, occasional brown basmati rice, lots of oats with just water. ocasional blueberries. red lentils, sort of low carb dal. i still get spikes. i just need a arb thats safe predictable perhaps. someone suggested millet. thanks
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Have you tried seeds? Chia seeds are my current kick - high fibre, protein-complete, tasteless, versatile, add to anything liquid, minimal GI, work excellently for me in controlling BG but yr mileage may vary.
 
That's excellent. I will try. you can get away with just chia, no carbs? forgive my ignorance
 
will67 said:
That's excellent. I will try. you can get away with just chia, no carbs? forgive my ignorance
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28g of chia seeds (~2 tablespoons) has about 12g carbs but about 11g of that is fibre. You can just dump some in hot water for a quick porridge-ish thing. Or just dump some in coffee, which is what I often do. Or whatever, really. I like the added consistency and the slight crunchiness. As part of breakfast, it means I can eat wholewheat toast, fruit & melon without any big spikes. Again, YMMV.

https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3061/2

They are often compared to flax seeds which seem like they should be pretty neat also, except you have to grind them, whereas with chia - nothing needed.
 
You dont have to grind chia? would like to try. so i dont need to grind. on wiki it says they are undigestable in shell
 
will67 said:
You dont have to grind chia? would like to try. so i dont need to grind. on wiki it says they are undigestable in shell
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No, that's Wiki-nonsense. No need to grind.
 
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