Good morning, thank you for adding me to diabetes uk, I have been type 2 diabetic for 8 years, I have managed ok until last year when I was diagnosed with diverticulitis, I am now struggling with my diet and blood sugar levels, I would like to try a low carb diet but a dietitian recommend 120g of carbs a day. I would be so greatfull for any advice on diet and lifestyle changes that anyone would be kind enough to help me with. Thanks
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
struggling
- Thread starter Dyand
- Start date
- Status
SueEK
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello Dyand and welcome. Sorry to hear you have an added complication to your diabetes. How we each respond to carbs is very different, I was having much less than 120g and my bg’s were good but was losing too much weight so dietician advised I up them which I have and now probably have around the 120g mark and in fact my bg’s are pretty much the same. However what works for one does not always work for another so I think you need to test and see what numbers you get, change your diet to suit your diverticulitis and again test so that you can get the right balance for you. I’m sure this will take a time and quite a bit of adjustment but it will be worth it in the end. Good luck with it all and I’m sure others will have helpful suggestions and I’m pretty sure there are others with both diabetes and diverticulitis who can help.
Bronco Billy
Moderator
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Parent of person with diabetes
Hi Dyand, welcome to the forum. Diet is always a tricky one to give specific advice about because different people have different needs. It’s about finding what works for you, which involves some trial and error. Hopefully, the links below will help you move in the right direction.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/food-and-diabetes/i-have-type-2-diabetes
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/food-and-keeping-active/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/managing-type-2-diabetes/best-and-worst-foods/
https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/diabetestype2.pdf
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/food-and-diabetes/i-have-type-2-diabetes
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-diabetes/food-and-keeping-active/
https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/managing-type-2-diabetes/best-and-worst-foods/
https://www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts/diabetestype2.pdf
TheClockworkDodo
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Hello @Dyand and welcome 🙂
Sorry to hear you are struggling. My Mum has diverticulitis so I'm trying to think of things she can eat which I could eat without spiking my blood sugar or needing lots of insulin. Dairy is the thing which most comes to mind - we both eat full-fat yogurts and cheese and I know Mum eats a lot of butter - would those be possible for you? If you are trying to keep your carbs relatively low then plenty of healthy fat is a good alternative. You should still be able to eat meat, fish, and eggs as well so if you can eat plenty of those then that should help you keep the carbs down too.
I don't think you will be able to go as low carb as some people here do, but what people can tolerate in the way of carbs does vary from person to person anyway, as Sue says. Boiled potatoes might be feasible for you, as they are lower carb than other types. I suspect you will have to avoid all bread to manage the combination of diabetes and diverticulitis, but you could try some crackers if you're careful to keep to ones which don't have grains or seeds in them. Mum eats TUC biscuits and Hobnobs - and as it happens so do I, though I'm not sure I'd recommend Hobnobs to a type 2, I eat them to stop my blood sugar going too low! But there are other things like cream crackers which I should think would be feasible.
Do you have a blood sugar meter? I wouldn't suggest trying oats unless you do and can see what they do to your blood sugar, but if you can test and see if you are OK with them, then porridge might be a way to get some of the carbs the dietician wants you to have without spiking your blood sugar too much. It's an individual thing though - some people here can eat them and others really can't, so it's not a good idea to try them unless you can test to see how they effect you.
I know veg are a problem with diverticulitis, though I think it's another thing like diabetes where the exact things you can/can't eat vary from person to person, so you'd probably need to experiment a little with those - the only ones my Mum can manage are carrots. If like her you have to avoid anything leafy you may need a vitamin/mineral supplement, so you might need to talk to your GP about that.
Obviously all nuts and seeds are a no-no with diverticulitis, and all seedy fruit, which rules out berries - which of course are the best fruit for people with diabetes 🙄 I'm trying to think, but I suspect the fruits which my Mum can tolerate are just not suitable for someone with type 2 - she manages small quantities of things like apricots and peaches, and I'd definitely need insulin for those.
Sorry to hear you are struggling. My Mum has diverticulitis so I'm trying to think of things she can eat which I could eat without spiking my blood sugar or needing lots of insulin. Dairy is the thing which most comes to mind - we both eat full-fat yogurts and cheese and I know Mum eats a lot of butter - would those be possible for you? If you are trying to keep your carbs relatively low then plenty of healthy fat is a good alternative. You should still be able to eat meat, fish, and eggs as well so if you can eat plenty of those then that should help you keep the carbs down too.
I don't think you will be able to go as low carb as some people here do, but what people can tolerate in the way of carbs does vary from person to person anyway, as Sue says. Boiled potatoes might be feasible for you, as they are lower carb than other types. I suspect you will have to avoid all bread to manage the combination of diabetes and diverticulitis, but you could try some crackers if you're careful to keep to ones which don't have grains or seeds in them. Mum eats TUC biscuits and Hobnobs - and as it happens so do I, though I'm not sure I'd recommend Hobnobs to a type 2, I eat them to stop my blood sugar going too low! But there are other things like cream crackers which I should think would be feasible.
Do you have a blood sugar meter? I wouldn't suggest trying oats unless you do and can see what they do to your blood sugar, but if you can test and see if you are OK with them, then porridge might be a way to get some of the carbs the dietician wants you to have without spiking your blood sugar too much. It's an individual thing though - some people here can eat them and others really can't, so it's not a good idea to try them unless you can test to see how they effect you.
I know veg are a problem with diverticulitis, though I think it's another thing like diabetes where the exact things you can/can't eat vary from person to person, so you'd probably need to experiment a little with those - the only ones my Mum can manage are carrots. If like her you have to avoid anything leafy you may need a vitamin/mineral supplement, so you might need to talk to your GP about that.
Obviously all nuts and seeds are a no-no with diverticulitis, and all seedy fruit, which rules out berries - which of course are the best fruit for people with diabetes 🙄 I'm trying to think, but I suspect the fruits which my Mum can tolerate are just not suitable for someone with type 2 - she manages small quantities of things like apricots and peaches, and I'd definitely need insulin for those.
- Status