Topic: Diabetes

[goodlife]

Health issue,too many books on the subject are so anal about weigh this weigh that you lose sight of what were here for which is living a normal life and by tempering and adjusting our eating patterns you can live with Diabetes (type 2).

I wish it would be only books that are so anal about it all...I find doctors trying to push you to far. They only see what the computer says on screen and what the bloody guidelines are...all about numbers..
Even the diabetic nurses in our hospital admit that one cannot live everyday life for how doctors would want the numbers to show in tests.
Pauline....don't try to live to 'fit' for you diabetes...adjust you life to suit YOU and your needs. I find most it comes down just little adjustments...you can have sweet treats etc. but knowing not to eat it any of it into empty tummy or have something else first that will slow the sugar effect. I eat potatoes with their skins (other than mash of course)...try to have non-carb rich veg and meat more on plate. Alcohol wasn't issue for me as I found out early on that it didn't suit me anymore when on medication so now I only have occasional little sniff and sip. Most of the time I choose 'whole wheat' or 'brown' option with pasta and rice rather than white.
Little things like that can make big difference but often comes down just learning new habit to choose them in first place.
Oh yes...portion sizes...that is my problem...usual scenario; I'm on the allotment...loads of fruit dangling from trees...yum, soooo tasty..I should limit myself just few...but there is soooo many to eat...so then I end up having to make a choice..do I skip the 'proper meal' and eat more fruit (both options would be too much) or being a good girl and stick to just few..NOPE..the 'belly full of fruit' sounds much nicer option...but then I need to take more medicine and do a bit of more physical work out to combat the sugar load...
It is all about managing it...not perfecting it...there is life to live too...

[Paulines7]

Thank you for your replies.  To begin with I found the whole thing a minefield and was very confused.  However, since getting a meter, things are finally falling into place. 

I found that everyone says something different, whether the information is from a GP, a nurse, a member of the public, in books or on a forum.  For example, I have been told by my GP to eat all fruits with the exception of grapes.  My GP and nurse said to eat brown rice.  I tried it once and my GL shot up to 29.0!!  Evidently food affects everyone in a different way, so I test before eating and an hour or so afterwards. 

I have spoken to people who are diabetic and have been amazed that they eat whatever they want without restriction!  Maybe they are just relying on their medications.  I aim to get my GL's lowered by diet alone over the next few months.  At the end of the day I do not want to lose any limbs.  My aunt had to have her foot amputated through diabetes when she was my age.  That would really ruin my life and put an end to my gardening. 

For those of you who are also diabetic, I have found the Diabetic Support Forum UK really helpful and know far more than any professionals.  One of the moderators on there has also found that she cannot eat brown rice.  She told me to grate cauliflower and fry it in oil until brown and use as a rice substitute.  I have tried frying it with toasted sesame oil and ordinary olive oil.  Both were very good.  I will soon be trying it with some of the infused oils that are now in the shops. 

I thought I would grow some spaghetti squash as an alternative to pasta.  There seem to be several different types.  Any recommendations please?  I am off to Cornwall shortly and as there are plenty of large garden centres where we are going, I will hopefully find some seeds there.  Our local GC's haven't any in stock. 

I must go now to check the greenhouse.  I forgot to fleece my seedlings last night and although I don't think there was a frost, I am keeping my fingers crossed that they haven't suffered. 

[galina]

Hope you are still going strong a year on.  Best wishes 

[Obelixx]

Me too.   You may find these pages helpful with regards to low GI foods.  http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search/guides-techniques?query=low%20GI

I would also suggest getting a spiralizer.  There's a good one available for about £30 on Amazon.  You can then make "noodles" out of any suitable vegetable such as carrots, beetroot, daikon, courgettes......  Courgettes are good for replacing pasta and noodles and they make coleslaw with raw beetroot and carrots and so on very easy and fun.

[Paulines7]

Hope you are still going strong a year on.  Best wishes 

Me too.   You may find these pages helpful with regards to low GI foods.  http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search/guides-techniques?query=low%20GI

I would also suggest getting a spiralizer.  There's a good one available for about £30 on Amazon.  You can then make "noodles" out of any suitable vegetable such as carrots, beetroot, daikon, courgettes......  Courgettes are good for replacing pasta and noodles and they make coleslaw with raw beetroot and carrots and so on very easy and fun.

Thank you for asking after me folks!  These past 12 months have seen my HbA1c go down from 60 when first diagnosed to 44 in December.  I have achieved this without medication so am very pleased.  I follow a very low carb diet and test myself whenever I eat anything new.  The website below has helped me considerably throughout my journey and I recommend it to anyone who is diabetic, especially those newly diagnosed: 
http://diabetes-support.org.uk/diabetes_forum/index.php

Obbelix, I was looking at the BBC Good Food site last week and found a new recipe for cauliflower rice.  It is a very good website and I am pleased that they are now recommending a low carb diet for diabetics.  There has been a big change concerning healthy living and many experiments have shown that the high carb, low fat diet recommended in the past is responsible for the rise in obesity. 

I bought a Julienne peeler a few months back and mainly use it for making courgette noodles.  I still can't eat rice or pasta without raising my blood sugar but then they say that a portion of rice contain the equivalent of 20 teaspoons of sugar.  Since my HbA1c has dropped, I now find I can eat things that were off the menu 12 months ago.  I can have the occasional piece of cake and also found out that Waitrose ice cream has less carbs than any other ice cream I have found.  I don't go overboard but can have a couple of scoopfuls without it raising my blood sugar. 

I have also lost weight this past year.  I was 2 stones lighter in September but 1 stone has been put back on since then.  Once I get out into the garden again, I am hoping I will lose it again.

Thank you both for your best wishes.   

[Obelixx]

Well done.   Since Possum is now living in student digs during the week I have switched OH and me to wholemeal pasta whose flavour I prefer.  Have you tried that?   Basmati rice is supposed to have a lower GI index than any other so that may be worth trying too once you've lost your stone again.

I'm not diabetic myself but am a bit overweight and, having had two new feet in 2013, now find my knees creak as my walk has changed so I have gone to a low GI, low carb diet to lose weight.  6 kilos since January 6th and am feeling much better - and I can get into all sorts of dresses I haven't ben able to wear since being stuck on a sofa for 6 months while the new feet healed.   It's also worked on OH whose blood pressure was a tad high.  Now he's fine and all without meds.

Keep up the good work.

[galina]

That is such very good news Pauline, especially because you are a little challenged to exercise as you might wish.  All your own work.  I'm coming up to 4 years now, still the same regime of low carb like you and in the low 40s for 3 years now, 39 the most recent, no medication. 

Yes it is amazing what you can have on a low carb regime.  Icecream in small portions is no worse than a couple of slices of bread!  And Greek yoghurt (or my recent discovery of Turkish yoghurt) mixed with cocoa powder, a drop of vanilla, sweetener and a handful of chopped nuts is good enough (like choc mousse) for a dinner party - especially decorated with strawberries or cherries - the others get a few After Eights for decoration too.  Another guilt-free yummie is Atkin's cheesecake (recipe on www).

Reading the labels for carbohydrate content is a must and an eye opener.

So pleased for you 

[galina]

Obbelix (or should that read Asterix now?  ) congratulations!  Hope the knees will get better too.  Great stuff on your OH's results too.   

[Obelixx]

Thanks Galina and well done to you too.  Impressive results over a sustained period.

My nickname is based on my love of obelisks, not my shape.  No asterisks in the garden except when the nettles are stinging badly and my language needs a bleep.

[galina]

Thanks Galina and well done to you too.  Impressive results over a sustained period.

My nickname is based on my love of obelisks, not my shape.  No asterisks in the garden except when the nettles are stinging badly and my language needs a bleep.

Thank you!  Ahh - and I meant the cartoon characters (Asterix is the slim one  ).  Yep there are bleeps here too and for the same reason - or just plain slipping over and landing in the mud   

[Obelixx]

I don't know about the cartoon characters but I do live in Belgium where the ancient Belgae had fun with Julius Caesar and many other Roman invaders.  There was one in particular called Ambiorix at what is now Tongeren and that's why I have an X instead of an sk.

I hope you have a bleep free day.  I'm busy making an orange drizzle cake for the coffee break at a dance class this pm and hoping the weather will improve enough for me to finish my other spring hanging basket and sow some toms and chilies in propagators. 

[galina]

I don't know about the cartoon characters but I do live in Belgium where the ancient Belgae had fun with Julius Caesar and many other Roman invaders.  There was one in particular called Ambiorix at what is now Tongeren and that's why I have an X instead of an sk.

I hope you have a bleep free day.  I'm busy making an orange drizzle cake for the coffee break at a dance class this pm and hoping the weather will improve enough for me to finish my other spring hanging basket and sow some toms and chilies in propagators.

Yes thankyou, but it was sooo cold with an icy blast, that working in the greenhouse was preferrable!

I am showing my age here  , but certainly these cartoons were all the rage when I was a teenager and were translated into many languages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix

Exactly as you say, it was all about getting the upper hand over the invading Romans.   

(Sorry this is a bit of a drastic thread drift)

[Paulines7]

Well done.   Since Possum is now living in student digs during the week I have switched OH and me to wholemeal pasta whose flavour I prefer.  Have you tried that?   Basmati rice is supposed to have a lower GI index than any other so that may be worth trying too once you've lost your stone again.

I'm not diabetic myself but am a bit overweight and, having had two new feet in 2013, now find my knees creak as my walk has changed so I have gone to a low GI, low carb diet to lose weight.  6 kilos since January 6th and am feeling much better - and I can get into all sorts of dresses I haven't ben able to wear since being stuck on a sofa for 6 months while the new feet healed.   It's also worked on OH whose blood pressure was a tad high.  Now he's fine and all without meds.
Keep up the good work.

Obelix, I have tried basmati rice, brown and white as well as wholemeal pasta and they all raise my blood glucose levels considerably.  I can get away with 1 slice of bread and it doesn't make any difference to me whether it is white or wholemeal.  I usually have seeded or granary as I prefer the taste.  Well done on yor weight loss and having two new feet.  That's what I could do with really as my feet are deformed but a consultant at the hospital has said there is nothing that can be done. 

That is such very good news Pauline, especially because you are a little challenged to exercise as you might wish.  All your own work.  I'm coming up to 4 years now, still the same regime of low carb like you and in the low 40s for 3 years now, 39 the most recent, no medication. 

Yes it is amazing what you can have on a low carb regime.  Icecream in small portions is no worse than a couple of slices of bread!  And Greek yoghurt (or my recent discovery of Turkish yoghurt) mixed with cocoa powder, a drop of vanilla, sweetener and a handful of chopped nuts is good enough (like choc mousse) for a dinner party - especially decorated with strawberries or cherries - the others get a few After Eights for decoration too.  Another guilt-free yummie is Atkin's cheesecake (recipe on www).

Reading the labels for carbohydrate content is a must and an eye opener.
So pleased for you 

Galina, well done on your low HbA1c level. 

I buy and eat a lot of Turkish yoghurt after finding it in Lidl; in fact I had some with raspberries and sugar free jelly for breakfast.  I must try the recipe you quote above.  It sounds yummy!  I agree entirely about reading labels.  To begin with my supermarket shopping took hours but I more or less know now which products have low or no carbs.

I had a small piece of Sainsbury's New York cheesecake last night and tested 5.8 an hour later, so I was pleased about that.  Every two or three weeks I make up a batch of low carb muffins and put them in the freezer.  I have adapted the chocolate orange muffin recipe and also make them with lemon or almond flavouring.  I will post it in the Recipes section.

[Obelixx]

Pauline - get another opinion for your feet.   A scan to confirm stress fractures or arthritis actually showed my problem was that the cartilage connecting my metatarsals to my 3 middle toes had popped so I had painful crunching when walking.  The first "expert" foot consultant told me nothing could be done so I asked if straightening the bunions would at least take the strain off those toes.  He said he'd have to do X-rays.  Doh!

X-rays showed that the metatarsals are too long and had been taking the brunt for years and had given up but the bunion was fixable.  He said he could shorten the metatarsals and reconnect my toes but it would be extremely painful for 6 months and take over a year to heal and I had two feet in the same state so he advised me to spend the rest of my life in flip flops doing no more dancing, dog walking, gardening etc - in Belgium with its long, cold winters.

Took myself off to Brussels to see two real feet experts, chose the quicker of the two and had the right foot done in January 13 and the left in April 13.  No extreme pain just 6 months sat on a sofa to let them heal and then 6 months being careful.   Now I can garden, walk and dance - except samba and jive which are all on the toes but that will come with time and exercises to strengthen the toes.

[Paulines7]

Pauline - get another opinion for your feet.   

It's not something that has recenly happened to my feet.  Since I was a young child, my arches have fallen and I have always had difficulty walking any distance.  Since 1999 and up to three years ago, the hospital made shoes and surgical boots for me but I was still in a lot of pain when walking.  I then found a shop that sold Wider Fit Shoes which do an 8E fitting.  I tried a pair of shoes on and they were more comfortable than any others I have ever worn.  The style was not suitable though so I ordered some different ones from their on line website.  http://www.widerfitshoes.co.uk/ladies . They are VAT free in my fitting and with my disability, so that makes them a little less expensive.  I ordered a pair of boots from them as I was told by the consultant that I should be wearing boots to give me support, but they were not suitable so I had to return them.

Over the years my osteoarthritis has made my feet even more painful.  I had a bunion op ten years ago but there was so much arthritis in my big toe that it couldn't be straightened.  I saw a consultant about my feet 4 years ago and he called a colleague in to look at them.  They both agreed that my feet were inoperable.  My mother had the same problem too and  her consultant said he could not operate.