Advice

My husband was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Please give me advice on diet. He has a sweet tooth. Is it ok for him to eat sweets twice a week?

[Fatbuddy27]

Hello have you tried any of the sugar free sweets thats out there they really work and stay away from carbs not so many a day and stop drinking soda if you can its hard.

[Anjijag]

Not really. There are plenty of sugar substitutes on the market. But we all need to re-educate our tastebuds for the less sweet option in food. I use cinnamon to sweeten stewed apple and other fruits. Fresh dates in moderation can take the place of sweets. I still crave chocolate occasionally but thinking about what it will do to my blood sugars stops me in my tracks. I eat a small piece of cheese instead.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Anjijag]

Cheese is good for a snack with a piece of fruit.

[ceejayblue]

Being Type 2 diabetic doesn't mean you have to give up everything but if you have a sweet tooth (as do I) it can be harder. However, don't go for sugar free sweets as an alternative, too many of them are full of carbs (which turns to glucose in the body and thus up your blood glucose levels). Your husband needs to eat a healthy lower (not very low) carb diet, cut back on starchy carbs like potatoes, rice, pasta etc and have wholewheat ones. You don't need to cut them out completely but I recommend that you look at speaking to your OH's diabetic team and getting him on the Xperthealth.org.uk training course - its half a day for six weeks and its one of the best things I did when I was diagnosed, you can go too to see how to deal with the diabetes in relation to food.

Also, look on the Diabetes.org.uk website they have a very good Healthy Eating booklet. Beware though, the healthy eating plate that the government suggest is a bit high on carbs so replace the carbs with more leafy veg etc.

It is now illegal for any food producers to state "suitable for diabetics" on their food and that's good because no food is off limits as long as its in moderation. Change to sweeteners in drinks, have no added sugar squash etc. Also get the Carbs & Cals book (and there's an app too) by Chris Cheyette (its on Amazon) it gives photos of lots of different foods with their portion sizes and carb and calorie totals.

When looking on the nutritional information on food packets, ignore the "of which sugars" and take into account the total carb content (sugar is a carb and its included in the overall figure). I try (and sometimes fail ) to have 50g of carb per meal with 45g as an extra for treats or nights out. Sometimes, I won't have carbs at all with one meal (breakfast is often just eggs and bacon with no toast), protein fills you up.

You and your husband will be on a big learning curve, if he is overweight (not all T2s are), losing weight will help as will exercise. Don't be afraid of it, just take it one day at a time.

[Hidden in reply to ceejayblue]

Great advice. Thank you.

[HOBIEONE]

I have been T1 for more than 50yrs, still full time employed. I would put ALL the sugar stuff in the bin. Low carbs is MUCH healthier & less damaging. Foot amputations, blindness is on the cards if you don't. I know it sounds cruel but it the score ! Keep moving or it gets worse.

[suramo Star]

Hidden

There are many posts on this forum and on dlife.com about diet management. Surf the net for Intensive dietary management.