New diabetic

[Sadmia]

I have just been diagnosed with diabetes after losing a lot of weight. I am very confused with the diet advice, apart from switching to wholegrain. Different sites say different things. I've just started meds, I thought I had a pretty balanced diet. And lifestyle apart from exercise. What went wrong? PS I can't stand the taste of artificial sweetener, any of them leaves a nasty aftertaste in my mouth for ages.

[MMD71]

Sadmia, I can try to help you navigate. If you want to ask anything specific, I can probably help sort things out.

You don't need artificial sweeteners to have a treat once in a blue moon. You do need to learn what is being referred to as "net carbs" by those in the "keto" diet culture. Basically, when looking at a specific food, you take the total carbohydrates and deduct from them half of the dietary fiber within it. The sum is the carbs counted in your diet. Generally, Diabetics are allowed 2 (20 gram) snacks a day. The healthiest way to get your carbs is from vegetables. You just need to budget those grams for the biggest nutritional hitter. Even healthy things like beans can have a heavy carb load.

Dietary changes can be hard. It gets less overwhelming in time.

[Sadmia in reply to MMD71]

Hard to calculate with home made baking though. I figure that maybe half of the slice or less may be the answer. Don't generally have a lot anyway. Shop made is just too sweet for my tastebuds.

[BadHare in reply to Sadmia]

Surely home made is easier to quantify as you jnow exactly what you;re using.

There are recipes using fruit rather than sweeteners, which lowers the GI quality of foods. Dates are extremely sweet, & low GI.

[suramo Star in reply to BadHare]

BadHare

Right. Dates are low gi, high in sugar.

Dates are whole foods, but by weight, they are 80 percent pure sugar. Sugared cereal loops are only 40 percent sugar — half the sugar content of dates. To understand date sugar from the whole food, Israeli scientists took a bunch of people, stuffed them full of dates for a month and measured what happened. They determined that their subjects have no adverse effects on blood sugar or weight, and they had beneficial improvements in triglycerides and antioxidant stress levels.

Here is a nutritional breakdown of ten dates:

Serving Size: 10 dates

Calories: 234

Fat: <1 g

Saturated Fat: na

Cholesterol: 0 mg

Carbohydrate: 61 g

Protein: 2 g

Dietary Fiber: 6 g

Sodium: 2 mg

Niacin: 1 mg

Pantothenic Acid: <1 mg

Vitamin B6: <1 mg

Calcium: 32 mg

Copper: <1 mg

Iron: <1 mg

Magnesium: 36 mg

Potassium: 541 mg

Vitamin K: 2.2 mcg

As you can see, there are 61 grams of carbohydrates in a serving size and only 6 grams of fiber to counteract those carbs. Even though there is not that much fiber, still, all of the other ingredients, vitamins, and minerals make dates dates benefit the body immensely. How? Well, as aforementioned, the magnesium found in dates can reduce blood pressure, and they have anti-inflammatory benefits, reducing inflammation in the arterial walls and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and other inflammation-related health ailments.

[BadHare in reply to suramo]

It's medjool, rather than any date which are promoted for their health benefits.

I'm not diabetic, & wouldn't dream of eating as many as ten dates, as this would be a disproportionate number of calories. One medjool a day is quite sufficient for a sweet high fibre treat that provides me with 10% of my magnesium intake.

fromthegrapevine.com/israel...

Aside from those with diabetes, Mendosa says that those who are pre-diabetic, people whose blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not at diabetes levels yet, should also be paying attention to the glycemic index of foods. "If they avoid high-glycemic foods," he says, "they have a better chance of never getting diabetes."

Eating dates and using them as a sugar substitute may help those with a sweet tooth avoid those high glycemic foods. The Medjool variety of dates, grown primarily in Israel and now other parts of the Mediterranean region, is one of the most popular because of its sweet, honey-like taste and soft texture. Although not part of the scientific study, Mejdools have also been found to have a low glycemic index, one that’s about half of that of sugar or brown sugar. They are great eaten as-is or thrown in a salad, but they can also be turned into a sugar substitute in the form of a date puree that can be used instead of white or brown sugar. The date puree can replace sugar using a 1:1 ratio, or it can be used in combination with a reduced amount of sugar in a recipe.

food.ndtv.com/facts/can-a-d...

stylecraze.com/articles/sim...?

[Sadmia in reply to BadHare]

Haha pity those poor folk being stuffed with nothing but dates..... Pretty bad way of doing research, as not at all like a real life scenario. Not sure I would totally trust that.

[BadHare in reply to Sadmia]

I'd quite enjoy that as long as they were medjools & I wasn't buying them! I feel decadent on special occasions if I eat two.

A friend at uni did a research project on the health benefits of date, & medjools came out on top. She wrote 10 of these dates provides us with 100% of our daily magnesium requirement, which at the time would have been my entire daily calorie intake as they're about 100 calories each. Quite often if I have a craving for one, or anything sweet, it's because I've forgotten to take my bedtime magnesium supplement.

Nuts & seeds are good for low GI snacks, as well as being a source of protein & healthy oils.

[suramo Star in reply to BadHare]

BadHare

All what you said is true. But i have a different view on stylecraze.com/articles/sim...

"Although diabetics are not required to abstain from sugar entirely, they are advised to limit its intake." I don't agree to this. Sugar is high gi gl item and should be avoided. It's pure energy. What has been preached because of the medications doctors are prescribing. And natural sugars should be used judiciously. Fructose is more harmful than glucose.

[BadHare in reply to suramo]

That's refined fructose, not that available naturally from plants which have added nutritional benefits. The harm is done when people eat anything excessively that their bodies cannot cope with, rather than in moderation.

[suramo Star in reply to BadHare]

BadHare

True. But it applies to natural sugar - fructose also. There are many non-diabetics also who have nafld. Potentially hazardous condition. This is because fructose is mainly - 95% metabolised in liver. Upto 56% is converted into glucose, 14-16% into glycogen and the rest is 30% in fat. Diabetics are having high blood sugar and their glycogen storage remains full so fructose is mainly converted into fat. Liver cells accumulate this fat. Nafld. Even in non-Diabetic people having nafld reduction in carbs and fruits is the only remedy. No medication can be effective without reducing carbs and fructose / fruits.

[BadHare in reply to suramo]

Health condition regarded, everything in moderation. As the articles mention, a medjool or other form of fruit is better than refined sugar, if someone is going to eat something sweet.

[suramo Star in reply to BadHare]

BadHare

Yes. That's true. Agreed completely.

[BadHare]

Artificial sweeteners are extremely unhealthy, so best avoided, though xylitol has better press. Chris Kresser has a good e-book explaining the vagaries, & why to avoid chemical sugar replacements with more information than this: healthunlocked.com/healthye...

healthunlocked.com/healthye...

healthunlocked.com/healthye...

[Sadmia in reply to BadHare]

I have read that, I would agree that at least with real sugar you know what you are getting, and the body gets its fix, and stops craving. I cut down on sugar a lot after I gave up stuff with artificial sweeteners, but with high blood sugar now, it isn't enough. I also did the same with fat/butter after seeing a huge list of stuff on the ingredients label of low fat spread. Just did bread and scrape instead. Surely natural stuff has to be better for you. Its been e about for centuries.

[BadHare in reply to Sadmia]

Natural stuff is always better!

[TheAwfulToad in reply to Sadmia]

+1 to the remarks from MMD71 and BadHare.

If you find calculating net carbs cumbersome, just try to memorize those foods which contain a high percentage of starch. It's a fairly short list, and you'll soon develop a feel for what's "too much". You will undoubtedly miss those things for a while, but there are substitutes that can make good comfort food (eg., someone posted a recipe for coconut pancakes a while back) or which have approximately the same mouthfeel as familiar dishes (eg., creamed cauliflower substituted for mashed potato).

As for wholegrain bread, it would be better to not eat bread at all for a while, not least because most bread marketed as wholegrain just ... isn't. Even if you normally bake your own, just give it a try. After a few weeks you'll simply stop wanting it, and in the worst case you'll give your poor old metabolism a chance to recover from whatever caused your diabetes. Just to clarify (because it makes a big difference to your dietary approach and prospects for recovery) were you diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2?

Remember also that when you reduce carbs you must must must start eating more fat. The reason is that, as a diabetic, your body can no longer use carbohydrates for energy (at least not without exogenous support). The only possible alternative is fat. Do not attempt to do low carb AND low-fat; you'll literally waste away. I suspect you'll be perfectly happy with this anyway, since you already recognise that (say) butter is better for you than chemically-engineered "healthy" substitutes. Butter makes everything taste better!

You WILL need to keep in close touch with your endocrinologist so that he can adjust your meds; depending on exactly what they are (ie., their mode of action) they may actually cause hypoglycemia if you're eating a low-carb diet. If you're unfortunate enough to have one of those doctors who "doesn't believe in that low-carb nonsense", you may have to shop around for one who's a bit more knowledgeable.

Good luck with your recovery. It's entirely possible that you'll bounce back to 100% normal; you might never actually be "cured", but you'll be completely healthy on low-carb and (unlike those who follow the standard recommendations) will not slide inexorably into horrible diabetes-related chronic illnesses.

[Penel]

Unfortunately weight loss doesn’t guarantee that you won’t have type 2 diabetes. You may need to cut back on the baking for a while.

Perhaps have a look at a low carb diet, it seems to work for a lot of people. This is one useful site.

thebloodsugardiet.com

[TheAwfulToad in reply to Penel]

I took it to mean he/she lost a lot of weight for no apparent reason (a common sign of diabetes) and then received the confirming diagnosis...?

[Penel in reply to TheAwfulToad]

My bad, jumping to conclusions!

[Sadmia]

Thankyou awful toad. you're right, unexplained weight loss before diagnosis with type 2. Weight went down by 18lb. In 3.5months. Now nine and half stone, don't want to lose any more weight. (previously lost 7lb due to cancer- caught very early thank goodness) blood sugar taken and was very high. Feel like I'm in a dammed if I do dammed if I don't situation. Metformin prescribed, next appointment in 3 months, unless I have a problem. I guess it takes a while to settle down. But I want to make an effort.

[TheAwfulToad in reply to Sadmia]

Good grief, you've had a real run of bad luck.

For what it's worth, there are anecdotal reports of low-carb high-fat diets working well for cancer patients (or those recovering from cancer). The reason is that cancer cells typically have very odd cellular machinery that runs only on glucose. Since circulating glucose is dramatically reduced on low-carb, the cancerous cells are "starved out", potentially giving your immune system a chance to deal with them. Personally, I'm not convinced this is an actual cure - certainly not in every case - but since LCHF will be a useful control strategy for your diabetes, you might get two for the price of one.

I'm not a doctor, but metformin's mode of action may cause problems with a low-carb diet; it interferes with a reaction pathway which is a necessary part of triglyceride metabolism. Seek advice from an endocrinologist experienced with low-carb treatment for Type 2 (Type 1 would have been much more difficult to treat with dietary intervention, so in one respect you're lucky).

To address your weight-loss concern: low-carb only has this effect if you are actually overweight. If you have adequate dietary fat, your body will simply maintain bodyfat at a normal healthy level, even if your carb intake is minimal. Your diabetic weight loss occurred because, as noted, your body has lost its ability to use carbohydrates for energy; it therefore has no choice but to scavenge from your body fat and muscles in a last-ditch attempt to keep you alive. Provide yourself with adequate dietary fat and your weight will stabilize. Also, I would strongly recommend an exercise plan, which will help stabilize your blood sugar (ie., it will give you more options for dietary carbohydrate) and help rebuild your muscles, which will have been damaged somewhat prior to your diagnosis.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Sadmia]

Sadmia ,

Have you discussed with your doctor about starting a low carb high fat diet? Not all diets/types of exercises work for everyone. Everyone is different and sometimes, one thing may work for one person, but not the other.

Please check out the DRWF, DI and LCHF Dibetes groups on HU. Click on the follow buttons for each group. Go to: DRWF (Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation): healthunlocked.com/drwfdiab...

LCHF Diabetes: healthunlocked.com/lchf-dia...

DI (Diabetes India): healthunlocked.com/diabetes...

I hope this helps!

[MMD71]

Wow, good responses!

I can only add a bit of food for thought, given the added info above. First, how well do you sleep? My husband and I often theorize that his sleep apnea was a major contributor to his diabetes so, I just did a search to see if there was any new info out there on the idea and there is! Last time I did a search, there wasn't a such a thing. What I've discovered in the case of my husband is that his loss of sleep and oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) would have dramatically impacted his body's glucose metabolism, instigating his diabetes onset. At the same time, one night of sleep deprivation is shown to be detrimental to insulin sensitivity (insulin resistant), so that the body needs to produce more insulin to keep blood sugar stable. You might be interested in this study if sleep is an issue for you: "Sleep Well to Avoid Insulin Resistance, Study Suggests" (link below). Beyond this, lack of sleep makes us crave the energy from carbs.

My second thought was to search for a link between the longterm stress hormone, cortisol, and diabetes. After searching 'cortisol levels and diabetes', I found this: "Under stressful conditions, cortisol provides the body with glucose by tapping into protein stores via gluconeogenesis in the liver. This energy can help an individual fight or flee a stressor. However, elevated cortisol over the long term consistently produces glucose, leading to increased blood sugar levels." (todaysdietitian.com/newarch... - I'll have to read that article later as well as do some further research. I'm just trying to illustrate that there are other factors to look at. Diet isn't always to blame.

diabetesselfmanagement.com/...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

[Sadmia in reply to MMD71]

OMG,after looking at this, I considered other meds I'm taking, looks like they might be contributing. Bother!

[Jemtx]

Best no sweetener and no sugar it will be a hard thing but it will help getting back on track

[Sadmia]

Just found an article that suggests that tamoxifen (taken for cancer prevention) can contribute to increased risk of diabetes. As it has an effect on the liver. I am feeling very p****do off. Am I wasting my time going overboard with the diet, until I can consult my oncologist.

[Sadmia]

Help needed. Counting carbs, and reducing sugars, but I'm not getting enough calories to maintain my weight, as my appetite is lower. Any suggestions please

[Penel in reply to Sadmia]

Try eating avocado, nuts, cheese, use olive oil as a dressing on salad. Eat full fat and not low fat foods.

Google “nutrient dense” foods to get some suggestions.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Sadmia]

Hi Sadmia ,

Has your doctor explained how to count carbs. at the last appointment you had with him/her? Would you like me to give you a sample of how to do counting carbs.?

[Sadmia]

This only happened last week. So the one appointment giving diagnosis, and basic advice. Together with literature which I personally feel is not particularly useful for me. I thought I had a reasonable diet. 90%home cooked with veg at every meal, only occasional cake/bisciut/sweets. Yet my bs was really really high. Given a prescription, and told to come back in 3months. Maybe more advice than this, but you know how these things can go over your head when you are trying to deal with the news/shock.

[Sadmia]

I have found an app. My net diary which I'm finding helpful. Seems like I'm not eating enough though, my appetite is lower. And finding it hard to think about what I'm eating or not eating all the time.