Diabetes is not black and white

[Guest guest]

One of the first things I learned when I joined the first diabetes group was

that diabetes is not black and white. There is that big gray area. I had

eaten potatoes and had a reading of 85 two hours later. Someone said, " why

are you eating potatoes, we are not supposed to eat those " . Either they never

saw " 85 two hours after eating " or they had been told not to eat potatoes

therefore no one was to eat them.

If I had listened to my educator, I would still be on meds. If I had

listened to members in groups, I would not be eating some of the foods I eat

today.

I've had people say that we are not to eat tomatoes. Maybe I'm a stubborn

person, but if someone tells me I can't do or eat something, I'm going to do

my very best to prove them wrong. The word " can't " is not a word I use

often.

We each have to learn what we can and cannot eat. Only our meter can tell

us that. It doesn't matter to me if a food has 35 carbs or 10 carbs. All

that matters to me is how that food affects my bg's. And sometimes the foods

with less carbs will cause my numbers to go up more than the foods with more

carbs. One day I can eat a particular food, get a high reading, the next day

eat the same thing and get a low reading. It depends on so many other things,

stress, the amount of exercise, how you are feeling, etc.

Life is short, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

hugs

Eunice

[Guest guest]

That just about sums it all up nicely thank you. Like I always say, we are

all different and unique and we should regulate our lives in a way that

suites us best. That way we can live long and prosper.

Take care. Barry UK

Diabetes is not black and white

>

> One of the first things I learned when I joined the first diabetes group

was

> that diabetes is not black and white.

[Guest guest]

ERWachter@...> wrote:

> One day I can eat a particular food, get a high reading, the next day eat

> the same thing and get a low reading. It depends on so many other

> things, stress, the amount of exercise, how you are feeling, etc.

One of the first things the doctors in the hospital said to me was

" don't question every reading you have, there are a lot of things that

influence your blood sugar " .

One of he first things the dieticians said was " you can eat everything a

" normal " person can eat, and this includes really everything " .

Treatment seems to have shifted from putting people on strict diets to

teaching people how to handle their insulin shots.

Of course there will always people who favor the diet approach,

depriving themselves of this and that. If it's their choice and they can

handle it, it's fine but what I can't stand is the preaching some of

these people do: " Oh no, you must'n eat this or that!!! "

Best wishes

M.

[Guest guest]

ERWachter@...> wrote:

> We each have to learn what we can and cannot eat. Only our meter can tell

> us that. It doesn't matter to me if a food has 35 carbs or 10 carbs. All

> that matters to me is how that food affects my bg's. And sometimes the foods

> with less carbs will cause my numbers to go up more than the foods with more

> carbs.

If a food has a lot of fat and/or protein the insulin can't work as

properly as it should. So foods high in fat and protein and relatively

low in carbs can raise the blood sugar as much as a high carb and low

protein and low fat food (e. g. fruits).

In the hospital where I was IP some people who required high doses of

insulin were put on a high carb, low fat and low protein diet for three

days and they required less insulin even though they are way more carbs

than usually! (which was the goal of the diet)

Dieticians and doctors are having a hard time to bust the myths that are

still haunting patients heads, e. g. one should only eat green bananas,

not ripe ones.

Best wishes

M.

[Guest guest]

Dont know where you get your hi fat hi protein ideas from. When I was doing

atkins my bg was never so low. Did a1c1 than and it was 5 something.

Unfortunately I couldnt live without carbs and made the mistake of going

into WW.

sharon

Re: Diabetes is not black and white

ERWachter@...> wrote:

If a food has a lot of fat and/or protein the insulin can't work as

properly as it should. So foods high in fat and protein and relatively

low in carbs can raise the blood sugar as much as a high carb and low

protein and low fat food (e. g. fruits).

[Guest guest]

>

> Dont know where you get your hi fat hi protein ideas from. When I was

> doing

> atkins my bg was never so low. Did a1c1 than and it was 5 something.

> Unfortunately I couldnt live without carbs and made the mistake of going

> into WW.

That's where the part of not being 'black and white' comes into play.

If I eat high fat/protein all of the time, my blood sugar goes up. Even if

I cut all carbs. I tried Atkins and not only did I have high blood sugar, I

also had ketosis, kidney stones and perpetual bad breath.

Even now, if I make a meal out of a steak my blood sugar is higher the next

morning than it is if I eat a smaller portion of steak and have some

potatoes and salad with it.

For me, eating a balanced diet and controlling the total calories works

best.

Mike

Mike

[Guest guest]

For you and me both

Take care. Barry UK

Re: Diabetes is not black and white

> For me, eating a balanced diet and controlling the total calories works

> best.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/15/2006 9:27:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

styxia@... writes:

Diabetes is not black and white - and not only about carbs...

Diabetes is also about controlling bg's with whatever food plan works for

each individual, exercising, taking care of our overall health, not putting

extra stress into our life.

Happy Monday Morning

hugs

Eunice - Living life to the fullest and enjoying every minute.

[Guest guest]

shar2 shar2@...> wrote:

> Dont know where you get your hi fat hi protein ideas from.

From ... The dieticians? Biochemistry class? The doctors?

Ah yes, but they're all incompetent, right? :-)

Diabetes is not black and white - and not only about carbs...

I knew the Atkins crowd would come out of the closet even while I typed

the stuff about the mysterious ways insulin works and I thought about it

twice if I really should send the mail to the group since I was 100%

sure that this would trigger a comment like yours quoted above which

always means trouble on a mailing list.

I decided to send the mail since it seemed to fit the topic of diabetes

being not black and white.

I'm glad there are not only Atkins fans on this list but people who're

open to other approaches even though they're not " low carb " .

I recently read that the ADA has found no evidence so far that a low GI

diet is superior to one with a high GI but of course they might be

incompetent, too. :-)

M.

[Guest guest]

Mike schappaugh@...> wrote:

>

>

> That's where the part of not being 'black and white' comes into play.

Exactly, but it seems that a lot of people can't accept it. :-)

[Guest guest]

I'm new to this conversation (hope you don't mind me sticking my head in!)

but my feeling is that if your blood sugar and other health issues (weight,

cholesterol, whatever) are under control, then it doesn't really matter what

road you took to get there. Some people have good luck with Atkins. It's

not for me, but I respect that it works for a lot of people. Some people

have made the old ADA diet work - my aunt had diabetes and followed the ADA

diet with great success. Now, if she had known some of the more current

research about carbohydrates and so forth, she probably would have eaten

less bread and potatoes, but my point is that even following that diet, she

was able to keep her blood sugar in good control (with the help of meds and

exercise). There is no one single right answer. (Although... there are

probably wrong answers... like, the All French Fry Diet is probably a bad

idea for anybody :-) ).

Molly

>

> shar2 shar2@...> wrote:

>

> > Dont know where you get your hi fat hi protein ideas from.

>

> From ... The dieticians? Biochemistry class? The doctors?

>

> Ah yes, but they're all incompetent, right? :-)

>

> Diabetes is not black and white - and not only about carbs...

>

> I knew the Atkins crowd would come out of the closet even while I typed

> the stuff about the mysterious ways insulin works and I thought about it

> twice if I really should send the mail to the group since I was 100%

> sure that this would trigger a comment like yours quoted above which

> always means trouble on a mailing list.

>

> I decided to send the mail since it seemed to fit the topic of diabetes

> being not black and white.

>

> I'm glad there are not only Atkins fans on this list but people who're

> open to other approaches even though they're not " low carb " .

>

> I recently read that the ADA has found no evidence so far that a low GI

> diet is superior to one with a high GI but of course they might be

> incompetent, too. :-)

>

> M.

>

>

>

>

>

> Diabetes homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetes/

>

> To unsubscribe to this group, send an email to:

> diabetes-unsubscribe

> Hope you come back soon!

>

[Guest guest]

When I was being taught how to play golf Molly I was told 'never mind how.

it's how many that counts' So yes it doesn't matter how you achieve the

results as long as you achieve the results. And I never did learn to play

golf!!

Take care. Barry UK

Re: Diabetes is not black and white

> I'm new to this conversation (hope you don't mind me sticking my head in!)

> but my feeling is that if your blood sugar and other health issues

(weight,

> cholesterol, whatever) are under control, then it doesn't really matter

what

> road you took to get there.

[Guest guest]

ERWachter@...> wrote:

> Diabetes is also about controlling bg's with whatever food plan works for

> each individual, exercising, taking care of our overall health, not putting

> extra stress into our life.

You're right. And I shouldn't have reacted like that but something like

" don't know where you get your ideas from " instead of just asking " where

did you read that? can you provide a source? " pushes a button.

What's frustrating though is that blood sugar not always responds the

way it maybe should. *lol*

e. g. on Sunday I was literally only a couch potato and my readings were

great. On Monday I was on my feet all day long and my readings weren't

really that great.

Best wishes

M.

[Guest guest]

> What's frustrating though is that blood sugar not always responds the

> way it maybe should. *lol*

Blood sugars react to more than just food.

Coffee (without cream or sugar) can cause it to go up.

Stress can cause it to go up.

Illness can mess it up as well (just the fact that you are sick, not to

mention if you are unable to eat or hold things down... or if you drink too

many high calorie fluids to hydrate).

Many medications can cause it to go up or down (non-diabetic medications)

Alcohol can cause it to go down.

Restricted calories can cause it to go down, then up.

Exercise may reduce your blood sugar, but in some instances, as your blood

sugar goes down the liver starts pumping out glucose causing it to rise.

Not to mention Pregnancy, contraception, menstruation and other things that

impact various hormone levels in the body.

And of course, many of these things also impact what you eat.

Mike

[Guest guest]

Where's my pillow? I want to stick it over my head! eeeeeek

JUDITH

> Blood sugars react to more than just food.

>

> Coffee (without cream or sugar) can cause it to go up.

> Stress can cause it to go up.

> Illness can mess it up as well (just the fact that you are sick, not to

> mention if you are unable to eat or hold things down... or if you drink

too

> many high calorie fluids to hydrate).

> Many medications can cause it to go up or down (non-diabetic medications)

> Alcohol can cause it to go down.

> Restricted calories can cause it to go down, then up.

> Exercise may reduce your blood sugar, but in some instances, as your blood

> sugar goes down the liver starts pumping out glucose causing it to rise.

> Not to mention Pregnancy, contraception, menstruation and other things

that

> impact various hormone levels in the body.

>

--

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Checked by AVG Free Edition.

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[Guest guest]

Judith, your blood sugar would probably react to that too! ;-)

>

> Where's my pillow? I want to stick it over my head! eeeeeek

>

> JUDITH

>

> > Blood sugars react to more than just food.

> >

> > Coffee (without cream or sugar) can cause it to go up.

> > Stress can cause it to go up.

> > Illness can mess it up as well (just the fact that you are sick, not to

> > mention if you are unable to eat or hold things down... or if you drink

> too

> > many high calorie fluids to hydrate).

> > Many medications can cause it to go up or down (non-diabetic

> medications)

> > Alcohol can cause it to go down.

> > Restricted calories can cause it to go down, then up.

> > Exercise may reduce your blood sugar, but in some instances, as your

> blood

> > sugar goes down the liver starts pumping out glucose causing it to rise.

> > Not to mention Pregnancy, contraception, menstruation and other things

> that

> > impact various hormone levels in the body.

> >

>

>

>

> --

> No virus found in this outgoing message.

> Checked by AVG Free Edition.

> Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.6/339 - Release Date: 5/14/06

>

>

>

>

> Diabetes homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetes/

>

> To unsubscribe to this group, send an email to:

> diabetes-unsubscribe

> Hope you come back soon!

>

[Guest guest]

Mike schappaugh@...> wrote:

> Judith, your blood sugar would probably react to that too! ;-)

Hmmmmm, does reading this group influence it? The brain requires glucose

after all.

[Guest guest]

brain? what brain? I have been working over in my mind all I've been

reading here and what my nutritionist has told me, what I am supposed to do,

finding and dealing with a therapist specializing in eating disorders etc.

I keep wanting to sort this out on this list but am not organized about it

enough yet. This is such an important list to me! (thank you everyone!)

JUDITH

Mike schappaugh@...> wrote:

> Judith, your blood sugar would probably react to that too! ;-)

Hmmmmm, does reading this group influence it? The brain requires glucose

after all.

Diabetes homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetes/

To unsubscribe to this group, send an email to:

diabetes-unsubscribe

Hope you come back soon!

[Guest guest]

Eunice,I like your outlook on life, I hope to gain more insight into this

disease, so I can eat again with ease.

JOYCE

Diabetes is not black and white

One of the first things I learned when I joined the first diabetes group

was

that diabetes is not black and white. There is that big gray area. I had

eaten potatoes and had a reading of 85 two hours later. Someone said, " why

are you eating potatoes, we are not supposed to eat those " . Either they

never

saw " 85 two hours after eating " or they had been told not to eat potatoes

therefore no one was to eat them.

If I had listened to my educator, I would still be on meds. If I had

listened to members in groups, I would not be eating some of the foods I eat

today.

I've had people say that we are not to eat tomatoes. Maybe I'm a stubborn

person, but if someone tells me I can't do or eat something, I'm going to

do

my very best to prove them wrong. The word " can't " is not a word I use

often.

We each have to learn what we can and cannot eat. Only our meter can tell

us that. It doesn't matter to me if a food has 35 carbs or 10 carbs. All

that matters to me is how that food affects my bg's. And sometimes the

foods

with less carbs will cause my numbers to go up more than the foods with

more

carbs. One day I can eat a particular food, get a high reading, the next

day

eat the same thing and get a low reading. It depends on so many other

things,

stress, the amount of exercise, how you are feeling, etc.

Life is short, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

hugs

Eunice

[Guest guest]

I like how u think. I am trying to learn what will work 4 me.

Nita

>

> Eunice,I like your outlook on life, I hope to gain more insight into this

> disease, so I can eat again with ease.

>

> JOYCE

>

>

> Diabetes is not black and white

>

>

>

> One of the first things I learned when I joined the first diabetes group

> was

> that diabetes is not black and white. There is that big gray area. I had

> eaten potatoes and had a reading of 85 two hours later. Someone said,

> " why

> are you eating potatoes, we are not supposed to eat those " . Either they

> never

> saw " 85 two hours after eating " or they had been told not to eat potatoes

> therefore no one was to eat them.

>

> If I had listened to my educator, I would still be on meds. If I had

> listened to members in groups, I would not be eating some of the foods I

> eat

> today.

> I've had people say that we are not to eat tomatoes. Maybe I'm a

> stubborn

> person, but if someone tells me I can't do or eat something, I'm going to

> do

> my very best to prove them wrong. The word " can't " is not a word I use

> often.

>

> We each have to learn what we can and cannot eat. Only our meter can tell

> us that. It doesn't matter to me if a food has 35 carbs or 10 carbs. All

> that matters to me is how that food affects my bg's. And sometimes the

> foods

> with less carbs will cause my numbers to go up more than the foods with

> more

> carbs. One day I can eat a particular food, get a high reading, the next

> day

> eat the same thing and get a low reading. It depends on so many other

> things,

> stress, the amount of exercise, how you are feeling, etc.

>

> Life is short, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.

>

> hugs

> Eunice

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/20/2006 9:35:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

kittenkorner@... writes:

I like your outlook on life, I hope to gain more insight into this

disease, so I can eat again with ease.

Hi Joyce,

It is the only way I can survive. Learn to control diabetes and not let it

control you.

hugs

Eunice