Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 Hi Melisma-- In the words of my dietician, " Eat whatever you want IN MODERATION " she says that way it will not tempt you to eat the things you shouldn't. She has said that the more you are told not to eat something the more you want that something. I allow myself some sort of candy once a week and an ice cream cone on Saturday night. It may sound like unsound advice, but this is the rule I have followed for almost 30 years. I may be a type I insulin dependent insulin resistant brittle diabetic, but I am still onery as ever and kickin' . It's worked for me this far and I hope to be around long enough to see my two teens graduate go to college and get married and have kids of their own some day. HTH, Sharon in California [alldiabeticinternational] Good food? Bad food? Greetings, friends! Recently I've been bothered by what appear to be blanket statements given by one diabetic to another on what not to eat. For example, on one of my groups, one person advised a new diabetic not to eat bananas or mangos. On another, someone said that carrots are sweet and should be avoided. (If these were your words, please don't take offense - I'm using them as examples...) Further, over the four years I've been diagnosed, people have reported that grapes make their sugars spike, or rice, or bread, or potatoes, or some other food. In my experience, each person is unique. Your situation - your stress level, your exercise or inability to exercise, the medications you are on, your food plan, your need to lose weight or not, even your own body's reaction to what you eat, is different from the next person on the list. Personally, bananas, carrots and bread are staples in my diet - they are affordable, and don't cause me problems. On the other hand, I have troubles with grapes and rice. Potatoes are even okay, including mashed potatoes, which even the medical people I've consulted with are cautious about. But I have to avoid pretty much all fruit juice, even those with no sugar added, except to treat a low. So how does a diabetic know what to avoid or include regularily? Simple, IMHO. You get a blood sugar monitor, learn how to use it, then arm yourself with a *lot* of strips. Especially after being diagnosed first, when you are just learning how to deal with your disease, test frequently. Some advice I was given was to test at regular intervals throughout one day - perhaps every two hours - and chart how your sugar varies at different times. Then when you are confronted with a food you aren't sure about, you can test two hours after you've eaten and see how your body has reacted to that food. Using this method, I've figured out about the foods I've mentioned above. And I've developed methods of coping with the problems they present me. For example, I love to eat out. Especially Greek food. Mainly Greek is okay for me - a balanced meal with protein, carbs, salad, and often an extra veggie. But they have way too many carbs for my meal plan, generally both rice and potatoes, plus all the pita bread (white flour) that you can eat. So I've learned to cope by asking them to only give me potatoes on the plate, and ignoring the pita bread unless I'm really hungry or have recently had a low. Another example: a couple of days ago I ate upstairs with my parents and some guests, and Mom had a wonderful fruit plate for dessert - and there were grapes on it. I figured out how much fruit I was still entitled to, and included a small handful of grapes in what I took. Then after my meal, I went out for a walk to burn off the extra sugar and try to stave off a spike. (I do that, too, when I cave and have some regularily sweetened cake or ice cream or other dessert - I take care to have only a small amount, of course, and try to work it into the meal plan for that meal.) According to the Canadian Diabetic Association, there are no foods that are absolutely banned for diabetics, not even sugar. The wider range of food you eat, the better nutrition you are likely to get. But you need to factor them into your meal plan, going easy or even avoiding things that you've discovered aren't as effective for your own individual blood sugar control. And by all means, consult your doctor, endocrinologist, dietician, diabetic clinic and others on your diabetic team - they are all good sources of information and advice. I find that diabetic lists are great sources of advice and experience, but check out everything before you adopt it as canon for yourself. Melisma (going back into hiding, here under her Rock) For ladies' fitness, check out http://www.curvesinternation.com pancreatitis info http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePancreatitisPlace/ diabetic recipes http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetic_recipes/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 > According to the Canadian Diabetic > Association, there are no foods > that are absolutely banned for > diabetics, not even sugar. The wider > range of food you eat, the better > nutrition you are likely to get. Hi, Melisma, that is pretty much the way the World Health Organization feels. It is only on self-help groups like this one that you meet up with people with such strange ideas about food as the ones you describe. In Germany, we are taught that we eat to obtain energy AND to obtain all the many thousands of micronutrients that are necessary for human beings to remain healthy long-term and for that reason it is advisable to have as varied a diet as possible. I doubt that you will find any responsible person who would advise you to restrict your diet to foods that do not show up on your BG meter. Without sufficient carbohydrates in your food, the BG meter cannot function as intended. The indication on the BG meter is a rough indication of the effective- ness of your medication, insulin dosage, etc. but not of your nutrition nor for that matter of your diabetes necessarily. To reduce carbohydrate input to get a low BG reading is like jamming your fuel gauge to stop it showing " empty " and then thinking that everything is OK for another 600 miles. I agree with you that a Type 2 diabetic should have a diet plan that includes a wide selection of natural foods and provide the energy needed to achieve the desired result (gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same) and take account of the amount of physical exercise experienced during the day. But I am not so sure about all those measurements. Most non-insulin- dependent Type 2 diabetics can get by with a few readings a week to be sure that they are not far away from normal between quarterly HbA1c tests. That is why many physicians recommend measuring only immediately BEFORE meals when the BG is relatively steady and not half-way through the digestive process when the blood sugar level will be changing rapidly and so give readings that are difficult to interpret. We are taught that it is more a matter of good and bad quantities than of good and bad food. That is why they tell us here that a diabetic can eat any food that a non-diabetic SHOULD eat, no food is " bad " in the appropriate quantity; olive oil is " good " for you - but you can't live off it; fast food is not health food but one small item a week can't hurt anybody. Your subject line sums it up. Many people want to know about a food: " Is it good for me or is it bad for me? It can't be both! " but the truth is it can! If a small fast food meal once a week makes you feel good then it is " good " , but if you try to live off it then it is " bad " . Those are my views on nutrition for diabetics! I think that they are much the same as yours. Regards Thornton Pforzheim, Germany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 Perhaps I should have clarified my post. I didn't mean that you should test every two hours *every day*. Just do it for one day, to get an idea of the way your body processes your meds and foods and the rest. Then when you have a new food you want to see how it reacts, you test two hours after a meal - once - and then work out how to work it into the diet. Some people say that when their meds change they do the day chart again, but I don't. Only for new foods. Other than that, I test before meals only - and the frequency of before meal testing can also vary between individuals, as you said. In my circumstances I try to test twice a day at the minimum - breakfast and at least one other meal, or just before bed. I feel most comfortable testing before all meals, tho', so I plan my strip purchases with three to four tests per day. I also test between meals if I suspect I'm having a low - and indeed, it's sometimes taken me four to six test/treat cycles, so I usually try to get more strips than I think I will use in a month, just in case. Sorry about not making my original post clearer. The main point was that people are individuals, and we should not assume that what will work for us will work for them - and vice versa. Test yourself to make sure that your body is dealing with the food you eat, rather than restricting your diet according to what someone else tells you is 'bad for diabetics'... Melisma (slinking shamefaced back under her Rock) > But I am not so sure about all those > measurements. Most non-insulin- > dependent Type 2 diabetics can get > by with a few readings a week to > be sure that they are not far away > from normal between quarterly HbA1c > tests. That is why many physicians > recommend measuring only immediately > BEFORE meals when the BG is > relatively steady and not half-way > through the digestive process when > the blood sugar level will be > changing rapidly and so give > readings that are difficult to > interpret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 I agree with and Melisma, The diet I laid out yesterday is the Healthy Living Diet' supported by the diabetic, heart and anti-cancer authorities in Australia. It happens to also be called the low glycaemic diet but quantities can vary according to your circumstances. However, your other health factors must be factored into the equation. I use no-salt for my blood-pressure (now normal) and I have Ocean Spray Cranberry Classic (and NOT the Australian cranberry juice - highly sweetened as Aussies, on the whole are unaccustomed to the tartness of cranberries) as women's hospitals have done research on its ability to help in preventing bladder infections (the bane of paraplegics). Cranberry Classic gives me Vit C but an unwanted quantity of sugar, so I adapt accordingly. Ditto, I must have a banana or mango daily for potassium lost in using diuretics which help in fluid retention, another problem for paraplegics. So, overall, I do what I can with the problems my poor choice of parents (gene-wise) has thrust upon me (LOL!). For me, the easiest way to stick to this diet is to avoid sweet things even if made `safe' by artificial means. Over the years my taste is moving away from salty, fatty and sweet foods, but that does not mean I wouldn't kill for something sweet or loaded down with fresh cream occasionally. Consequently I look at all the recipes put up on the list. Unfortunately, we do not have all those lo-fat or special diabetic foods here so my diet is mainly fresh or natural foods. Maxine in Australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 28, 2004 Report Share Posted June 28, 2004 From: melismamcgregor Greetings, friends! Recently I've been bothered by what appear to be blanket statements given by one diabetic to another on what not to eat. For example, on one of my groups, one person advised a new diabetic not to eat bananas or mangos. On another, someone said that carrots are sweet and should be avoided. (If these were your words, please don't take offense - I'm using them as examples...) Further, over the four years I've been diagnosed, people have reported that grapes make their sugars spike, or rice, or bread, or potatoes, or some other food. In my experience, each person is unique. Your situation - your stress level, your exercise or inability to exercise, the medications you are on, your food plan, your need to lose weight or not, even your own body's reaction to what you eat, is different from the next person on the list. Melisma, I completely agree with you. We are all different and process food differently. Take these kids of comments with a grain of salt. Test after eating a new food to see how it affects you. That is the only way to know what we can and can't eat. Anything else is ridiculous. Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 In a message dated 6/28/2004 3:02:35 PM Pacific Standard Time, vgardner@... writes: Great post! Hugs, Marilyn From: melismamcgregor Greetings, friends! Recently I've been bothered by what appear to be blanket statements given by one diabetic to another on what not to eat. For example, on one of my groups, one person advised a new diabetic not to eat bananas or mangos. On another, someone said that carrots are sweet and should be avoided. (If these were your words, please don't take offense - I'm using them as examples...) Further, over the four years I've been diagnosed, people have reported that grapes make their sugars spike, or rice, or bread, or potatoes, or some other food. In my experience, each person is unique. Your situation - your stress level, your exercise or inability to exercise, the medications you are on, your food plan, your need to lose weight or not, even your own body's reaction to what you eat, is different from the next person on the list. Melisma, I completely agree with you. We are all different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 In a message dated 6/28/2004 3:02:35 PM Pacific Standard Time, vgardner@... writes: Great post! Hugs, Marilyn From: melismamcgregor Greetings, friends! Recently I've been bothered by what appear to be blanket statements given by one diabetic to another on what not to eat. For example, on one of my groups, one person advised a new diabetic not to eat bananas or mangos. On another, someone said that carrots are sweet and should be avoided. (If these were your words, please don't take offense - I'm using them as examples...) Further, over the four years I've been diagnosed, people have reported that grapes make their sugars spike, or rice, or bread, or potatoes, or some other food. In my experience, each person is unique. Your situation - your stress level, your exercise or inability to exercise, the medications you are on, your food plan, your need to lose weight or not, even your own body's reaction to what you eat, is different from the next person on the list. Melisma, I completely agree with you. We are all different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 5, 2004 Report Share Posted July 5, 2004 In a message dated 6/28/2004 3:02:35 PM Pacific Standard Time, vgardner@... writes: Great post! Hugs, Marilyn From: melismamcgregor Greetings, friends! Recently I've been bothered by what appear to be blanket statements given by one diabetic to another on what not to eat. For example, on one of my groups, one person advised a new diabetic not to eat bananas or mangos. On another, someone said that carrots are sweet and should be avoided. (If these were your words, please don't take offense - I'm using them as examples...) Further, over the four years I've been diagnosed, people have reported that grapes make their sugars spike, or rice, or bread, or potatoes, or some other food. In my experience, each person is unique. Your situation - your stress level, your exercise or inability to exercise, the medications you are on, your food plan, your need to lose weight or not, even your own body's reaction to what you eat, is different from the next person on the list. Melisma, I completely agree with you. We are all different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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