Helping parents with Diabetes

drakedk02

My father was diagnosed with Type II diabetes a few years ago. He has been dealing well with it so far with diet and one prescription. He recently had a bad A1C ( I think that's the right acronym). He grew up on a farm so is a very red meat and potato kind of guy. He has adjusted his diet a little when he was first diagnosed but still could go further. My mother is high risk for becoming diabetic. I am trying to give them advice about how to combat this with changing their diet. If anyone has any helpful recipes or diet hints to helping someone with diabetes I would gladly love to hear them.

Crochetluvr

The red meat isn't a problem....but the potatoes might be.

I am one of those diabetics that honestly believes that you can eat everything but in moderation and not all the time. I eat a lot of protein...meat, fish, chicken, nuts, cheeses. Do your parents eat fresh fruit? You need the fiber in the fresh fruit to work with the natural sugars. That's why juices should be avoided. I don't eat a lot of bread, but when I do, I buy the ones with the least amount of carbs and the highest fiber content.

The best way to know how foods affect the blood sugar is to eat them, then wait a couple hours and test. Some foods that spike one person's sugar may not do the same to another's.

Some people don't like using sugar substitutes or sugar free foods. I do....it really helps me. I like to have a piece of sugar free candy once in awhile. And I make a good Jell-O pudding with sugar free orange jell-o and non fat plain yogurt. Only 47 calories and 4g of carbs in a half cup serving. Its a nice treat. And I recently discovered Walden Farms Pancake Syrup...no calories, no carbs, no anything and its really tasty. I make my own french toast now and its only about 18g of carbs in 2 slices.

drakedk02

All this information is very helpful. Thank-you so much.

The red meat isn't a problem....but the potatoes might be.

I am one of those diabetics that honestly believes that you can eat everything but in moderation and not all the time. I eat a lot of protein...meat, fish, chicken, nuts, cheeses. Do your parents eat fresh fruit? You need the fiber in the fresh fruit to work with the natural sugars. That's why juices should be avoided. I don't eat a lot of bread, but when I do, I buy the ones with the least amount of carbs and the highest fiber content.

The best way to know how foods affect the blood sugar is to eat them, then wait a couple hours and test. Some foods that spike one person's sugar may not do the same to another's.

Some people don't like using sugar substitutes or sugar free foods. I do....it really helps me. I like to have a piece of sugar free candy once in awhile. And I make a good Jell-O pudding with sugar free orange jell-o and non fat plain yogurt. Only 47 calories and 4g of carbs in a half cup serving. Its a nice treat. And I recently discovered Walden Farms Pancake Syrup...no calories, no carbs, no anything and its really tasty. I make my own french toast now and its only about 18g of carbs in 2 slices.