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Pre diabetes

TFG_em

We just learned that my husband is pre diabetic. I want to help him transition to healthier eating habits and get his glucose levels under control. So many hidden sugars and carbs, I'm not sure where to begin. Any diabetics have any cooking/food tips for us? Any advice is appreciated.

Replies

nvmomketo

I found the book, Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution to be very helpful. It's a low carb book for T1Ds and T2Ds, who want to lower their insulin needs. It makes a LOT of sense.

Convenience foods tend to be the foods with added sugars. Prepackaged and already prepared meals tend to have sugar when it isn't needed. Doing your own cooking will give you control over ingredients with greater ease - just more time consuming.

Beyond that, avoid the obvious candy and soda. Starchy foods like baked goods, heat, rice, quick oats, potatoes and other root vegetables, corn, can turn to glucose in the blood at a very high rate -some even faster than table sugar. Skipping most of those will help.

Also, some fruits have less fibre and more sugar (like grapes, raisins, tropical fruits) and should be minimized or avoided.

Otherwise, meats, cheeses, nuts, avocados, olives, butter, cream, coconut (oil, cream, flakes), eggs and most vegetables will have a small effect on blood glucose.

I also suggest getting a glucose metre and eating to that. Test before a meal and then every 30 minutes to an hour, for a couple of hours, after a meal to get a good idea how different foods affect him.

Good luck to him.

294Rich

Sure, recently diagnosed Type 2 Diabetic. Is he on MFP? Add me if you wish, I can give you my experience...

galgenstrick

Luckily you can likely reverse it. You want to get him more insulin sensitive. To do that, he must lose weight and exercise more. Both being a normal weight and exercise will increase insulin sensitivity, and this is what will keep diabetes away.

While being pre diabetic, you should stay clear of high glycemic carbs. Carbs from veggies and most fruits are ok. Once his weight is down a little and he's exercising regularly (2-5x per week) he can probably start introducing more carbs, but staying in a calorie deficit to keep losing weight. Of course you should be visiting your doctor regularly to get his blood-work done and taking any other advice they give you.

TFG_em

nvmomketo wrote: »

I found the book, Dr Bernstein's Diabetes Solution to be very helpful. It's a low carb book for T1Ds and T2Ds, who want to lower their insulin needs. It makes a LOT of sense.

Convenience foods tend to be the foods with added sugars. Prepackaged and already prepared meals tend to have sugar when it isn't needed. Doing your own cooking will give you control over ingredients with greater ease - just more time consuming.

Beyond that, avoid the obvious candy and soda. Starchy foods like baked goods, heat, rice, quick oats, potatoes and other root vegetables, corn, can turn to glucose in the blood at a very high rate -some even faster than table sugar. Skipping most of those will help.

Also, some fruits have less fibre and more sugar (like grapes, raisins, tropical fruits) and should be minimized or avoided.

Otherwise, meats, cheeses, nuts, avocados, olives, butter, cream, coconut (oil, cream, flakes), eggs and most vegetables will have a small effect on blood glucose.

I also suggest getting a glucose metre and eating to that. Test before a meal and then every 30 minutes to an hour, for a couple of hours, after a meal to get a good idea how different foods affect him.

Good luck to him.

Thanks so much! This is very helpful. I had no idea root vegetables can have that effect! I'll def check out the book too.

vikinglander

Please read the new book "Always Hungry?" by Dr. Ludwig. Also learn the many facets of the so-called Paleolithic diet. It has helped me lose 40 lbs (from an all-time high of 323) and made a dramatic difference in an arthritic knee (miracle, actually!). I know at least 6 people who are using it successfully to control or even eliminate diabetes.

TheLittleRedHairedGirl

There are a couple of Diabetic support groups on here that you might find useful.

Lizzy622

Just diagnosed pre diabetic myself (again). As stated above you can get your numbers back down without medication through diet and exercise. This is my second time around. I made the mistake of not keeping up with exercise this winter and it brought my numbers up again. I eat about 40g of carbohydrates per meal and make sure there is some protein and fiber to slow digestion and keep glycemic index low. I have gotten back to doing cardio for 30 minutes 3 times a week. Good luck. It can be done but remember it is not short term. To stay out of the pre diabetic range a lifestyle change is needed.

neohdiver

TFG_em wrote: »

We just learned that my husband is pre diabetic. I want to help him transition to healthier eating habits and get his glucose levels under control. So many hidden sugars and carbs, I'm not sure where to begin. Any diabetics have any cooking/food tips for us? Any advice is appreciated.

Many diabetics (and pre-diabetics) find the most effective way to keep BG in the normal range is by severely cutting carbs. The sad news is that I can't eat more than 20 in any meal without my BG exceeding 140 (generally considered the top of the normal range). The good news is that even though I was obese when I was diagnosed in October (BMI=34.9), within 3 days (possibly earlier - I didn't test), my BG numbers were within normal ranges more than 97% of the time solely by limiting carb intake. The second bit of sad news is that now that I'm within striking distance of normal weight (BMI=27.1), my insulin resistance has not budged - so (as I expected, given my heredity), it does not look as if I will get any break from needing to strictly limit my carb intake.

So - limiting carb intake works for virtually everyone; it is more effective at about 1/3 of the carb quantity the ADA suggests you consume (frequent tests with a BG meter is the best guide). Losing weight does not work for everyone - but it can't hurt.

There are a number of people using low carb diets to control their diabetes who hang out in the low carb group. (II've checked out the diabetes forums here I could find, and most of the discussions are pretty stale and/or slow.)

Yi5hedr3

Keep carbs below 100 grams/day. This is good advice for most folks