I have recently been diagnosed as a diabetic what can i eat and not eat i am on tablets?

Question

I have been told to eat lots of carbs

Answer 1

Although you may be advised to be stricter with your diet in the beginning, until you have stabilised, the general advice is to eat a normal well balanced diet, as we should all be eating, including the fresh fruit and vegetables. Reduce the fats, salt and refined foods. Wholefoods generally last longer than refined foods, usually because the body has to work harder to process it. There is no need for special 'diabetic' foods.

As far as sugar goes, having diabetes does not mean you cannot have anything sweet, just be sensible and only have the 'naughties' in moderation, as an occasional treat and preferably as part of a meal. Don't forget that fruit contains natural sugars, and cheese can be loaded with fat and salt, so don't overdo either.

If you need to know more try Diabetes UK http://www.diabetes.org.uk or the American equivalent, (can't remember what it's called) and supermarkets often have leaflets for advice, in collabortion with Diabetes UK.
Don't forget the exercise.

Answer 2

If your doctor doesn't have a dietitian on staff, go to your local hospital and make an appointment with the dietitian there. They specialize in diets for people with diabetes.

I'm surprised that your doctor did not give you a sheet to follow. The most important thing is to keep your blood sugar levels at an even keel. You want to avoid extremes of high and low readings.

Buy some glucose tablets (sugar tabs) that bring up your sugar level if your blood sugar gets too low. They act fast. This avoids passing out or going into a diabetic coma if the sugar levels get very low.

My mother's plan suggests that she eats some carbs mid day. She is on insulin, however.

I can't stress how important diet is in the control of diabetes. So see the dietitian soon. Good luck to you.

Answer 3

The best way to answer this is to tell you to sit down with a diabetic nutritionist educator that can work out a diet paln for you. What works for one diabetic patient may not work with another diabetic patient. For example, some diabetics can only eat 6 small meals a day, and others can eat only every 4-5 hours. you should visit the American Diabetes Association Website and click on nutrition and this will give you good information to help you as well. Also you can type in the words Diabetic Meals in your browser bar and this can help.
Also go to www.ammed.com

***Most diabetic patients have been told to eat at each meal between 45-60 carbohydrate grams this is equal to 3 or 4 carb choices. One carb choice is equal to 15 CHO.
CHO-is the abbreviaton for Carbohydrate.

***You will need to seek the advice of a diabetes educator or nutritionist to help in this quest as well. Hope that this helps you and that you can take care of yourself with this debilatating disease.

Answer 4

Don’t eat lots of carbs!!! Low sugar and carbs is best, type 2s are often also advised low fat (but more cos weight probs contribute to them developing the condition so it's not so relevant if you're not over weight). My best tips are to eat plenty of veg, which has almost no fat or carbs - even cherry tomatoes which taste really sweet won't really affect your blood sugar, soup (esp. without potatoes in it) is v low carb and actually fills you up quite well. Be careful of fruit and esp. of fruit juice (and of non-diet soft drinks) - fruit is good for you but most is v high in carbs. Berries are extremely good for you and fairly low carbs, and melon is fairly low too, so try to make these the main fruits that you eat - limit grapes and bananas. If you're hungry, veges like carrot sticks are great snacks but also try proteins like cheese and nuts as they fill you up more (but do contain fat). A great thing to do is to get a book like the collins gem calorie counter (this is what I use - I have to closely count carbs as I have type 1 diabetes - it only costs a couple of pounds and includes a lot), and spend a couple of weeks working out how much carbs are in everything you eat - you soon get a good idea of what's low carb and what's not. Try to stick to below 10g for snacks and maybe 60 or 70g for meals. You should also see if your dr can refeer you to a dietician - they are gen great, but unfortunately depends on where you live for your chances of getting to see one. Hope that helps - good luck xx

PS with ref to some of the above answers, some of them relate to type 1 diabetes, for which we can eat what we want and sugar etc. as long as we ballance it with insulin - these are 2 v different conditions and while it's ok for you to have some sugar you should limit it - hope that makes that a bit clearer for you x

Answer 5

You need to go to a dietician and have a daily guide set up for you. Your doctor has probably recommended a daily calorie range for you. The dietician can use that to come up with a number of servings of carbs, fats, and proteins for each meal and snack. You should not be eating lots of carbs because carbs are what raise your blood sugar. At the same time you should not be trying to eliminate all carbs from your diet.

Answer 6

You should have gotten a diet from your doctor or have made an appointment with a dietician. Too much protein isn't good for diabetics, but you can't have too many carbs, either. The diet is based on a balance of carbs, proteins, fats, etc. Smaller meals is the key. You'll get it! Good luck to you!

Answer 7

well dont listen to the whole " you cant eat sugar" thing that was what docotrs thought like a million years ago.
my sister is diabetic and she eats everything that she wants to however you just have to check the nutritional guide and do a ratio thing between the carbs and insulin. i think that is like tablets.
also you dont want to eat to much carbs or sugar because it
will raise your blood sugar high really fast and then drop you down.
i hope this helps.
just watch the proportions, but you can eat anything you want to.

Answer 8

Your doctor should be the main source of information.

Also, most areas have free diabetic evenings, for group discussion, and questions. Usually 2's monthly.

Check out your local area.

Answer 9

No a lot of carbs are BAD. Not a simple answer but try the getting a book called Sugarbusters. It explains how everything works as well as how to make a few changes and eliminate a few things in your diet.

Answer 10

a diabetic diet should be the diet that EVERYBODY should follow, low fat low salt and no sugar [ unless u need it ] plenty of veg and fruit small main meals are good with healthy snacks in between , to keep you going through the day , everything in moderation but a little of what you fancy does you good , no diabetic chocs or sweets, etc they are a waste of money. good luck my husband is a new type 1 diabetic its scary but you will be fine