can i still eat chocolate now I'm diabetic?

Question

last week i asked if there are more choc lover's out there like me, i eat at least 1 bar a day. today i was told i am a diabetic, i love sweet things jam doughnuts i love. i am lucky i am not fat only 9st so i always eat what i want. Any diabetics with some tips?

Answer 1

i am a diabetic and i love chocolate too, my doctor told me not to buy special diabetic foods as they can end up costing you a fortune, he said to be sensible, and eat just alittle chocolate. i am also allowed a small piece of cake a day too, so all is not lost. tesco do a sugar free choc, which i do eat occasionally but it is 60p a bar. diabetes diet is just sensible eating, like using sweetner instead of sugar, sorry, but tesco do a granulated sweetner, and no one has even noticed the difference yet. you have to make sure you eat carbs like bread, potatoes or pasta at every meal, more veg and fruit too. your diabetes nurse will advise you on all this. later life diabetes, which sounds like what you have, and me, can often be controlled by diet alone, although i am on metformin tabs twice a day because my glucose kept shooting up. anyway i was in the dark about this like you because i was only diagnosed 3 months ago, keep healthy

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

Ive been type 1 diabetic for 22 years now and I eat chocolate and doughnuts, you have to learn that you control your diabities not the other way round.

If you want a mars bar, have one, alter your insulin intake a couple of mls to compensate and maybe walk home rather than getting the bus.

I have checked with my doctor and he agrees that I shouldn't let it rule my life and as long as I monitor my blood and take extra insulin when necessary a bar of chocolate or a cream cake now and again will do no harm whatsoever !!

Some people are just too "scared of the disease" and stop everything to follow the rules, what kind of a life is that. Also the diabetic chocolate sold in Boots tastes horrible, acts as a laxitive and costs a bomb.

Answer 5

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RE:
can i still eat chocolate now I'm diabetic?
last week i asked if there are more choc lover's out there like me, i eat at least 1 bar a day. today i was told i am a diabetic, i love sweet things jam doughnuts i love. i am lucky i am not fat only 9st so i always eat what i want. Any diabetics with some tips?

Answer 6

It would obviously depend on what variety she has but, unless they are brittle, they can, within reason. You might want to show a little thoughtfulness and forethought by getting her the dark chocolate version, which is a little lower in sugar. Or, split the difference and give her, for instance, a cheese ball garnished with a few chocolates. For most of us, we do okay eating a little bit of sweets, so long as it's balanced with protein or fiber, though protein is better. Or you might give her some dried fruits and the chocolate, like dried apricots or peaches, mangoes or like that. Nuts are also a good option. Perhaps, like dark Chocolate covered almonds. I'm sure if you just think of her, no matter what you give her, she'll appreciate it.

Answer 7

Hey there.

Please do not eat Chocolate on a regualar basis if you're a Diabetic as you're putting pressure on your (already damaged) Pancreas to produce more Insulin - which will only throw you into a hypo, or could do.

To counter-act this, your body pours out hormones (via the Liver), and this process (over time), will lead to further damage and as you age, weight gain also. Obesity and being a Diabetic go hand in hand, sadly.

At the moment you are newley diagnosed. Now is the chance to try and be sensible with your 'battle ship' of a body you must endure from now on. Don't intentionally signal for the enemy to attack it! (Bad diet). You start from a good point, you're not overweight - that's great news, but your goal will be to try and keep yourself this way over time - very hard to do!

Try and get some diabetic jam, and eat fruits such as peaches, pears, black grapes etc. Chocolate in tiny amounts is ok, but as I said, a whole chocolate bar, (or more) everyday is rather silly and not really observing the life-style changes you really must take on board now you're a Diabetic.

Diabetes is a serious illness, and I have great respect for those who suffer with it, and suffer is the word. It's a very wise choice to make (and addmitedly hard) now, rather than become very over-weight and suffer worse symptoms in 5, 10 years by making a big change in diet.

Do you eat McDonalds and other junk food? You won't be able to in years to come as you'd get obese from it, and this is the last thing any Diabetic needs. Diabetes has big effects on the circulation. and being obese directly affects the circulation anyway, so the two conditions (Diabetes & Obesity) do not mix. If you end up with double circulatory problems, then this will be (potentially) very bad for your long term cardiovascular health.

Always respect your body, as you only get one life. Ask yourself why/how your body got this illness in the first place? It's genetic obviously, you had no choice - but many many Diabetics *become* diabetic because of their diet forcing their body into this problem. I know other people's bodys can deal with it, but yours, (sadly) cannot.

If you're interested in your illness read up on the 'biology' of Diabetes, it's very interesting - it all makes sense and you don't need to be a brain-box to understand it either. One of the best tips I can ever give you, is to educate yourself on your illness. This makes things easier for you both psychologically and also with the relationship with your Doctor as you can explain your symptoms better, and quicker.

Be easy on the poor thing (your body), and I wish you a long, healthy and happy life.

Peace.

Answer 8

Hi Granmother,

I'm going to make an assumption here that you've been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Are you taking tablets, or has your doctor put you onto insulin straight away?

The good news is that you don't have to give up chocolate. The bad news, you have to cut back ... and quite drastically.

As has already been stated, your doctor should really have referred you to see a dietitian. S/he will be able to explain quite readily the sorts of foods that are good for you, and those you must take little of. Unfortunately, for you, chocolates and jam doughnuts come amongst the list of foods that you should limit your consumption of.

Although there are chocolates, cakes, biscuits, etc. made with the diabetic in mind, you have to be careful of just how many of those you eat too. The reason being the artificial sweeteners used in their preparation has a laxative effect.

As for the misinformation provided by shanna w and Jacob_32, this is obviously given by people not fully aware of diabetes or it what it entails. Shanna w states that 5 carbs a day are recommended. I can assure you that I eat 50-80 grams of carbohydrate at each sitting, and I'm a well controlled diabetic.

Jacob_32 speaks of having a hypo after eating chocolate. This is, in fact, totally opposite to what will happen. You will definitely go hyper (high blood sugar concentration). Hypo, in any sense, means low, or lack of. Hyper, means high, or excess of.

If you are, in fact, Type 2, your pancreas is, more than likely, already producing too much insulin. It's because your body is resistant to the effects of insulin that you have developed diabetes. (There is a way that you might have developed Type 1 diabetes called LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults), but this is less likely to be the case.)

No doubt, you noticed in Jacob_32's response that he says that diabetes and obesity go hand in hand. This is not necessarily the case, though most Type 2 diabetics are, in fact, overweight.

If you do not control your blood sugar levels, there's an increased likelihood that will go on to develop complications of your diabetes ... some of which are, or can be, quite devastating. I won't go into the details here or we'll be here all night.

If you are, in fact, taking prescribed medication(s) to aid in the control of your diabetes, you will be exempt from paying prescription charges. Ask at your doctor's surgery about claiming this entitlement. It's been more than 27 years now since I was diagnosed, and the surgery actually applied for the exemption certificate on my behalf. This may have changed by now. Unfortunately, if your are diet controlled diabetic, and not receiving prescribed medication(s), this does not apply to you. You will still have to pay for your prescriptions.

Jacob_32 was correct in stating that diabetes is a serious illness but he's not altogether correct in his statement of not being able to eat McDonald's type foods. These fast food chains now (and have done for at least 10 years) produce leaflets explaining the carbohydrate contents of their foods. Carbohydrate is the important food source that you need to pay particular attention to. Having said that, you must also try to cut down on the amount of saturated fats that you eat. This is, basically, what affects your cholesterol levels the most.

Cholesterol, now that's a different topic, and probably too much information for you to take in all at once. Most people give a figure out indicating that this is their cholesterol level. What they don't know, however, is that there are different types of cholesterol. The ones most important for you to know about are HDL (High density lipoprotein ... good cholesterol) and LDL (Low density lipoprotein ... bad cholesterol). What you want to do is to have a lower LDL level, which can be helped by increasing your HDL level. As the dietitian when you see him/her.

Do try to cut back on your sweet foods, Granmother. These, as are all carbohydrates that you ingest, are responsible for raising your blood sugar levels.

Do take care.

Answer 9

Are you type 1 or 2 ie on tablets or insulin?
The diabetic chocolate available in shops uses sorbitol as a sweetener, which can cause diarrhoea, not recommended.
Obviously your diet has to be regulated and although a little chocolate should not do you any harm, I`m afraid that a whole bar is out of the question. This will need to be offset against other sweet treats. Don`t have a nibble of chocolate and then have a doughnut after you lunch. Sorry.
Being diabetic is not the end of the world, when my son was diagnosed, the specialist told us that we would be grateful that, he only had that.
Your GP should have referred you to a dietician, they will guide you through the do`s and dont`s.
Good luck.

Answer 10

hey granmother!! Yes, you can still eat chocolate!! the real kind with real sugar in it. Just make it the dark chocolate, and only have a little bite.

the fats in the chocolate sort of nullify the effects of the sugars in it!! this makes it absorb slower!!

Me too!! I love my chocolate and thought I would die of wishing when I was diagnosed.

Jam donuts may be a thing of the past, with a few exceptions.

Being an American I am not too sure how much 9 stone is, but not so much I am thinking.

Come over to some of the About.com sites like Diabetes. there is a wealth of info and a swell forum with some lovely peoples who love to share war stories!!

What was your number ?? 7? higher?