Susan's Place Transgender Resources

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor and this is my personal layman's opinion and my personal chosen approach to getting healthier. I'll be consulting my doctor along the way.

For the short attention spans, just read this summary--
LDL cholesterol recently tested at > 200 which is extremely high. Tested positive for diabetes. Following up with regular blood glucose monitoring and a low-carb diet (contrary to common wisdom for high cholesterol which is to go low-fat, which means lots of carbs). I'm expecting this to lower my cholesterol. I believe it's a symptom of my diabetes which is not being controlled rather than seeing my high cholesterol as the result of eating fat and cholesterol. This thread will chronicle my results. If I suddenly stop posting, it might mean I died (kidding! mostly...)

Longer version--
I thought I was living a pretty healthy lifestyle and I guess I was for a "normal" person with a normal insulin response, but I got a red flag when my cholesterol was really high in a recent blood test. I had read many things about cholesterol being regulated by your body, particularly your liver, and if it's off, it's likely a symptom of a problem rather than something that happens from eating fat and cholesterol. A diabetic friend suggested I take an a1c test--$9 at Walmart. I did and it came back positive for diabetes. If you have ANY thoughts like you have symptoms, even minor, or high cholesterol, TAKE THIS TEST. IT'S JUST $9 AND IT MIGHT SAVE YEARS OF YOUR LIFE! I'm going to follow up with blood glucose monitoring to confirm as well as with my doctor next visit (as should you if your test is +). I'll be checking my blood sugar after all meals to see how my body responds to different foods. In the meantime, I'm doing what my diabetic friend did when his cholesterol was even higher than mine (yikes!) and which worked perfectly for him. I'm going on a very low-carb diet; < 30 g / day.

A little history--
I went kind of low-carb (<100 grams a day) several years ago and immediately experienced a dramatic health benefit. Little did I realize that I was showing signs of diabetes even then--fatigue almost all the time but particularly after eating was a big one. I needed a long nap every afternoon shortly after lunch and I couldn't stay up late at night to save my life. Within about 3 days of taking most carbs out of my diet and replacing them with protein, fat, and fiber, I was suddenly able to stay awake all day easily and even stay up late at night when I wanted and just sleep in a little in the morning without it being a major disruption to my sleep patterns. I was sleeping LESS at night as well and waking up feeling completely rested. My allergies faded quite a bit as well along with headaches. This made no sense to me. I chalked it up to a gluten sensitivity which may have been slightly off the mark. I'm thinking that high-gluten foods probably also tend to be high-glycemic. The volume that I ate seemed to matter.

Now--
Over time my diet deteriorated. I convinced myself gluten was my primary problem and cut it almost completely out of my diet but I continued to eat rice and corn-based things fairly regularly and I would cheat fairly frequently with sweets like ice cream or gluten-free baked goods. That said, I still feel like my diet has been fantastic compared to most for a person with a normal, healthy insulin-response. I've now been on <30 g/day for just a few days and already my allergies and asthma symptoms already seem to have dwindled despite it finally being Spring and I have more energy again. I haven't been napping like I did before going low-carb several years ago but that has been starting to happen some days again on my low-gluten but moderate carb and occasional cheat-with-sweets diet.

So we'll see how this works out. It's a bit of an experiment considering I'm going against the advice of my doctor who simply prescribed lipitor and suggested I go low-fat, though he only knows my cholesterol is high. He didn't even think to test me for diabetes, which btw, BLOWS MY MIND! Why don't they do this immediately when cholesterol is high considering how cheap and easy it is to test? This experiment may be a flop or I may even find out the test was not accurate. Regardless, I'll let people know here.

Wish me luck.

Good luck Dalebert!  :)

Are you a derpabetic like me?

That's my (obnoxiously judgmental) word for when you did it to yourself with your diet and lifestyle. Some people are born diabetic (not derpabetics), and others are made. It seems to be happening to a lot of people. If you already know you're diabetic and are taking necessary measures to control it, then you've probably graduated from the offensive term. ;) Depending on your genetics, you may be more or less prone to it. If you're not prone to it, then maybe you have a fantastic insulin response and can eat lots of bread, pasta, rice, cake, candy, etc. and never have your blood sugar spike above 100 your entire life. If not, every time you tax your insulin response by raising your blood sugar, you may be damaging it irrevocably. I appear to be in the middle somewhere. If I'd known, I should have been eating a (reasonably) low-carb diet for much of my life. Now I probably have to eat a more drastically low-carb diet to avoid health problems.

You absolutely have to pay attention to glycemic indexes if your insulin response is damaged. Here's a handy chart of sweeteners (http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/glycemic-index-for-sweeteners.html). Most of them are just out of the ball park completely, but a few, like Stevia, actually seem okay. Here's another chart for many commonly-eaten carbohydrates (http://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/glycemic-index). My understanding is these numbers are obtained by diabetics eating those foods and then checking how it affected the blood glucose levels. High = BAD. Many of the numbers are surprising. Certain carbohydrates, like bread, crackers, etc. are actually already turning into sugar in your mouth just from saliva, and what isn't is rapidly turned to sugar in your stomach.

I'm avoiding just about everything on the second list until I can start monitoring my levels better to see how my body is reacting to them.

My sister just got the a1c test when I told her I was positive and is also diabetic, though just barely past the "official" number so doing a little bit better than me. I don't know how good the accuracy is but I understand that if you test past 5.8, that's a pretty solid indicator. Some people argue for 5.7 as a clear indicator of diabetes. It doesn't hurt to know so you can follow up with a doctor for assurance.

My sister's a big fan of bread she makes from milling the grains herself, which may be fantastic stuph... if you have a healthy insulin response.  :-\ She taught me and I used to mill my own grain and make it all the time not realizing it was poison for me. I told her to just check her blood sugar after meals to find out if it's actually a problem for her. I can't imagine that it wouldn't be considering even whole wheat bread has one of the highest glycemic indexes of anything. It's higher than a snickers bar. I guess the fat in the candy bar slows it's digestion and absorption. *shrug* That's just a guess though. No idea. Maybe her bread has a lot more fiber than the stuph on the grocery shelves but I'm pretty sure it was still contributing to serious health problems for me when I was eating it regularly.

With an A1C of 5.8, its mostly just eating reasonably and exercising.  I doubt the doctor would put you on orals and definitely not insulin shots.

Good luck, I hope you stay at that level.

Dalebert,

See your doctor and get a real medical lab test for HbA1C.  I wouldn't trust a $9 test at Walmart for anything more than to send me to the doctor.

There are a lot of things that can be done.  Cutting carbs is one.  Exercise is a better one.  The biggest one is see the doctor!

Here's the best to you in dealing with this!


Erin

Quote from: Sarah Louise on April 14, 2014, 12:35:55 PM
With an A1C of 5.8, its mostly just eating reasonably and exercising.  I doubt the doctor would put you on orals and definitely not insulin shots.

Sorry, I was talking about my sister and I forgot to mention her result. It was 5.9. 5.8 is apparently what they use to diagnose it as diabetes. I agree though that diet and exercise should be able to control it. Mine was 6.4 and that's what I'm doing.

Quote from: ErinWDK on April 14, 2014, 12:40:07 PM
See your doctor and get a real medical lab test for HbA1C.  I wouldn't trust a $9 test at Walmart for anything more than to send me to the doctor.

I've now put in bold the line where I said I was going to do that. I can understand you not seeing it since it's kind of lost in the middle of a long post and some folks probably just read my summary. I also recommended others do the same and not rely on that test, but it's a good starting point if you're having some symptoms like high cholesterol or fatigue. And some folks can't afford to see a doctor trivially whereas the test might convince them to go. Mine's hard to see quickly. It's the VA, after all. I'm not doing anything drastic in response. I'm eating what I believe to be a healthier diet regardless and taking long, vigorous walks every day. I've now received glucose monitoring gear and that should help me to confirm it or not and give me some data to take to the doctor. I'm starting off very conservative with my eating but I'm going to venture into low glycemic carbs in moderation at some point and test to see what it does to my levels.

But to be completely honest, If he tries to prescribe drugs, I would probably want to continue what I'm doing first before I resorted to that. I feel like doctors are just a little too quick to try that before healthier measures. So I kind of feel like it's important to do but not a crazy rush since it's not going to change my behavior, not right away at least.

Yesterday was my first day of monitoring. I've been on an extremely low-carb diet so far. Again, maybe I'll venture into some low-glycemic carbs in moderation after a while but I'm being ultra-conservative to start. I only tested at the one hour mark after eating (because I failed to order extra lancets--DERP!) and my levels were in the 80s all day. That doesn't surprise me considering what I'm eating and it corresponds to how good I feel.

I really don't understand this and I'm just speculating, but my asthma and allergies, which have re-emerged in the last year or so with a vengeance, have rather suddenly seemed to all but vanish completely this last week since I changed my diet. I've looked puffy in general, especially in my face. My face looks leaner to me now. I feel like I look 10 years younger. I understand blood sugar spikes are very inflammatory which may be why they damage your circulatory system so that makes me wonder if I was making minor allergic reactions much worse by piling general inflammation on top of them. I imagine if you're allergic to something, having your sinuses and lung tissue inflamed all the time would make them much more sensitive to those allergens. Again, I'm just speculating. I'll ask my doctor about that too.

This may be a little weird. I have been wheezing and out of breath for months now and been seeing several specialists about that. I'm scheduled for a breathing test before they can start giving me immunotherapy shots. I have practically no symptoms now to speak of so I wonder how that will go. I guess I'll explain to that doctor about the test and maybe he can get an appt going with my GP to follow up.

I urge caution as you move forward.  Sometimes people go overboard in their approach.

You mention your in the 80's all day and test after one hour.   The normal testing is two hours after a meal and a good reading would be anywhere from 100 to 130.  A reading of only 80 after one hour could indicate you have gone too far in your reduction of carbs.  Having lows can be as dangerous as having high readings. 

Make sure you see a doctor and get them to diagnose you as diabetic then see a good dietician.

Ditto, I'm a Type 1 Diabetic and I strongly urge you to go in and get checked and go see an endocrinologist and get a referral to a dietician and an eye doctor.

Recommended carb intake is 45gr per meal for women and 60g for men with diabetes and the more complex the carbohydrates the better.

Remember that Type 2 diabetics are also susceptible to hypoglycemia and unless you want to pass out and possibly die you need to be careful.

Quote from: Sarah Louise on April 15, 2014, 03:15:11 PM
I urge caution as you move forward.  Sometimes people go overboard in their approach.

You mention your in the 80's all day and test after one hour.   The normal testing is two hours after a meal and a good reading would be anywhere from 100 to 130.  A reading of only 80 after one hour could indicate you have gone too far in your reduction of carbs.  Having lows can be as dangerous as having high readings. 

Make sure you see a doctor and get them to diagnose you as diabetic then see a good dietician.

I should point out that my results do not officially put me in the range for diabetes. A pharmacist said anything under 7 is "fine". But then I found out that 6.5 is the criteria for diabetes so I'm not sure where she's getting that idea. I think most of the people who take the test are already diagnosed diabetics and that's considered okay for them. A healthy person should still be not much higher than 5 and diabetics who aim for healthy numbers will generally do better, at least according to a growing community of medical researchers.

My sister just sent me this article (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/01/07/diabetes-remission.aspx).

I've been on this few carbs before for several weeks with no problems though, as I already said, I'm going to figure out what I can safely eat by monitoring my responses and I imagine I will decide to loosen that a bit. When you say 100-130, I think you mean what is expected for diabetics. My understanding is 80s to 90s is normal for a non-diabetic and that those healthy people would almost never go over 100 even if they pigged out on sweets. I believe the doctor who invented the idea of personal glucose monitoring, who was a type 1 himself, set his personal target at 84 and he lived into his 70s which was unheard of for the medicine of the time. He bucked the conventional wisdom in a lot of ways and inspired a lot of the changes that seem to be coming down the pipeline of new medicine.

This is totally doable.  When I was sick a couple of years back, I put up an A1C of 10.5, and the doc declared me diabetic.  This was not actually the case for me, but I started taking really good care of myself because I have a cousin who didn't and she's about to be minus a foot.

Monitoring what you ate and what your blood glucose was afterward is a good idea.  I did this religiously and ended up cutting carbs permanently.  I lost a lot of weight quickly, and I noticed my numbers going down a bit.  If you can lose 10% of your body weight, I guarantee the numbers will go in the right direction.  Also, an hour of brisk walking every day dropped my numbers to where I had to eat constantly to keep my blood sugar up, and I ended up going off all medications while still checking my blood glucose religiously.  It was fine.  I showed my log to my new doctor, and he thought the numbers looked normal.  I went out one night and had a carby dinner, checked my blood sugar one hour later and it was 155, which really bummed me out.  My doctor told me that "normal" people can have brief spikes up to 200.  As long as it drops within an hour or so, you're OK.  An hour after the 155, it was 85.  Anyway, I know now that I have a potential for a problem later on and I have adjusted my lifestyle accordingly.

Lose weight.
Eat smart.  Three meals a day and a snack before bed.
Get exercise.  Cardio and weights.  Building muscle improves insulin resistance.
Don't cut out carbs completely.  If your body isn't processing them regularly, you can end up making the problem worse.

Of course for me, losing the weight and gaining muscle dropped my endogenous estrogen and raised my T to where my dysphoria went through the roof and forced my transition...

A trans lady friend of mine just told me that she's diabetic due to HRT. Has anyone heard of that? This was a new one for me.

This thread has gotten long enough that I can't remember if I said it. A friend of mine tested around 10 with EXTREMELY high cholesterol. He got them both down without medications and is now on a 30g per day low-carb diet--6g breaky, 12g lunch, 12g dinner. I don't think I will have to be that drastic but he keeps all his numbers in a healthy range like that, including cholesterol. He eats bacon and eggs every day for breakfast and nothing but meat and vegetables the rest of the day. His highest spike is 110 and he's not thrilled with it (It may be higher during the hour after eating. That's after minimum 1 hour). He feels he could do better if he'd caught it earlier.

Quote from: Jill F on April 15, 2014, 08:44:02 PM
Also, an hour of brisk walking every day dropped my numbers to where I had to eat constantly to keep my blood sugar up, and I ended up going off all medications while still checking my blood glucose religiously.  It was fine.  I showed my log to my new doctor, and he thought the numbers looked normal.  I went out one night and had a carby dinner, checked my blood sugar one hour later and it was 155, which really bummed me out.  My doctor told me that "normal" people can have brief spikes up to 200.  As long as it drops within an hour or so, you're OK.  An hour after the 155, it was 85.

It was the opposite for me. For years, I needed to eat very frequently and I could tell my blood sugar was dropping regularly even without testing it. At the time, I was pretty clueless about diabetes, but when I watched Fathead, that's when I had suspicions that I was prediabetic (turns out I was). Then I dropped to <= 100g/day and I could soon go many hours without eating and feel fine. I started sleeping better at night and stopped needing naps every day. I started waking up every day not hungry for breakfast until Noon. I gradually creeped up to a bit more carbs, maybe 150, though much less than the average person, but cheats with sweets 2 or 3 times a week. I thought I had it under control until just recently when my cholesterol was tested.

There is growing evidence that lots of type 2s can go into remission (I hear the word "cure" bandied about, but that's misleading), and actually recover a degree of their body's regulating mechanisms by more strictly controlling their glucose spikes. My friend is just an anecdote but there's growing data out there. Maybe a reason doctors might say that glucose spikes are okay is because they've seemed unavoidable for diabetics under old-school methods of control, but there's growing evidence that diabetics can control those spikes better and, in turn, control the illness better. It seems many doctors lower the standard for us instead of raising them, which seems odd to me.

My glucose readings have been much better than expected. It's enough to question whether I did the test correctly or it may just mean that my case is a mild one. Either way, changes in my diet in response have seemed very good. I wonder if my results would be different if I hadn't started monitoring after having dramatically altered my diet for a while, i.e. maybe I should have been testing while I was still being very bad. All my diabetic-like symptoms seem to grow over time as I eat badly and seem to rapidly improve when I clean up my act.

I was seeing a doctor about another minor problem that I don't care to go into, but he asked me if diabetes ran in my family. I told him about my diabetic grandmother and that I had tested positive on the hba1c and said to see my doctor, of course, and I will.

I hope I get to come back here and say "I'm not diabetic!" We shall see. The only downside is I thought I'd found the cause of my cholesterol issue and that may be more like trying to sword-fight a fart.

Quote from: dalebert on April 18, 2014, 01:23:15 PMI hope I get to come back here and say "I'm not diabetic!" We shall see.

Well, no. Oh well. My friend came over and brought his meter so we could compare readings between them. Then we both downed 20oz of soda, about 77 grams of carbs. I spiked at about 140 in an hour verified on both meters. Fortunately, it dropped at 1.5 and 2 hours. That's a good sign that mine hasn't progressed too far but I definitely would not get 140 without some sort of issue. I probably haven't been using my meter quite right and I think we figured out what I was doing wrong.

So yeah. Still prediabetic but not a horrible case of it. Very manageable. I'm going to experiment with some resistant starches shortly and test how I react to those. Will update, as usual.

Dreamfield's pastas are your friend.

140 isn't horribly bad for that much sugar after an hour, but I agree that it's smart to watch out, because these things do progress if you don't.

Quote from: Jill F on April 19, 2014, 05:44:14 PM
140 isn't horribly bad for that much sugar after an hour, but I agree that it's smart to watch out, because these things do progress if you don't.

You're right. It's really not bad for what I drank and I'm glad that my case seems to be pretty mild. Of course, I don't want it to spike that high or I doubt I will get my cholesterol under control as well as other related health problems.

Last night I went to a party. My friend had said that whisky actually lowers his blood sugar, so that was my drink of choice. I checked one hour after about two shots worth and it was 77. I expected to be mid-80s because I'd eaten dinner just a couple hours before plus I had just snacked on some feta and pepperoni that someone brought. Then after a couple more, I'd dropped to 69, the lowest I've tested since I started a couple weeks ago. So uh... I ate just a little bit of chips and hummus at that point. hehe. Do not try this at home! I do not recommend whiskey for controlling BGLs.  :police:

BTW, I don't think I mentioned the reference. My friend (his case is much worse than mine) who has been helping me through this got his blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels under control without drugs or insulin following the guidelines put out by Richard K. Bernstein, MD. He's got several books out. He's been a type 1 diabetic since he was 12. He's now very healthy in his 70s. Not everyone can control it without drugs or insulin. It depends on how bad it is and how far it's progressed. Dr. Bernstein himself has to use insulin, but he dramatically reduced how much he needs and he keeps his blood sugars in the normal non-diabetic range. That seems to be at the foundation of his philosophy--that diabetics should try to keep their blood sugar in the normal range or as close to it as possible and that all the complications from diabetes are tied to that.

I'm really encouraged that by watching what I eat carefully, I can mostly stay in the 80s after a meal. I believe Bernstein sets the ideal target at 84. I haven't read his books yet; just getting the info second-hand from my friend. It seems unnecessary for me since I seem to have a handle on it with some basic adjustments to my diet but I may read them at some point anyway, even if just so I can help my friends and relatives who discover they have a problem.

Quote from: Jill F on April 19, 2014, 05:44:14 PM
Dreamfield's pastas are your friend.

What BGLs do you reach after eating it? I'm pretty optimistic about Miracle Noodles. I understand they're practically all fiber and almost zero effective calories. Maybe Dreamfield's is similar. The cool thing is there is no need to guess when you have a meter. If I found I could eat it without spiking my sugar about the 80s, then I would eat them. I don't really crave noodles that much anymore but I may try them both at some point just so I can post my results.

My story is backwards I think. a1c says I'm low. After 3 whiskey and sours, my blood sugar was so high that the meter took forever and was like 252. I went to the doctor on advice of my friend who is diabetic, They seemed to see no cause for alarm.      It has been checked several times since then and a1c remains low.

Quote from: LordKAT on April 21, 2014, 08:24:27 AM
After 3 whiskey and sours...

FWIW, sour mix is loaded with sugar so that doesn't surprise me IF you're diabetic. I was drinking mine with nothing but a squirt of lemon juice. Maybe that was just a fluke because 252 is higher than any non-diabetic should hit no matter what they consume and the a1c is a pretty good indicator. Very occasionally my meter says something ridiculous like 24. I just do a new reading more carefully--make sure my skin at the site is clean and dry, make sure I give it enough blood, etc. The 252 may have just been a fluke, a slight error in how you did the reading or a glitch in the meter, or it's possible the a1c was a fluke. Maybe do it again sometime if you're at all worried. *shrug*

Oh, disregard that last part. You've already checked it several times. That incident was probably a fluke.

Based on the readings I've been getting, I seem to do pretty well without having to go Atkins-level low-carb. My case just isn't as severe as my friend. I had plain Greek yogurt with wild blueberries and sweetened with Stevia and stayed in the 80s. It probably had 15 to 20 grams which I'm sure were fairly low on the glycemic index. The last time I tried <=100g/day, I felt great so that's in line with my previous experience though I didn't know I was prediabetic then. I was just trying to have a healthier diet. I know I have to avoid bread religiously because it messes me up so much I can feel it. I still plan to test it though just so I know. Wheat bread has a higher glycemic index than a Snickers bar, so no surprise there.

I'm very curious about cold rice. Reasonable amounts of rice or corn-based things (like tortillas) haven't made me feel like crap but I don't want to trust feelz. I'm going to trust my meter. My feelz have been great and yet my a1c was high. I've heard that letting rice or roasted potatoes cool down completely after cooking raises the proportion of resistant starch. I'm going to check my reaction to sushi at some point.

Speaking of baked goods, something I miss,  :'( this recipe has kept me sane. It doesn't spike my blood sugar and flax seed is really good for you. It's great with your morning coffee.

Flax Seed 1 minute muffin

Ingredients:
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 cocaine spoonfuls KAL stevia (or 2 spoonfuls + 1/2 TBLsp Xylitol)
1/2 TBLsp cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1/2 TBLsp butter (pref grass-fed)

Directions:

1 Melt the butter
2 Whip the butter and egg with a fork
3 Mix in the other ingredients
4 Microwave for one minute on high.
5 If using frozen berries, microwave for 1:30 on high.
6 Smooth on some butter and enjoy!

I hate the costs for test strips, insurance usually only pays for 2 a day for people not on insulin and 3 a day if your on insulin.  Many of the better brands of test strips are almost a dollar apiece.  Meters are free, because they make so much on the strips.

I wish the meters were more accurate, the government allows a +/- 20% variance in value.

I'm currently using TRUEtest. They're about 20 cents each on Amazon. They have them at Walmart too and I should check the price there. I haven't tried to get them from the VA. I'm not sure if they would even approve it since I'm only prediabetic.

I don't expect to need a lot of them in the long run. Once I know how my body reacts to certain foods, I won't keep testing those meals. I know it sucks for the more serious cases because BGL is probably much more volatile. Dr. Bernstein is big on frequent testing and precise control of BGLs in order to stay healthy. Maybe the science will improve and these will get cheaper. Also, there's a new invention in the works (http://www.medgadget.com/2013/10/non-invasive-measurement-of-blood-glucose-levels-using-glucotrack-interview.html) that requires no blood and no test strips!

Well, so much for any hope of being able to eat brown rice. Even having a moderate amount in a meal containing fiber and fat, it spiked me similarly to the 20 oz Mountain Dew! I knew even before I tested because I felt (and still feel) horrible. My heart was racing and I could feel the beginnings of a headache. I already knew it was going to be high.

I have decided to try some of the meals that I was eating frequently during the few months before my a1c test just to know for sure what the culprits were and one of those was a burrito bowl from Chipotle. All that time, I thought I had a gluten sensitivity so I was just avoiding the tortilla. Yeah, that was not helping much! I'll try it again sometime without the rice and see how that goes. I'm fairly confident rice is the main culprit though I'm not 100% sure the beans won't be an issue.

EDIT: It's actually worse than the Mountain Dew. With that, my BGL dropped rapidly after the first hour. The Chipotle bowl is lingering and not dropping as quickly. When I ate two shortbread cookies with chocolate filling, they weren't this bad. I'm a little stunned. I thought the fiber from the beans and the protein and fat would slow it, and I guess it did, but that meant it was pumping sugar into my system for a longer time, I guess.

The Chipotle salad bowl without the rice seems to bump me a little over 100 which isn't that bad, though it unfortunately was still holding me there 30 minutes later. That was odd. I'll still probably eat it now and then. I did not put the vinaigrette dressing on it that they gave me. I dipped a bit of my salad in it and it tasted sweet so I checked their website and it has at least 10g of sugar.

I was able to eat a reasonable portion of sweet potato fries yesterday without spiking. I was SO happy about that. I was NOT optimistic. It was an experiment. I really don't want to go on a ridiculously low-carb (like Atkins-level) diet and it's looking like I won't have to. I just have to watch the types and quantities of the ones I eat.

So now I know I can't eat rice. What's been surprising is that I CAN eat a reasonable portion of potatoes. I've had both sweet potato fries and regular fries as my one serving of carbs in a full meal and they were both fine. The sweet potato maybe a little better but not dramatically. I can get away with a whole sweet potato baked but that's a little worse. I should probably only eat half of one. I can also eat a reasonable portion of potato chips. All of this and I can stay around 100.

Whiskey drops my blood sugar for some reason. I'd say 15 or 20 points. It's enough to offset a small amount of something that might otherwise spike me. I'm not sure if this isn't just somehow throwing off the test though. I was able to have a few cookies and a bit of chocolate after some whiskey at a little party and tested fine.

Some of this is surprising, particularly about sweets vs. rice. I haven't tested bread much as I'm not at all in the habit of eating it. I've been under the impression I had a gluten-sensitivity. I no longer think that. I think bread probably is just very high glycemic, generally. I did have an enchilada in a large flour tortilla and it spiked me a bit too much but not horribly. I still want to try a couple pieces of off-the-shelf bread and see but I don't really want to go buy bread for that so I don't know if I'll get around to it.

A small apple turnover my mom made with a Pillsbury crescent roll spiked me pretty badly. That's a def no-no. It was very sweet and also had bread. Sweet bread--probably generally a bad idea! I guess that means no donuts.

Other folks who test their blood glucose after meals, I'm curious what has surprised you. What did you think you could eat but found out otherwise and what turned out to be not as bad as you thought?

Good cocoa is really low carb, you can make a lot of delicious things with it, same goes for a lot of the nuts.
Experimenting with salads can be really fun, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, parmesan, pine nuts, peanuts, chicken, tuna, peppers are all great choices to spice things up. Also a bit of pepper/salt does wonders.

Things that have way more carbs than I thought and I mostly stay away from; fruits, juices, rice, pasta, potato chips, beer.

Quote from: dalebert on May 07, 2014, 11:24:22 PM
Other folks who test their blood glucose after meals, I'm curious what has surprised you. What did you think you could eat but found out otherwise and what turned out to be not as bad as you thought?

This recipe was a personal experiment to satisfy a sweet tooth and take advantage of resistant starch. I ate five of these with my coffee (which has MCT oil and butter) and tested at 95 an hour later. That's pretty good for something that seems like you're eating candy! I don't know how they will affect you so you should definitely test yourself. If you're worried at all, you might want to just have a couple to start with. These are have plenty of resistant starch AS LONG AS YOU DON'T GET IT HOT (don't cook!) which theoretically lowers blood sugar and is really good food for your gut flora. Possibly the most dangerous thing is the mini semisweet chocolate chips. You could skip that if they're a problem for you.

Low-carb Reeses-ish Balls

INGREDIENTS

5 TBLsp butter
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 tsp KAL powdered stevia (I find most every other stevia tastes bad)
1/4 cup erythritol
1/4 cup Splenda
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp vanilla flavoring
1 TBLsp cocao powder
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill potato starch
3/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup (roughly) mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Mix butter (soft but not melted), sweeteners, salt, vanilla, cocoa, and peanut butter. Mix in the potato starch, then mix in the almond flour. Roll into roughly tablespoon-sized or a little bigger balls and roll the balls into mini choc chips; about a dozen chips each. Chill for a few hours. DO NOT COOK!

Makes about 18 balls

This is an actual ad from a 1970 National Geographic.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJC31oR6.jpg&hash=306f4d7206c928a91636e836101466862dd69b60)

Continuing my experiment with resistant starch, I tried raw oatmeal. The idea is to take one part oatmeal and one part liquid (water, milk... I used mostly water and a little heavy cream) and let them soak for 12 hours. This obviously requires planning if you want it the next morning. I went ahead and put a little salt, a little KAL stevia, and a little cinnamon in it and stirred it up. It was great! It was like getting to eat cold cereal again.

At first, I tried quick oats. My understanding was these were just cut into smaller pieces but still raw. My BGL one hour later--156! I even retested carefully and got almost exactly the same number.

I just didn't think that could be right. This stuph was supposed to be loaded with resistant starch as long as it was raw. Even if not, there's a decent amount of fiber in oatmeal. I wouldn't expect it to spike me higher than anything else I've tested. I still wonder if that was a lark and I was determined to try again.

So this morning I did try again with straight-up old fashioned oats; not the quick kind. They were delicious. I left them in a jar in the frig overnight. This time my BGL was 86!

It's just a one-time experiment so I'm still a bit confused but I see no point in doing the quick oats anymore. I liked the regular oats just fine. Can't really tell a difference. When I was cooking them, the quick oats had a consistency I liked better but that's not really apparent prepared this way.

So anyway, if you're a diabetic who misses cold cereal in the morning, might be worth a try. Test yourself! We're all different. Again, resistant starch is supposed to be really good for you, and besides not raising your blood sugar, it may even help control your blood sugar later in the day. That's the theory anyway.

Quote from: dalebert on May 09, 2014, 05:53:43 AM
This is an actual ad from a 1970 National Geographic.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FJC31oR6.jpg&hash=306f4d7206c928a91636e836101466862dd69b60)

Fascinating. I actually find sugar makes me want MORE food.

The idea is not completely ridiculous. If you raise your BGL a moderate amount with something sweet, that will likely curb your appetite--maybe a cookie or two. It's a little ridiculous though to drink an ENTIRE COKE! That's so much sugar and a lot of empty calories. You might actually overspike and trigger a huge insulin release and have a sugar crash that might make you eat more.

True, I usually tend to overdo it with sugar when I do have it. That would explain a lot.

I also love the face that person is making as they drink the soda lol. I want that to be my soda drinking face.

As far as oats go I think steel cut are your best bet, highest amount of fiber and lowest glycemic index and take about 1.5 hours to reach max blood glucose. The fiber is the key to keep feeling full as it's the hardest do digest, you can also slow down the absorption by supplementing with a bit of protein, a slice of cheese before breakfast helps.

Quote from: dalebert on May 12, 2014, 08:43:10 AM
Continuing my experiment with resistant starch, I tried raw oatmeal. The idea is to take one part oatmeal and one part liquid (water, milk... I used mostly water and a little heavy cream) and let them soak for 12 hours. This obviously requires planning if you want it the next morning. I went ahead and put a little salt, a little KAL stevia, and a little cinnamon in it and stirred it up. It was great! It was like getting to eat cold cereal again.

At first, I tried quick oats. My understanding was these were just cut into smaller pieces but still raw. My BGL one hour later--156! I even retested carefully and got almost exactly the same number.

I just didn't think that could be right. This stuph was supposed to be loaded with resistant starch as long as it was raw. Even if not, there's a decent amount of fiber in oatmeal. I wouldn't expect it to spike me higher than anything else I've tested. I still wonder if that was a lark and I was determined to try again.

So this morning I did try again with straight-up old fashioned oats; not the quick kind. They were delicious. I left them in a jar in the frig overnight. This time my BGL was 86!

It's just a one-time experiment so I'm still a bit confused but I see no point in doing the quick oats anymore. I liked the regular oats just fine. Can't really tell a difference. When I was cooking them, the quick oats had a consistency I liked better but that's not really apparent prepared this way.

So anyway, if you're a diabetic who misses cold cereal in the morning, might be worth a try. Test yourself! We're all different. Again, resistant starch is supposed to be really good for you, and besides not raising your blood sugar, it may even help control your blood sugar later in the day. That's the theory anyway.

Quote from: antonia on May 13, 2014, 12:49:15 AM
As far as oats go I think steel cut are your best bet...

I want to try those raw sometime also. I can't recall but I think those might call for more soak time. Maybe I'll just try the normal 12 hours and see how they are. BTW, I forgot to mention my BGL of 86 was an hour after eating the raw oatmeal. That's the typical time I spike, though not always. I should really go ahead and test at 1.5 and 2 hours as well the next time.

This is a cool short summary that seems to reflect some of the reactions that I have gotten to different foods. It doesn't directly address diabetes, but if you give it a minute or two, you'll see how it's even more relevant to us.

It makes me want to find out more. On the other hand, I'm pretty much already in the habit of following a diet like this with rare exceptions. It's just habit for me now. I do it because the effects are personally kind of obvious, particularly now that I've been monitoring my BGL in reaction to various foods.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7FBy24ssvE

How you doing Dalebert?

Just found this article today:
Too Much Sugar and Type 2 Diabetes Eat Your Brain
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/06/03/study-type-2-diabetes-and-excess-sugar-shrink-brain-155130
Authors: Staff, Source: Indian Country Today

Quote
According to new research published April 29 in the online edition of Radiology, diabetes causes brain shrinkage with age. Interestingly, though, the decrease in brain volume isn't linked to the damage of tiny blood vessels in the brain, but instead to how the brain handles excess sugar. Chronically high levels of insulin and sugar might be toxic to brain cells, the study suggests.

"This would definitely be a potential cause of dementia," said Dr. Sam Gandy

[. . .]  Research indicated the longer a person had diabetes, the more brain shrinkage occurred

I'm doing well. I'm planning to take another a1c at the end of this month. I think it will be better, but I have had a number of occasional spikes just in the process of experimenting. I'll probably just wait for cholesterol until my doc wants to check me again, which shouldn't be that long considering he prescribed lipitor in large doses and seems to think I'm going to keel over from a heart attack at any moment.

Besides watching my BGLs (the main thing, I think) I've also started supplementing with fish oil (adds omega 3). I've heard we need a balance of both omega 6 and omega 3 but most of us get plenty of omega 6 and not enough omega 3. I've been filtering my coffee better. Unfiltered coffee can spike cholesterol. I've also been trying to up my antioxidants. Oxidation seems to trigger inflammation that would trigger your liver to release more cholesterol in response. Also, I'm supplementing with resistant starch which feeds your large intestinal flora and shows great signs of helping with your body's regulation of BGL.

QuoteI've been filtering my coffee better. Unfiltered coffee can spike cholesterol

What's coffee filtering?  ???

Quote from: Nimrata (aka LH) on June 04, 2014, 08:59:07 AM
What's coffee filtering?  ???

Can't tell if joking... Anyway, I've been using an Aeropress with a reusable steel filter. I started using a paper filter as well.

I continue to be shocked and surprised by what I can and can't eat. Half a bag of baked snap peas (about two servings) spiked me to 131. Meanwhile, kettle-cooked potato chips don't spike me. Half a pint of Ben and Jerry's mint cookie ice cream didn't spike me at all! I tested that twice actually, eating half one day and half the next. If I see a common factor in the foods that have carbs and yet don't spike me, I think it's fat content. Having fat seems to dramatically slow its absorption to rates my body can handle. Not sure about that though. But the fact that the snap peas were baked and not fried seems to be so they'll be healthy (if you believe fat is unhealthy which is highly debatable) but it makes them very unhealthy for me as a prediabetic.

Maybe there is hope for slowing this diabetes epidemic. This wisdom is becoming more mainstream.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Ffd0O5PD.jpg&hash=90fad2b1eaca54cfd89a549604bf09d5afc57457)