11 replies to this topic

[ILikeTobacco]

Not sure if this is the right place. Move if its not please mods.

Backstory: just passed my 2 year anniversary for being diagnosed with type I diabetes. After initially getting it under control, I had an A1C averaging between 5.5 and 6 percent for most of that time. That is considered extreme good for a type I. Meant I kept my sugars between about 90 to 120 on average. I slowly progressed from using 5 units of insulin to 50 units.

Currently: 2 weeks ago, all of that changed. I woke up and my sugar had jumped to over 500. By evening I had it back down to the 90s before dinner. The next morning I woke up at 400. I decided to schedule an appointment which was today. My A1C for the past month was a 9.5 percent. After going over my diet my doctor noticed that while the amount of carbs I was eating was a healthy amount, it was all whole grain wheat based. He has no ordered me to cut all wheat out of my diet and to replace it with things like rice flour based foods.

My question is, what gluton free products are out there at places like Walmart that don't taste like crap? I was able to easily find some choices for cereal since its plastered on the boxes but brands for pasta aren't as obvious. I also need to find some replacements for bread. From what I have found out so far, my only route seems to be baking homemade bread from rice flour.

[+skilithead]

I'm far from any kind of an expert on this subject . My mother(rest her dear soul) was severely diabetic , and I cared for her for many years ,so I can empathize with your struggles . Here is a good link for your basic info :

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/gluten-free-diets/

And this from E-how /health :

"Gluten-Free Foods for Diabetics
<p>

• Diabetics need to eat foods that have a low impact on their blood sugar. The healthiest foods for everyone, including diabetics, are raw or lightly cooked fruits and vegetables. And, as long as they're not prepared in a sauce, they're guaranteed gluten-free. Other gluten-free foods safe for diabetics are nuts, seeds and dairy products, including cheese and eggs. Beans are also naturally gluten-free, but prepared dishes or canned beans will often contain ingredients with gluten. "
  
  Also ,here is a link for a few recipes , good to break the monotany I always say
  
  http://www.buzzle.co...rt-recipes.html
  
  GOOD LUCK !

[ILikeTobacco]

Brownies! Been a while since I had some of those. I am really just annoyed at the moment that I did fine for 2 years, and then out of nowhere, its like a switch was hit and my body refuses to play nice anymore.

[+skilithead]

ILikeTobacco, on 12 October 2012 - 04:54, said:

Brownies! Been a while since I had some of those. I am really just annoyed at the moment that I did fine for 2 years, and then out of nowhere, its like a switch was hit and my body refuses to play nice anymore.

I here ya . It's like our own bodies are rebelling against us . I have health issues myself , not diebetes (so far anyways) . But I have problems with diet and nutrition . It does get aggrevating .

[ILikeTobacco]

skilithead, on 12 October 2012 - 04:59, said:

I here ya . It's like our own bodies are rebelling against us . I have health issues myself , not diebetes (so far anyways) . But I have problems with diet and nutrition . It does get aggrevating .

Type I is something I don't think I would wish on my enemies. It's not preventable and its not curable. The only "cure" is replacing one type of med with another if you get an organ transplant.

[+skilithead]

I get sooo tired of taking medicine , but then i like to breath so I keep doing it !

[gnuman]

You don't need a gluten free diet to control your sugar. You need a low carb diet and high protein to keep your sugar in tact. If you look up Atkins Diet it is basically what you should be doing to lower your sugar. If you want to eat bread then pumpernickel is good but you have to watch that it isn't infused with glucose fructose. Watch your fruit intake and eat more vegetables.

[Freeloader587]

Whole wheat is the way to go

I can't even touch white bread or not whole wheat pastas without my sugar getting really high

also fried foods like french fries basically 4x when when fried

also you may have gotten lucky and had a nice long honeymoon phase before your pancreas kicks it for good

I am a diabetic to only diagnosed little less than a year ago. Only thing thats been bothers me about it is I can hardly get any blood out of my fingertips anymore

[+skilithead]

OP's doc says cut out wheat .How about some cornbread ?
Cornmeal is gluten free .There is also gluten free flours available .
http://www.nuts.com/cookingbaking/grains/corn/meal-gluten-free.html

Added : Heres a couple of more ideas , corn pasta :

http://www.olivenati...-Pasta-P13.aspx

http://shop.udisglut...cdo/search/bing

[pto]

gnuman is right. Gluten varies per food item but generally can be related to the amount of protein within a grain. What makes gluten interesting is that the composition of gluten in our crops over time has increased. Farmers, over centuries, have been genetically selecting the best crops. Strong, high yielding crops generally contain high amounts of gluten, so over time those strains of grains have evolved into what we consume today. Gluten in the most simple terms causes inflammation in the body.

So what we're looking for is variations of food that just happen to be missing gluten. For starters you can avoid all wheat and grain based products. That excludes a ton of items; crackers, cookies, pasta, cereal, bread, fried food and so on. So rather than try to replace these grains, let's just see what is already naturally gluten free. Gluten free goods include; vegetables, fruits, beans, corn, rice, meat and dairy. So now back to gnuman's point, you will need protein. Wheat has great nutrients; folic acid, protein, zinc and iron. I can tell you from personal experience, I've been gluten and sugar-free for five years, the iron, zinc and protein are the most important aspects of this type of diet. Good replacements for zinc include spinach, lintels and bell peppers. I typically would not eat meat on a daily basis in the past but now I try to every day. My favorite way to cook is defintely on the grill. Either wrap all your veggies up in foil or slide them on a skewer. But I have not gone for any of these "gluten free" brownies or cake or anything like that. I am not diabetic so I feel like you should be more strict than I am. Those grains are just switched out for potato or rice flour, which doesn't have gluten but it will definitely spike your blood sugar.

[ILikeTobacco]

Freeloader587, on 13 October 2012 - 00:02, said:

Whole wheat is the way to go

I can't even touch white bread or not whole wheat pastas without my sugar getting really high

also fried foods like french fries basically 4x when when fried

also you may have gotten lucky and had a nice long honeymoon phase before your pancreas kicks it for good

I am a diabetic to only diagnosed little less than a year ago. Only thing thats been bothers me about it is I can hardly get any blood out of my fingertips anymore

Whole wheat is extremely bad for keeping your sugars down. A 6 inch subway sandwich will spike my sugar by 300 points and a king sized snickers bar will only do add 150. That should tell you something. A king sized snickers has more carbs/sugar in it than the sandwich, yet the sandwich does more damage. My doctor is having me do this because he was able to get most of his patients to reduce their insulin dose by an average of 40 units just from this one change.

[ILikeTobacco]

pto, on 13 October 2012 - 04:38, said:

gnuman is right. Gluten varies per food item but generally can be related to the amount of protein within a grain. What makes gluten interesting is that the composition of gluten in our crops over time has increased. Farmers, over centuries, have been genetically selecting the best crops. Strong, high yielding crops generally contain high amounts of gluten, so over time those strains of grains have evolved into what we consume today. Gluten in the most simple terms causes inflammation in the body.

So what we're looking for is variations of food that just happen to be missing gluten. For starters you can avoid all wheat and grain based products. That excludes a ton of items; crackers, cookies, pasta, cereal, bread, fried food and so on. So rather than try to replace these grains, let's just see what is already naturally gluten free. Gluten free goods include; vegetables, fruits, beans, corn, rice, meat and dairy. So now back to gnuman's point, you will need protein. Wheat has great nutrients; folic acid, protein, zinc and iron. I can tell you from personal experience, I've been gluten and sugar-free for five years, the iron, zinc and protein are the most important aspects of this type of diet. Good replacements for zinc include spinach, lintels and bell peppers. I typically would not eat meat on a daily basis in the past but now I try to every day. My favorite way to cook is defintely on the grill. Either wrap all your veggies up in foil or slide them on a skewer. But I have not gone for any of these "gluten free" brownies or cake or anything like that. I am not diabetic so I feel like you should be more strict than I am. Those grains are just switched out for potato or rice flour, which doesn't have gluten but it will definitely spike your blood sugar.

There is no avoiding spikes all together since I am on slow acting insulin. The problem with wheat is that it is just not as healthy as people claim it is. Anyone else notice that the government started heavily investing in wheat crops around the same time they moved it up on the food pyramid.

I am working on replacing the pasta I eat with rice based pastas. For the missing nutrients, I may just turn to some supplements or something. Depends on what I can find. Walmart being the only major retailer here limits my choices a bit.

Here is some research I have come across on the matter. Worth looking at if you are all about healthy diets. Apparently wheat has oppiates in it.

http://www.cbsnews.c...on-doctor-says/