How much sugar is too much when someone is prone to type 2 diabetes?!
Question: My mom is in risk of type 2 diabetes. The doctor told her that she will become diabetic but when depends on her diet. She could postpone it 10 years if she works hard or be diabetic in 1 year if her diet doesn't change. (A year ago the doctor said she could prevent it but obviously my mother didn't diet properly).
I'm forcing my mother to record everything that she eats. I have read that diabetes and sugar should be avoided. How much is too much sugar? I read people should only eat 30g of sugars a day and the typical American consumes 300g. My mother seems to be averaging around 100g. From what I have read, 100g seems to be a lot.
Should I be concerned? She said she wants me to help her, however, I don't know if my suggestions are too stringent.
Also, she is eating bananas for potassiums. I gave her a list of high potassium with low sugar (avocados, spinach). She told me her doctor advised her to eat 1/2. I read that bananas should be eaten with caution - if the diet wields it.
Answers: My mom is in risk of type 2 diabetes. The doctor told her that she will become diabetic but when depends on her diet. She could postpone it 10 years if she works hard or be diabetic in 1 year if her diet doesn't change. (A year ago the doctor said she could prevent it but obviously my mother didn't diet properly).
I'm forcing my mother to record everything that she eats. I have read that diabetes and sugar should be avoided. How much is too much sugar? I read people should only eat 30g of sugars a day and the typical American consumes 300g. My mother seems to be averaging around 100g. From what I have read, 100g seems to be a lot.
Should I be concerned? She said she wants me to help her, however, I don't know if my suggestions are too stringent.
Also, she is eating bananas for potassiums. I gave her a list of high potassium with low sugar (avocados, spinach). She told me her doctor advised her to eat 1/2. I read that bananas should be eaten with caution - if the diet wields it.
Hi! I have some links on my blog that you should probably read. I also have recommendations on books for diabetics including a couple of cookbooks. The First Year book by Gretchen Becker would probably be very helpful to your mom even though she's only pre-diabetic.
Here's my blog
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-NbDgUzQhf...
You mom should be excercising daily, because diet alone is probably not going to be enough to delay the onset of diabetes.
As for carbs, she needs to go on a low or moderately low carb diet. I recommend the South Beach Diet Phase 2 level, (not Phase 1, which is quite extreme and would probalby be too hard for her to follow).
http://www.amazon.com/South-Beach-Diet-D...
Bananas should be off her list of things to eat, they are just too high in carbs. Half a banana a day is the most anyone in this position should eat, and that is only after they get things under control. She might be able to have them later on, but for now she should stop eating them.
Instead, she should take a good multivitamin and mineral supplement to make sure there are no gaps in her nutrition, including potassium.
Diet for diabetics and pre-diabetics is very complex. The South Beach diet book gives her an easy plan to follow and some recipes too.
For meal planning for diabetics, sugar is not counted as a separate issue from carbs. All carbohydrates are counted together. This does not mean that she should eat sugar. On the contrary, she should stop using all sugar for now. Splenda is a good substitute, and is safe for diabetics. You can buy it in small yellow packets for use in tea and coffee, and you can buy Granular Splenda (with NO sugar added) for baking. There is also a sugar blend Splenda, do not get that one, it has too many carbs.
The type of carbs that you eat is very important. This is explained in The South Beach Diet book. She needs to stick with complex carbs, and avoid simple sugars.
She should start with the South Beach Diet Phase 2 and see what kind of impact that has on her blood sugar. If it doesn't bring it down to within normal ranges, she would need to cut down her carb allowance and go to Phase 1 for two weeks, as the book instructs.
She should have a blood glucometer. Ask her doctor to prescribe one and the test strips. I recommend the Freestyle Freedom. Its very easy to use and requires a very small blood sample. It also allows testing on the arm, which hurts less than finger testing.
You can buy them over the counter at most pharmacies, but with a prescription she might get coverage for the test strips. She needs to test a couple of times a day or more to find out how her food is affecting her blood sugar. If her doctor will prescribe them, she should ask for 5 test strips a day. However, since she isn't yet diabetic, he might not agree to that. Sometimes the manufacturers have a promotion and you can get the meter free when you purchased 100 test strips.
http://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/conten...
Have her doctor talk to her about the South Beach diet and see if he thinks it would be appropriate for her. She should tell him she wants to exercise. Walking is probably the easiest and safest exercise plan, but she needs to get her doctors stamp of approval first.
Instead of "forcing" her to write down everything she eats, ASK her to. Try to have a more positive and encouraging attitude. Make dishes from the South Beach book that you can share, and enjoy together. Try to make these changes a positive thing, rather than a burden. Its hard enough dealing with diabetes or prediabetes, more pressure only ads stress, which raise your blood sugar levels.
I think 100 grams of carbs is too much no matter how you are getting the carbs. Remember there is no difference between simple sugar and complex carbs relative to this situation though there are different opinions on this. You Moms primary diet should be meat and cheese. Eggs are fine too. She should not have fruit or bannannas to any degree at all. She needs a multivitimin and a potassium pill. Not too much potassium. As ling as she keeps her carbs very low she can have as much fat as she wants. Meat and eggs are no problem. If she eats a lot of carbs in combination with the fat she will be predisposed to cardiovascular disease. I suggest you get Dr Atkins book Diet Revolution and read it and have her read it. And do not believe she can eat pasta, fruit, corn and other carbs. She cannot. You must use a carb counter. You can but a book or find one on the internet. Good luck
Hi, Kitty - Good for you, working so hard with your mom, and GREAT for her, wanting to make a change in her lifestyle for health improvement. One of the biggest risks for developing Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM or formerly Type 2 Diabetes) is being overweight, and the next-biggest is lack of physical activity. Losing ten percent (10%) of total body weight safely, at a rate of two-to-three pounds per week, will greatly reduce your mom's risk of NIDDM. Increasing aerobic activity, like walking, will help the weight come off, increase metabolism in a healthy manner to burn fat whlle at rest, lower her blood pressure, and increase natural glucose metabolism by muscles without requiring insulin. Don't worry so much about just sugar intake - encourage her to eat lower-calorie/lower-fat meals and her sugar will go down by itself. Good luck.
I am sharing you my personal experience I was diagnosed prediabetic last year, visited the doctor he gave me Zolid and I used for a month. After that I have stopped all diabetes medications and all my blood glucose levels are within the normal range.
It was quite difficult for me in the start but with the passage of time my lifestyle change became my habit.
visit my free website for more info on diabetes
http://www.reddiabetes.com
No diabetic diet helped me. I became calorie conscious , I started to eat low calorie , high fiber , nutritionous diet, stopped eating sugar and sugary items, to started eat a lost of fresh fruits and vegetables(green ones) raw and boiled , avoided fried items. I also take banana , dried apricots, cinnamon and tomato and fresh salad leaf in my daily diet all in moderate quantities.I always keep in mind the portion size when eating.
The most important step which helped me a lot was exercise/walk( nowadays my routine is to walk for an hour , two hours before bedtime)