[bookwormy]

Since I have been newly diagnosed and not that informed, please help. Are all carbs the same? For instance, I am eating 1 slice of whole wheat bread a day, no pasta, no potatoes and am careful as to which vegetables I eat. I count carbs and calories and yet see on this forum type 2's that eat cereal for breakfast and sometimes pizza. I keep my carb content until 70 a day. Is this what I am suppose to be doing?

[Eddy]

The short answers: No, not all carbohydrates are the same. You should be doing whatever works for you. I'm assuming that you are type 2; however, it would be nice to know for certain, and also to be sure that your type diagnosis actually was correct. (We've had several type 1 members who were initially misdiagnosed as type 2!)

Whole-grain pasta digests slowly. I have found that black beans and Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti to release glucose more slowly than any other food I've tried, releasing at a fairly-continuous rate over four or five hours. If you feel like a cookie, I've found that Kashi products work well.

Soda, white flour, and processed foods are evil. Processed breaded fish (made with white flour) spikes my BG very quickly, despite protein and fat that supposedly slow the effect.

Be cautious of sweet or starchy vegetables -- in particular, carrots and peas can raise BG faster than you might expect.

I hope that the above at least gives a start. Your questions are rather broad... we'll all do what we can to point you in the right direction, but you'll need some experimentation and testing to hone and tune your regimen. (Don't worry. It's not as daunting as it sounds; just take things a day at a time.)

[Ronin]

Hi Bookwormy!

I endorse Eddy's statements. Carbohydrates cover a broad range of vegetable products from simple sugars to wood. Basically, anything that is a Carbon/Hydrogen/Oxygen molocule produced by a plant.

One measure of the carbohydrate world is speed at which the carbohydrate is absorbed into the blood stream. Simple sugars are very rapidly absorbed, while very complex chains are totally non-digestable (a.k.a., fiber) while still technically carbohydrates.

In the final analysis, it is all about finding a balance. There are products/foods that provide very rapid digestion and therefore very quick energy and others that are slower to digest and tend to reduce/delay spikes in BG levels.

In addition to diet, exercise/exertion is a tool to manage your BG levels. The body uses carbohydrates as fuel for muscle and other cell functions (including your brain cells which consume a lot of energy) the key is to time both the type and portion sizes of carbohydrates to what you are going to, or just have done. There is a window where, depending on the amount of activity being accomplished, the body will scarf up the carbs with abandon leaving less to be stored in the liver with the overflow that the liver cannot store being shuttled off to fat cells as long term storage.

Back to Eddy's comments: focus on slow to digest carb sources and increase your activity levels at the same time make your portion sizes smaller (Americans, in particular, generally overeat by huge amounts). Reserve the fast digesting carbs to immediately prior to or during vigorous exercise periods.

[Tiger Lily]

Originally Posted by bookwormy

Since I have been newly diagnosed and not that informed, please help. Are all carbs the same? For instance, I am eating 1 slice of whole wheat bread a day, no pasta, no potatoes and am careful as to which vegetables I eat. I count carbs and calories and yet see on this forum type 2's that eat cereal for breakfast and sometimes pizza. I keep my carb content until 70 a day. Is this what I am suppose to be doing?

Bookwormy, you have the right idea in lowering your carbs to 70 grams a day in total...... this needs to be divided between your meals and you cannot 'save up' your carbs to eat at one meal

i use the glycemic index of foods to get an idea of how they will impact my bg levels, David Mendosa covers the glycemic index and glycemic load of foods on his website David Mendosa: A Writer About Diabetes ............. and he has a lot of other information there as well

as for veggies, i use the 'free veggies' to bulk up my diet, google 'free veggies' and the first hit should be to Kate's Free Veggies, go to that URL and print out the list.......... i'm sure you can find more 'free veggies' to add to that list.........for example, chana dahl that David Mendosa talks about on his web site isn't listed with the veggies

good luck

[bookwormy]

I found out from your replies that I am on the right track. The only veggies that I eat are from Kate's Free Veggie Page and now from that page I have found more. I will investigate all the other foods that are proper for me. By the way, my dx was Type 2. I also exercise 30 minutes a day 5 times a week and am nagging my husband to fix our treadmill to include a program for the weekend. This forum is the best for answers and help.

[cyberus]

Originally Posted by Tiger Lily

as for veggies, i use the 'free veggies' to bulk up my diet, google 'free veggies' and the first hit should be to Kate's Free Veggies, go to that URL and print out the list.......... i'm sure you can find more 'free veggies' to add to that list.........for example, chana dahl that David Mendosa talks about on his web site isn't listed with the veggies

good luck

I'm new here and newly diagnosed (3 July 08)

I'm a bit confuzzled about the concept of "free veggies".

Carbs are carbs aren't they?

[PERKDOUG]

Originally Posted by cyberus

I'm a bit confuzzled about the concept of "free veggies".

Carbs are carbs aren't they?

There is not free lunch and no free veggie. What is ment by "free veggie" is a vegetable with low cabohydrate content relative to a vegetable with high carbohydrate content. For example spinach is a low carb veggie but not a carb free veggie. You still have to take the carb content of spinach into consideration in your diet. You can't eat all you want and expect glycemic control.

[cyberus]

Originally Posted by PERKDOUG

There is not free lunch and no free veggie. What is ment by "free veggie" is a vegetable with low cabohydrate content relative to a vegetable with high carbohydrate content. For example spinach is a low carb veggie but not a carb free veggie. You still have to take the carb content of spinach into consideration in your diet. You can't eat all you want and expect glycemic control.

Thank you ...

....that's what I thought but as a newbie I wanted to be sure, "free" usually refers to something that doesn't count and it didn't make sense that something with a carb value could be "free" in that sense.

[matingara]

you might want to try an experiment where you lower your carbs to a max of 30g per day (a la Bernstein).

he would never allow 70g a day on his diet.

do that for a week and see what happens to your BGLs.

-- Joel.

[cyberus]

Originally Posted by matingara

you might want to try an experiment where you lower your carbs to a max of 30g per day (a la Bernstein).

he would never allow 70g a day on his diet.

do that for a week and see what happens to your BGLs.

-- Joel.

Thanks for the advice, I'm re-working my meal plan with a downwards trend on the carbs (due to reading of this site).
I started out using the handout from the hospital and lets just say that 8 starches, 4 veg, and 3 fruits a day was NOT the answer.