anyone trying wholistic approaches in addition to...

[arlenecarol]

i have a good internet friend who is a type 2 diabetic (for many years now) and in addition to her meds, also uses as much wholistic stuff as she can
to control her bs levels. for example, she has encouraged me to use fenugreek in my diet...another friend sent me some seeds to use in foods (it's used a lot in Indian cookery) and i've even planted some to see if they would sprout...they did! i think they help speed food through the intestines...and that is the way they operate but i'm not sure. there are other foods that do that too.

i have a question about watermelon. in my searching online, i found a place that said that watermelon was an okay food for a diabetic...is it? i LOVE watermelon with locally produced white cheese (like feta)...for me it's a meal!
is it okay or should i avoid all fruit? i hope not!!

i was also told that protein is a problem for diabetics for the same reason (well, opposite reason) that fenugreek is a good thing...protein in the gut slows down assimilation of the food and raises the bs levels..

is this accurate?

it's getting to the point that i don't know WHAT to eat anymore!!

arlene.

[mg_2204]

Hello! I'm T2 also and believe in a holistic approach... well what I call holistic anyway, meaning always getting enough sleep and exercise, drinking lots of water, to have a positive attitude about diabetes (although it can be hard at times) and life in general. I eat healthy, I try to vary my food, eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, even those I'm less used to or dislike because I want to get all the good things they may bring into my diet. I'm not fond of diets where you have to eat loads of cinnamon for example... in fact hate those trendy diets! You get tired of them easily and give up. And I wouldn't put fenugreek in everything just because it may have an effect on BG. I do use it quite a lot but then again, I often cook Indian food :) Found a wonderful recipe book on healthy Indian food and love it!

I don't believe diabetes management is achieved only through what you eat... or don't eat. It's very much about your lifestyle too. Are you happy? Stressed? Depressed? Ecstatic? Tired? You'll find that everything matters.

About watermelon. I love watermelon! It does increase BG but when I get my hands on one, I do eat a lot so... It may be wrong of me to think that way but I believe that if I raise my sugars once in a while with a fruit, it's less damaging for my health than to do it with a choc bar or similar junk. When I eat watermelon, I never stay high for a long time. I have a peak and that's it. Chocolate well that's another story!! :whistling

Take good care!

[Harold]

Watermelon is okay, it does have a high Glycemic Index, but since it is mostly water it has a low Glycemic Load. Which means it will spike blood glucose (bg's), but it is only for a very short period of time. Fruits are okay if eaten in moderation and make great snacks.

Protiens are a big problem if your bg's are high for very long. When bg's are high for too long the body tries to flush glucose out through the Kidneys. Protiens are a large molecules and when the body flushes glucose out the large protiens get caught up in this action and are forced out as well, damaging the kidneys. Protiens and fats do slow down the digestion hence the asorbtion of carbohydrates, but is this really bad for those of us that are metabolicly challenged. Some of the oral medications given for diabetes actually slow down digestion. Also the study of incretin hormones which are normally released by the gut has shown these hormones are essential in helping to control blood glucose. These hormones also give one the feeling of being full and decreasing appetite. So slowing down the digestive system does not appear to be all that bad for us.
.....it's getting to the point that i don't know WHAT to eat anymore!!
arlene. The stock answer is a balanced diet, but what is a balanced diet. Not considering any allergies eating from all of the food groups is important. The key is in portions. Look at your plate, as a general rule or at least a place to start, at least half to two thirds of it should be from veggies. The green and leafy ones are the best for you usually. A quarter of your plate for fats and protiens and a quarter or less for starches or tubers. Sometimes I substitute legumes for a combination of animal protien/fat and starches tubers. Granted that's an ideal approach, however I don't know anyone that wants a half plate of veggies for breakfast. :eek: I don't, but I try to keep my overall for the day as close as I can to it. Then there are the days I like to have a big old piece of dead cow in which case I keep my carb intake very low for that meal.

A small note on carbs. All carbohydrates are made up of one type of sugar or another. So you will hear a lot of advice on avoiding all carbohydrates, but life is not so simple. While pre-processed carbohydrate foods have little nutritional value the carbs we get from veggies, grains, tubers, and legumes also come with protiens, fats, minerals, and enzymes that we need to maintain health over the long haul.

Hope you have enough to get started. You will need to experiment to find out what ratios of different foods work best for you.

[donnakc]

So, Harold, what do you eat for breakfast?

[Harold]

Anything but veggies. At the most for veggies I'll have a tomato juice or V8. Other than that most anything, this week I have had waffles, half a Reuben sandwich, half a club on a hoagie, eggs benedict. When I get up this afternoon I am thinking of chicken livers. May change my mind and have a small bowl of cottage cheese with nuts sprinkled on top. A lot of it depends on how much time I have before work. I don't necessarily try to balance every meal, but try to balanced it out over the day.

[donnakc]

I was just wondering. I eat mostly Cheerios and I was wondering what other people eat. I've read cereal is probably not the best choice! Thanks!

[arlenecarol]

Hi All,
Again, thanks for all your suggestions. I guess this is not an illness that you can forget about and still be healthy. it's a daily challenge!

Breakfast, hmmm...first of all, i've never been a breakfast eater but now i do.
while BG levels don't go down to levels where i'm getting a 'hypo' i do get light-headed (even at 180) if i don't eat. don't know what causes it, but i assume it's a drop in blood sugar.

These days, with our gorgeous local veggies in high supply, i enjoy eating a large tomato, sliced, with our local oregano sprinkled on it...a 'sweet' onion,
black olives, a 'spray' of local olive oil, and my neighbor's homemade white cheese (like Greek feta). i will eat a pack of high fiber crackers instead of bread. for a real treat, i spread the cheese on a cracker and put a dab of unsweetened jam ... it's my 'cheese danish'!!

there's also an egg dish called Menemen (maybe you can find it online? i have a cookbook but i'm sure it's online someplace)...it has tomatoes, green peppers, onion and eggs....it's served right in the special pan it's cooked in.
i actually had that for lunch today with one small slice of homemade bread.

i'm lucky, i live in a village and these women make much of their own food from scratch. i'm often 'gifted' with surpluses.

this week, my BG levels have been below 200...a real FIRST...it's been less than 2 weeks since i was prescribed Metformin and Avandia. One more week till i go to see my doctor and the HbA1c test. Let's see how it goes.

and i LOVE indian food...what is the name of the cookbook you have? is it available from amazon.com? we do grilled chicken with special 'dips' ...i love it!

take care..

arlene