Advice please! (buy, blood, plan, diet)

[kristinajoseph]

I am a 58 year-old man suffering from diabetes for the last 2 decades. I am being forced to live on a bland diet even though I have been a gourmet since my youth. Is there a way to add some excitement to my diet chart?

[litlux]

I am a Type II diabetic and my food life is exciting, and I wonder why yours is so disappointing. Are you still eating from outdated principles of even a few years ago? The progress in understanding diabetes has been amazing, and the old ways of counting points and being encouraged to eat lots of bland foods are by the wayside.

I trust your blood sugar is under control, or at least manageable, and hope you will get yourself to a library and start catching up on things with recent books on nutrition. I especially recommend "Eat Drink and be Healthy" by Harvard's Walter Willett, and "Beating Diabetes" (A Harvard Medical School Book) (Paperback) by David M. Nathan to see the changes that have happened to the old principles of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

Much of my challenge as a diabetic has been to find tasty substitutes for the foods that are indeed bad for me.

Perhaps your doctor will refer you to an up-to-date nutritionist - avoid the "celery sticks are great snacks" type - (they are useless, out of date fossils) and look for the ones that allow you eggs, olive oil, carbs in the form of whole grains and fresh fruits, and are familiar with the glycemic index etc. For example, did you know that eating a potato can raise your blood sugar faster than eating a spoonful of actual sugar?

Read books about food and learn everything you can, and with glucose meter in hand, experiment based on your new knowledge!

I have found that having a cupboard full of foods that are healthy for me helps keep me pretty much on track. And I must also mention how important it is to get good exercise, too. It helps a lot with blood sugar control.

Did you see the NY Times yesterday, about the discovery that your bones play a role in diabetes and sugar resistance etc.? It takes a lot of time and effort, but I try to keep ahead of the doctors on the latest developments and finer points.

Most general practice doctors only spent a couple of hours on diabetes in medical school, and barely keep up with the specifics - are you seeing an endocrinologist who is an expert? Have you checked diabetes forums on line? There is a lot you can do on your own to take charge of your own care, and work with your doctors rather than being simply told to take a few pills and avoid sugar.

That simplistic sort of dibetes care is often what we get in the US today, but you can be your own advocate if you give it some time and attention.

In the end, there are many differences between how diabetes affects each person, and how each individual needs to handle it. If you don't dig for the info, you will just be given standard treatments by the book, which is ok, but not the best you can do by getting involved, researching and asking questions. For example have you heard about Byetta? (Exenatide, also jokingly called "lizard spit".) Google that, and have your eyes opened.

[Mattie Jo]

Gymnema.net - information, research, articles and side effects

Check out the above website. I used to go to a monastery where there were Asian monks. They told me about this plant that they use that prevents them from getting diabetes, and one of Asian doctors there said that it cured diabetes in just over a year. I found out that it was gymnema. You can buy it as tea and have two cups a day, but you have to get it in Asian markets. Now I am not going to say that this will really cure you, but it was claimed by them that it did.

[little_thirsty]

I have type one diabetes on an insulin pump, and have had diabetes for 29 years now. I have to agree with litlux, your diet should not have to be so bland unless you have some big complicatins. In that case it could get a little bland. Do you have a good endo? I would consider shopping around for another one if you are feeling to restricted. So much has changed over the past decade in the thought of what is okay. If you have more info on why your diet is this way we might could offer better answers. Feel free to dm me! Hang in there, it can be a frustrating disease as I know you know!!!

[lilypad]

Seems like doctors are putting everyone now on the ADA diet, or at least a Mediterannean type diet: whole grains, veggies, fruit in moderation, good vs. bad fats, meat as condiment, etc. I don't think people would stick to it if it was bland! What about all those wonderful herbs/spices out there that you can have?! Sometimes a "bland diet" is also used for those with stomach problems, so patients are told to stay away from heavy spices/herbs, etc. Have you been to a good nutritionist? Usually that is part of diabetes management. Also, cinnamon is supposed to help with diabetes last I heard. And there are even cinnamon "supplements" now, so you don't have to sprinkle it on everything.

[singrella]

[font=&quot]Current medical wisdom does not impose any ban on any particular foodstuff for diabetics. On the contrary, it calls for a diet perfectly balanced in terms of calorie and nutritional constituents which should be uniformly distributed throughout the day. Nowadays we also allow diabetics to have simple sugar to the extent of 30g per day. But mind it that the sugar should not be consumed at a time and should be taken with complex carbohydrates like chapatti, breads, rice and so on. You can have sweet drinks and artificial sweeteners. In addition physical exercise like daily brisque walks can keep your calorie count under control. Check out Free Diabetic Supplies: Learn About Places to Find Free Diabetes Testing Supplies Free Diabetic Supplies: Learn About Places to Find Free Diabetes Testing Supplies some exciting recipes for diabetics.