There has always been talk of the benefits of a Mediterranean diet. Yesterday a study was published in the Annals of Internal medicine by an Italian researcher claiming that newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics were able to avoid medication four years after diagnosis. Does anyone follow this diet? If so, what are your results/thoughts? I have noticed that only a low or no carb diet keeps my BSs in line. The problem is that I cannot stay on that diet for long. I will do well awhile and then fall off the wagon resulting in extremely high BSs that will take weeks to get back down. It gets frustrating when a bowl of whole grain cereal like grape nuts will increase your levels almost 200 points. So what do y’all eat and what works/doesn’t work. Thanks for the input.
Same here even looking at a bowl of cereal will spike my BG. There is no doubt in my mind that a low carb diet is best for most diabetics. I find it hard to do intensively and do end up eating fruits and berries which do mess up my BG. Bread, cereals, rice, patatoes, low fat yogurts ( full of starch at least in Canada) should be eliminated completely.
There may be some carbs that are ok I wonder what would happen to the BG if you ate 100 grams of sauerkraut I bet it would be better than 100 grams of grape nuts which is pure instantanious blood sugar.
Med diet is probably good. They say that the shoot of booze per day does most of the good work. Probably the tonnes of olive oil they eat is good also. As long as you eliminate the pita. Alcohol, olive oil, fish, olives and veggies sound good.
I eat a vegan diet and love it. I eat a lot of very healthy carbs with lots of fiber (35-50 grams of fiber daily) and usually have good glycemic control with a variability of about 120mg/dl on any given day. I eat lots of beans, nuts, tofu, veggies both raw and cooked, some fruits in small amounts and the ones I know work well for me, but only a few grains such as quinoa and millet as I know they are okay. Anything else sends my BGs skyrocketing. Bread and white potatoes aren’t anywhere in my diet. I eat almost no fried foods but when I use olive oil. Fortunately, I am not tempted by most snacky type foods or sweets. But everyone is different and I know most people don’t want to give up meat, which is also the main ingredient on a low carb diet. My last A1c was 5.9 and my total cholesteral was 123 with Triglicerides of 46, LDL 89 and all of that without meds for cholesterol! I also exercise every day. That helps tremendously but I also usually have lows afterwards. I just keep fighting this war and hope to win a few of the battles.
I eat a Mediterranean diet. It’s mostly vegetables and fruit, beans, legumes, whole grains, olive oil, fish often and small amounts of meat when not fish, and rarely red meat. But it’s more than food. The lifestyle of folks where this diet is found are healthy because they are off their butts and moving.
My breakfasts is usually whole grain cereal or some sort of bran cereal or steel cut oats, with a generous helping of fruit, usually berries, skim milk or fat free yogurt. Lunch is usually vegetable or veg and lentil or bean soup, fruit, maybe a crusty whole grain roll. Dinner is usually 3-4 oz fish or chicken with hordes of veggies, salad, beans or some other pulse with feta and herbs for example, and glass of great red wine (a must in my household!). Snacks are fruit, fat free cheese, olives, almonds, etc.
I find that due to the high fiber content of the diet, I use far less insulin than for a ‘western’ diet. Also, because the foods are whole and full of fiber, I feel full sooner and longer, meaning less calories. My bgl control with this diet is excellent.
Thanks Judith,
What is the dawn phenomenon? Thanks for reminding me about Wasa breads. I used to eat them before I was diabetic b/c I liked them…I have forgotten about them. Thanks for all of the other suggestions
LOL…This Southern boy will go into shock if I was as disciplined as you. Hopefully having the inspiration that you and others provide will at least move me in the right direction!!
Maureen,
I have heard of steel cut oats. Are these better than just regular oatmeal?? I am also noticing that everyone is drinking wine regularly, which I have heard does seem to help. Why the fat free cheese. Regular cheese in moderation should be ok huh?
Steel cut (or Irish) oats are plain oats that have not been processed at all other than being cut in halves or thirds. It takes longer to digest that regular oatmeal as a result.
Wine is something that I just happen to like a lot! It also, in moderation, can help improve your cholorestral (sp)levels.
I eat fat-free cheese because I watch the number of calories I eat in a day (around 1800 for maintenance). Ultimately, regardless of the diet a person eats, weight gain or loss happens as a result of the amount of calories you eat. I could eat regular cheese (at sometimes do), but then I’d have to cut on calories somewhere else, or exercise more.
Maureen,
Thanks. Speaking of wine I had a couple of glasses tonight b/c I heard that it can improve BG control. My dinner was chicken and artichokes in olive oil, sweet potato, broccoli, and the wine. My BG went from 125 to 180. Do you think it was the wine? the sweet potato?? I previously was able to eat sweet potatoes w/o problem with dinner. I have been very out of control lately and trying to get back down. Maybe this is just b/c I am not back down to normal completely yet. Any ideas?
Thanks so much Maureen and Judith. I appreciate the encouragement. I’m over 3 years out but just now starting to take things seriously. I am getting very frustrated. I don’t want to eat so low carb that I damage my kidneys, but I want to make sure I attain <6 A1C too. I bought some steel cut oats tonight and will experiment. Thanks for telling me what dawn phenomenon is…boy does that answer one of my major frustrations haha. I definitely get that!!