Fifteen years ago, I was dx with Type II & read this wonderful book ”Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution” & have not taken any meds for it at all. My numbers are good too & A1C is in the 5s. Yup, 15 years! Dr. B is himself a Type I but his book has such helpful info for both types. If I was younger, I’d have moved to NY & begged to work with him. I’ve always found the hospital’s recommendations a bit off.

Smiles,

Sooz

I think the problem is most nutritionists hate food.

Avoid pasta, white potatoes and eat as little bread as possible, even if it's whole wheat/whole grains. No sweets at all. Don't use sugar substitutes either. I don't think low fat dairy is necessary. Dr Robert Lustig has a great deal of information on reversing Type II diabetes and he's a highly qualified and respected endocrinologist.

Laceyvail: Thanks for your post and the mention of Dr. Robert Lustig. I went to his website and want to learn more. - June

No sweets at all! Just as our HUGE cherry tree is coming up with more cherries than we've seen in the 6 years we've lived here! I just made 33 mini cherry pies (a drop in the bucket!) and I guess I'll freeze them or give them away! Crazy!

Nancyjane, if you can dry the cherries, they will be a more healthy snack than pies or jam. Freezing them whole will keep them healthier too--and you can add them to other frozen berries for a winter fruit salad. I do that with blueberries and blackberries--no sugar added.

You could stew them (unsweetened) and serve with yoghurt as a dessert or breakfast. Stewed fruit freezes well. Better than drying which concentrates the sugars.

I LOVE bread and baked goods. That's one thing that has been difficult for me to cut way back on. Any type of diet that is going to work is going to expect you do do that . . . sigh. Also when I'm stressed, I crave carbs . . . also it is easy to drink a lot of sugar, even when it is natural fruit juices. Those are my two biggest challenges, because like you, I don't eat many of the bad foods already. I love whole grains too, luckily. But even those should be in moderation. Lots of greens. I eat some every day but I dunno, it's a struggle, no way around it.

I was nearing pre-diabetic values several years ago, along with other more acute ailments. Losing 30 lb and cycling a lot took care of it. Sadly, I seem to be in need of a repeat now :-)

After my first serious bout with Covid I was diagnosed with diabetes. My latest HbA1c was 4.5. I changed how I ate to a lower carb diet. To make it sustainable I allowed myself a certain number of carbs per day and allow myself some higher carb items occasionally. I saw lower carb bread in the stores and have found a recipe so I can make it myself although of course still keep to modest servings. For fruit, I buy frozen blueberries, they are very satisfying and have a lower glycemic value than many other fruits. I have recently gotten into wok cooking, a good way to make delicious recipes with lots of veggies that are tasty and low carb. I do not eat cookies cakes or candy, but also limit my use of artificial sweeteners.

And last year I got myself a lab puppy, Clementine, and our daily long walks are great for my health and she loves them too.

Thank you all. We still have some leaning to do!

I was diagnosed two months ago. It does seem daunting at first so I feel for you. Carbohydrates are my downfall. I can go without sugar with no problem. Whole wheat bread is OK but not every day. Any kind of berries are OK for something sweet. A diabetic diet is basically the same as the Paleo diet with a few minor differences. As my doctor told me, "you still have to live your life." So a mini cherry pie every now and again isn't going to hurt. I started on a medicine called Rybelsus and I find I am not as hungry as I used to be and eat less at each meal. Also, be aware that there is a whole lot of misinformation out there. Find a good source with a list of foods to avoid or to eat rarely. It's not as difficult as it seems at the beginning. Without even really trying I've lost 12 pounds in two months. Good luck!

Kevin, not sure what your thing is, here!

My hubby went keto - lazy keto is what he calls it. He and my little brother changed their numbers doing that diet. He does it on and off, mostly on, leaning paleo/keto in general. It does not seem sustainable long term (to me anyway) and I can’t do it at all but I did learn that the sugar substitutes called Stevia and Monkfruit are not supposed to jack your blood sugar. They make a product called Swerve that you can bake with just like sugar. If he wants to sweeten a drink like ice coffee, he uses a stevia packet now.

I don't know how to respond to this thread. I'm a physician, trained at one of the most prestegious medical schools in the USA, who practiced primary care and geriatrics for 30+ years. At 70 years old, I can't say that a strict diet to control blood sugar levels is going to have a significant effect on your long term health outcomes. Sure, meticulous adherence to a low carbohydrate diet will lower your Hgb A1C, but will that improve your personal medical outcomes? And at what personal price? I don't know the answer, but we chase numbers without an understanding of the actual understanding of how those numbers influence individual lives.

Martha

docmommish, I'm not quite understanding what you are saying? We aren't going to completely do an about face on our diet (go vegan for example), but we were asking for advise for gentle changes to help lower his A1C and lose some weight, cut some carbs and other hints.

She's saying that the numbers aren'te verything, you need to consider the whole packet. I am old enough to remember when the "cure" for an ulcer was a diet of frequent high fat meals, bland no spices but lots of soothing cream etc.

Docmommich I don't know if most of the folks taking time to write and discuss things here eat the typical "standard american diet." I know an awful lot of folks who eat little to no vegetables or fresh fruits, no whole grains, lots of soda pop, cured meats, couple beers each night at least, heavy rotation of saturated fats with cheese and fatty meats, etc. They might be able to lose more weight and have more dramatic outcomes than most of us through diet tweaks, and yet I rarely see them doing that. They seem to pick an extreme deprivation diet, lose some weight but then can't keep it up. Still, it helps to stay on the straight and narrow and sometimes a little tweaking helps solve a particular problem. I know diet affects my ulcers and IBS. Easy for me to slip up and fall into a trap of eating junk food and not fruits and vegetables with the sticky fibers and less inflammatory compounds, especially the greens! And fish is getting so expensive . . . it has become a treat for us . . . Also I need to take fiber twice a day and I just don't much care for it, so I often forget. I also can't stand drinking water, if you can believe that. I drink it, but I have to force myself! I don't go overboard, but I am a person who will forget to drink and get dehydrated. Like I'll work all day in the garden and not stop to drink. So even though these things seem like easy no-brainers, for some folks they are actually a dramatic struggle.

My Dad I think is more typical of today's eaters, his main food groups are sugar, carbs, fat, salt and meat. At 91, I don't think it matters, but even at 91 he would still feel better and sleep better if he didn't eat junk food all day long. He's supposed to follow a low salt diet for congestive heart failure. He knows better, so it is what it is. He struggles with any vegetables. He eats half a bag of cookies and some Pringles and that's about it for him for the day. And he has an aide to cook for him and better options just wasting away in the fridge, so he has better choices easily available. It's too late for him, but not for some younger folks. One can develop a taste for fresh fruits and vegetables with certain preparation tips, but you have to be willing to try . . .

I'm lucky, I like all vegetables and whole grains. Fizzy soda pop is my downfall, love the stuff. I drink the unsweetened, but I still get lured by a ginger ale or root beer, which I keep on hand for my dad . . . or even a small can of Coke which I mix with unsweetened cherry soda water. I can't stop at just one though . . . but I do. It's possible. I lost 30 lbs. but that didn't change my bad cholesterol numbers, so yes, one can't do everything by diet alone, particularly some of these dramatically limiting diets that no one can keep up with . . . however, if you work to put healthy foods in regular rotation, you will feel somewhat better. I've gone both ways, prefer the healthy lifestyle. For the sleep benefits alone . . . alcohol is another thing that is hard for some people to give up, and it has a lot of negative health affects, I've read the research on that. Even with moderate drinking it is easy to rack up a lot of empty calories. That's another thing that is hard for me to give up. I have a high tolerance for alcohol so I need to ingest quite a few calories for even a small buzz. I mostly have given it up, not worth it.

I think the really low carb diet is off track, but I won't argue. No one I know has stuck to it for more than a year or so. I'd be super constipated if I tried something like that, plus I like to eat mostly vegetarian. But a healthy balance is important, since nowdays our most common meals and foods are loaded with refined sugars and carbs. Not like the old days when candy was a holiday celebratory event, and if you wanted a sweet, most of the time it was some fruit you grew yourself. Sugar was an expensive luxury. Not anymore of course . . .

Most folks here are into home made foods, so they don't eat anywhere near as much refined food as the average American.

It's also important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all diet. Everyone with diabetes is different, and foods that spike his blood sugar may not spike someone else's.

We are researching and making changes. There are several things that will take some time to change/get rid of, but we don't want to change everything all at once and fail. Thanks for your input.

Sure, meticulous adherence to a low carbohydrate diet will lower your Hgb A1C

I lowered my HbA1c from its original 10.7 when diagnosed to the recent 4.5, but I am not all that meticulous, I make good tasty choices. I do eat higher carb foods sometimes, but avoid cakes and stuff like that. That being said, if I ever found a great cannoli I'd eat it. I don't feel like I'm giving up my life on the contrary I feel much better than I did at 10.7.

I wholeheartedly recommend a labrador retriever to everyone, diabetes or not. You'll exercise more, both by your walks every day and by the mild exercise of sweeping lab hair off your floors. How can a short haired dog shed so much?

lucillle This is what I'm talking about. We want to do some changes, but not go crazy and fail! We don't have a lab, but did adopt n excitable terrier mix who demands at least 2 walks a day!

Terriers shed also! So I think we're on the right track!

Nancyjane I absolutely think you have your head on right, and y'all are going to succeed in making good changes.

Thank you. I can get a little OCD on stuff, but now that it's a thing for the hubby, I don't want to go overboard, freak him out and fail!

I want him to get us an appointment with a Kaiser nutritionist who can give us some guidelines, hints etc.. We thought we knew what we were doing, but are learning every day!

We have a BIL with type 2 who eats what he wants and just takes another pill! Don't want to go there! Would rather learn tips and tricks!

You might find this helpful: https://www.bloodsugar101.com/

Thanks. I bookmarked this to peruse at my leisure!

Maymay,

Has your husband died? You say you miss him. If so, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Martha