In our journey with diabetes we've been looking more and more at our diet.
I think we eat fairly well. We have a well rounded diet that provides all the stuff we need to live active lives.
But since my daughter has been wearing a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) we can certainly see where spikes occur.
One was right after breakfast. It was a "traditional" western breakfast of sugary cereal with some fruit juice (normally apple).
A friend suggest we tried egg on toast. She still needs the carbs but they are slower burning from the (homemade) toast than cereal would be and with the protein from the egg should keep her full until breakfast.
We did a week of it and noticed that although you still get a spike (that's just eating any carbs and the insulin having to catch up) it was way less, often keeping her in target for the whole morning.
It was so good I thought I'd change my breakfast and try it as well. No more 10 O'clock slump!
Then the other two wanted to try it and suddenly we didn't have enough eggs!
So we went and got some POL hens (Point Of Lay) that will hopefully lay all through winter. I was hoping 5 would be enough but the oy is insisting on two eggs every morning....
The video above is a fun little journey out with my boy to buy the hens and getting them set up in their new home. I also talk a little about diabetes on there and about the blood sugar spikes. It's amazing how much it makes me think about what we're all eating. We've made some very easy switches and I'm sure it's benefiting us all.
Squash instead of potato for some evening meals
Brown rice instead of white (way more taste and texture to it)
Wholegrain Pasta (tastes just the same)
Adding some Emmer Flour to our morning loaf (nowhere near a wholemeal loaf but still rises really well and tastes great.
Careful with the mixing of some foods - carbs and fats are a nightmare (pizza is a nightmare that sends her levels into a random plain)
With these little changes I seem to have lost a little weight (Hopefully don't have much to loose, but it's been quite noticeable around my stomach) and felt fuller longer. That said I've also band myself from buying any of the "rubbish" I normally eat. I still have to buy sweet for my daughter but tell her to hide them in her room!
Makes me think that for next year I might plan a "diabetic friendly" garden with the foods we've found to work best for her levels, although everyone is different. Lots of protein and veggies. We were wrongly told that some foods would be "free" and not need insulin, like carrots as a snack, but so far we've found that they make her levels shoot up without the injection.
#### Please remember before commenting that Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes are completely different things. She's not eating her way out of this one, her pancreas just doesn't work like it's supposed to anymore. A completely low carb or carb free diet doesn't work for Type one sufferers, nor would it be good for a young growing body like hers. ####
Hope you enjoy the video!
What food makes you "slump" a few hours later?
Heavy meals in general make me slump a few hours later. We long ago gave up on going to buffet type places and instead ordering sensible portions off the menu.
ReplyDeleteI try to get a good breakfast in me, usually some sort of egg/carb combination for the reasons you mentioned. I will try to eat my biggest meal at noon and then just a light one in the evening. My body rebels at eating lots of food in the evening anymore and I find I sleep better with less.
I don't know much about Type 1 diabetes, but I would guess, raising a garden friendly to it should be a fairly easy endeavor though what you said about the carrots surprises me. I have found though it is much easier to eat healthy when everyone in the family eats healthy so I'm sure you will all benefit from following your daughter's diet.
I used to work with a type 1 diabetic potter who gave tips on his diet. Wholemeal flour instead of white but 50/50 then 75/25 until acclimatised to 100%. Using apple purée as sweetener in baking. The same applied to his cereal, gradually changed to wholewheat. I’m sure you know all this anyway but that’s all I can remember. He reckoned a diabetic way of eating is the healthiest for everyone.
ReplyDeleteHave you read a book called The Glucose Goddess? It's an interesting thought by a PhD student who noticed insulin spikes and their causes while doing her research. It is not telling you what to eat but more the order of eating which may help with your planning of meals. There is quite a lot about it on the internet as it is a current trend but still interesting. Su
ReplyDeleteThe modern diet leaves much to be desired. I am trying to go sugar free for medical reasons following a course of antibiotics, and it's unbelievable how difficult it is, just everything has added sugar. Like you I went for the eggs on toast option instead of cereal. I don't eat any ready meals, make my own bread etc. I also started making my own fermented foods, like kefir, sauerkraut and fermented carrots, again for medical reasons, which took a bit of getting used to but eventually I got a taste for them and now I eat them as a snack instead of biscuits or cake. I'm now one week after testing postive for Covid and feel great, I'm hoping it's all this 'hippy' food that's doing it!
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