Apologies to those not interested in discussion of diabetes. No reply
address available for Kent S. However, diabetes is becoming huge health
problem in the US.
Kent,
The effect is different, but not necessarily good. I suspect he is also
putting that jam and honey on white bread and biscuits, right? These
refined flour products, as well as white rice, act just like table sugar in
the bloodstream. My dat can't eat white bread much, but can eat true whole
wheat bread (in moderation - 1/2 of a large pizza is a little too much <g>).
If he tries to modify his diet to eliminate all refined flour and rice, he
will probably be able to still have jamd and/or honey in moderation
(typically, no more than four carbohydrate rich servings of any food per
meal -- even counting things like beans). Dad's downfall is fresh fruit
(peeled). Potatoes w/o the peel are "bad", while with the peel is ok, throw
out most of the inner portion and they are fine.
What is important is for him to keep a diary - what he ate (including was it
refined, peeled, fried, etc), realistic est of portion size, did he take
medication and the amount of any excercies just before or in 1 hr after
eating. Then 1 hr later, check blood sugar and record it. The Dr probably
has him tracking this (some people don't do this enough, if their insurance
doesn't cover the supplies - I would imagine you won't have problems with
this) - the food diary is more work and trouble, but then he will start
getting a true picture of what he can and cannot eat without his blood sugar
going insane. Some foods just need moderation or excercise to balance.
Things like ice cream in a waffle cone are pretty much taboo (dad din't like
this one, he loved ice cream).
The education classes help some, but are dumbed down for the americans that
are (1) unwilling to invest time learning what to eat and (2) geared towards
how to cope with the bad food choices of eating out and typical american
pantries. I would assume same is generally true where you are. It is
important not to have the attitude of "what can I get away with eating on a
regular basis, so long as it is sort of controlled by medication". Instead,
it should be - how can I change my diet and lifestyle to get this condition
under control and what can I reasonably have on an occasional basis when
dining out or for special occasions? Constantly having blood sugar at the
upper levels can cause organ damage and is a high factor for heart disease
due to plaque buildup. I now several people that have had several
mini-strokes from non-control, others that have passed out (many people lose
their driver's license, and rightly so, with this condition) and those that
have had problems with leg and foot wounds/problems due to circulation
problems.
-K. Oland
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