Blog about diabetes

My husband is eating the meal program the same licensed diabetic nutritionist I saw put together for him, and his diabetes is doing amazing. The diabetic specialist (doctor) is thrilled with his a1c’s and log of daily bg levels. He has been doing this for over a year now and is very satisfied with how he eats and everyone else is thrilled with how his diabetes is doing. Actually the latest a1c (taken just last week) was at almost 5 (5.2). Since 6 is basically considered the start of diabetes he is doing well. (For anyone new to diabetes, NO he is not diabetic anymore. He is still diabetic and always will be) His brother who is also diabetic of course goes to a different doctor (lives in another state) and that doctor said eat what ever you want just only keep tract of carbs. He has been diagnosed just about as long as Bill. So Steve (the brother) did Atkins, with his doctor’s blessing. He lost just over 10 pounds in that past year (Bill just over 40), his a1c is still over
6, and he has not cheated on Atkins. (He is a big meat eater anyway, so Atkins was just up his alley) Bill’s program that was set up is the new one through the ADA that does also do the carbs and such. BUT our diabetic specialist said that really both (glucose and carbs) are to be taken into consideration. As not all foods contain carbs, but can still contain the glucose that can be so unhealthy.

But with watching carbs or if following the Atkins even, what are you doing? Cutting out or cutting way down on potatoes, milk products, corn, peas, and other starchy vegetables, no breads, and so on. (If you even cut down on the fruit as in Atkins: fruit is full of natural sugar) If you look in the old “exchange” style book of diabetic eating, those foods are listed as turning to glucose and are limited anyway. So the carb counting to me is just another way of cutting out or cutting down on the foods that turn to glucose. Same thing, just different name. Even when they do let you have “some” carbs (for example) it is suggested you have a sweet potato instead of regular kind. Again, in the old “exchange” book (we have one we found at a used book shop) it is listed as having less glucose than regular potatoes. So even back then the lower glucose potato was suggested over regular. Again (to me): same thing, just new spin on it. We considered Atkins, but when I sat down and
read it through it just sounded so much like a variation of diabetic eating. As did the other carb diets/programs that I checked out on the web (instead of wasting the money again to buy the whole book and read through it.)

But this is my thinking and feelings about the whole glucose and carb thing, OK? Doesn’t mean everyone is going to agree, as that is what the world is about. People and everyone having differing ideas and opinions.

Best to all,

Sue