Diabetes
Recently I'm having a terrible time with my blood sugar. I have had this issue off and on throughout my life, told that I was hypoglycemic and "borderline" diabetic. I see a diabetes doctor on July 19th but before then I fear that I may go insane. I feel sick all the time.
I wondered what kind of diet plan would help me. I am on an all vegan diet, gluten free, allergic to lentils, pineapple, cashews and CORN. Big time allergic to corn. I was allergic to wheat and soy almost my entire life, and was recently retested, but after I introduced gluten back into my diet, I became horribly ill and haven't gotten better even though I went gluten free again 2 weeks ago.
Any advice would be wonderful. A diet plan would be even better. I'm desperate at this point.
Thanks guys.
Ooh, that sounds rough. I really hope you start feeling better. As for a diet plan, I'm not going to claim I have any particular experience with hypoglycemia, but IIRC the idea is to try and eat a relatively lean, high-fibre, low-sugar diet, right? You can't have lentils or cashews, but what about other beans/legumes/nuts? Tofu, tempeh, or chickpea scrambles for breakfast, maybe, or soy yogurt with flax seeds and berries (relatively low-sugar as fruits go). Quinoa and beans, vegetable soups, and lots of greens/salads? Karina of glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com cooks gluten-free, legume-free, nut-free food, though you might have to be selective of which ones look a little too starchy or sugary. Thinking good thoughts for you! I hope you get this sorted out and find what works in good time. (((AWF)))
I am sorry to hear you are feeling so ill. I have T2 diabetes and since I have started eating vegan my sugars have been under control. No meds anymore. I do check my BS several times a day to see how any new foods are affecting my BS. Do you have a BS monitor? I know you can buy them from walmart and also get free ones sent to you from different companies. Checking your BS should help you greatly. Also, do you drink a lot water? When my BS get to high I can bring them back down with water. When my sugars get high I get a feeling of being drunk and I tend to get really emotional. As for a meal plan, you should see about going to a nutritionist. I did this at the time of my diabetes classes. I know how overwhelming this can all feel, take it one day at a time, one step at a time. If you like fruit, small berries are the best thing for you. Lots of veggies are carb free. I would also recommend that you check out Dlife.com, its a great forum for people with any form of diabetes. There aren't many vegans on the site that I know of, but these are a great group of people who can give you advice on this disease. Also, please feel free to message me or even email me for support or just to vent. I know when I found out I had T2 I wish I had someone I could just let loose on. *hugs*
Kelly
low fat intake (generally about 10% of your calories from fat) is something that has helped many many many people that i have talked to.
I know this guy: http://robbybarbaro.org/ and he has type I but has lessened his insulin w/ low fat and has helped many w/ type 2
Wishing you well.
Check this out: http://www.nealbarnard.org/diabetes_book.htm
I know the traditional route is to avoid carbs, even healthy ones, but although I don't have personal experience with diabetes, I know the most recent research is starting to indicate otherwise. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's the sugar molecules being coated in fat that prevents them from binding to insulin to be carried out of the blood... As others have mentioned in your thread, a low fat diet that includes the healthiest carbs (even those considered "sugar" such as fruit) has been shown to be better for blood sugar metabolism. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19339401 So by eating vegan, you are already helping yourself somewhat. I wish I could be of more help - I hope you find something that works for you.
anyone been on barnards program long term? Ive heard references to criticism of barnards work with heart disease and diabetes claiming it had been debunked but havent been able to find much of anything other than threads pointing to a single study that disproves a certain point or someone who was vegan that feels that this triggered them to go diabetic...
im interested in barnards program to avoid diabetes and for my wife to control hers, and think that following the diet while keeping the carbs down (since barnard says that generally not to worry about carbs if youre lowfat vegan and have agood food mix) is the way to go
Wishing you well.
Check this out: http://www.nealbarnard.org/diabetes_book.htm
Chrisold97, I think it's very important to remember that carbs do not cause diabetes. If that were the case, I would have become diabetic a long time ago. It's a bit more complicated than that, and much of the pathology is still unknown to us. It is known that the standard American diet in combination with obesity is a risk factor and co-related Vegan diets are not co-releated with diabetes, or a risk factor. Any claim that a vegan diet caused diabetics is just plain false.
Not that you believed that, I was just sayin'
Anyway, I don't think anyone can go wrong with a whole foods vegan diet in controlling and helping their diabetes. Because whole foods, including those containing carbs do tend to not cause high blood glucose levels, and the goal in diabetes management is glucose control. I think this is why Dr. Barnard advocated not worrying excessively about carbs......but only if you stick with whole goods, not processed foods.
Like you, I would like to hear from someone that has actually tried it long-term.
All the best.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/simply-raw-reversing-diabetes-in-30-days/
I hate it when people say that a raw vegan diet will reverse diabetes (per tweety's link). It's a treatment, not a cure or reversal. If it truly reversed diabetes, those people would be able to go eat two cups of pure sugar and be fine. But they can't.