Eating a good protein with rice can reduce the total Glycemic load.
Fish does this quite well. I know you guys don’t eat fish. Chicken probably works as well.
Think of the whole meal picture when you’re planning.
Also several small meals a day are better as you’re gaining some control.
Yes, we haven’t really explored the diabetic labels, as of now, the plan is to be more conscious of the food he is eating and portions. Thanks for the words of encouragement!
If the blood sugar is at or below a threshold level, type 2 can be reversed by following a ketogenic diet.
Hard to maintain.
It would help if there’s no hypoglycemic lows. Which kill quickly.
As a newly discovered diabetic they are doing what they should be. Trying out recipes, testing and learning.
Sorta.
I’m one of those people. Diligent diet and exercise and some meds can enable you to greatly reduce your bad blood numbers back into the pre-diabetic or even normal healthy ranges. And thereby greatly reduce the side effect harm (“co-morbidities”) of T2 diabetes like retinopathy, neuropathy, kidney damage, peripheral circulation disease, etc.
In no sense is that “curing” diabetes. Or reversing it. You’re a diabetic for life. You’ve already killed X% of your pancreas and there is no regeneration. You’ve already done Y amount of long term damage to your body, only some of which will heal if given a chance. The rest is irreversible.
What you can do, and it’s huge, is by living well within the now-lessened capability of your surviving fractional pancreas, you’ll slow further damage to a trickle. Such that you’ll probably become infirm and die of something else first.
How much pancreas is still left alive when you get diagnosed, how lucky you are with genetics, and how hard you work the diet, exercise, weight loss, and meds, will determine whether you’re living within what’s left of your pancreas or not. If you can’t, or won’t, live within the limitations of your pancreas and body type, you’re going to be at least slowly killing yourself, and perhaps rapidly killing yourself if you refuse to do the necessary healthful things.
Plus, the keto approach doesn’t reduce diabetic progression for everyone. I had at least 3 grandparents with metabolic issues, and while diet and exercise help as LSL Guy notes, some of us can’t keep A1c from creeping up over time with only diet (including years of Atkins and keto, as well as trying other approaches) and exercise. Metformin helped me for years, Ozempic for under 6 months, and for the moment, Mounjaro plus metformin is useful.
You clearly know more about this than I do.
I know that I have gone from pre-diabetic blood sugar levels to lower than pre-diabetic levels. I have no idea if there is any damage to my pancreas, however recent blood tests did not show me to have any issues.
I was diagnosed as type 2 last spring. Luckily, my general inclination towards meal prep is very diabetic-friendly… with some edits. Fresh meat, fresh vegetables. Corn is a starch. Carrots are a starch. Winter Squash (as opposed to yellow or zucchini) is a starch. Yeah, avoid white bread like the plague, but a good hearty bread is acceptable. Oh, and you don’t need the jumbo-sized bread; smaller loafs are better. You don’t need to drown your chicken in bbq sauce; herbs and spices make it flavorful. If you do need sauce, home-made is better than store-bought because in general store bought has a lot of sugar and more sodium than you need. GET USED TO READING LABLES. I did go through training through my health plan (though I had to pay a lot more than I thought), and that definitely helped me in what to look for and how to plan. Check your benefits at work - they may have something available.
This is a big one. I, as an ugly American, got used to grabbing the biggest damned potato in the house as my baked potato. Guess what? That was probably 3 portions. I have had to lower how much fruit I eat. That is my biggest heartache with my diet. I love fruit. I used to have at least 2 servings with breakfast (looking back, probably 3+), plus an apple with lunch. Nope. Too many simple sugars. Breakfast is now 1.5 at most; no apple with lunch, but I do usually have one with me in case my sugars get too low.
[rant] Our grocery store sells bags of apples or pears under the name “Lil’ Snappers”; on the label, they say “the perfect size for kids!” No. They are a single serving size for an adult. The apples they have out loose are the size of a grapefruit. THAT’S TOO DAMNED BIG! THAT IS NOT ONE SERVING, THAT IS 3 SERVINGS! [/rant]
If you’re going to eat carbs, make them useful carbs. American white bread has a lot of sugar included and almost 0 nutritional value (and a lot of what is marked as “wheat” or “whole wheat” ain’t much better). There are a lot of hearty breads out there that actually have some nutritional value. That being said, you can’t have too much. As I said above, you don’t need the “jumbo-sized sandwich bread” that us Ugly Americans look for (bigger isn’t always better). Look for thin sliced and smaller sized loafs. Baked potatoes are better than mashed; brown rice is better than white; pasta… eat sparingly. We’ve been eating whole wheat pasta; not sure if that has helped, but (again) I’ve also adjusted my serving size. Carrots / corn / squash are all better “starches” than rice/potatoes.
Ditto. And have fun.
I’ve seen a lot about portion size, we are definitely keeping an eye on that. I also agree with the idea if I can make it at home it’s a better choice. Thanks to all this has been helpful and informative.
I wore a continuous glucose monitor for several weeks, when i was trying to learn how my diet affected my pre-diabetes status. I was surprised at how little a large sweet apple affected my blood sugar. And how much a handful of pretzels did. And i learned that eating shortly before bed is not something i ought to do. (Eating almost anything.)
I was gonna mention, if your coverage allows get a CGM as soon as possible.
They are truly a marvel and getting better by the day.
They’re not intrusive(Well, very much). And it can get you settled down into a routine that is less problematic, quicker.
He doesn’t have the coverage to cover it now, but we’ve talked about it. We hope in the future he can get one. Thanks, Beck!
Good stews are always a go-to. Beef/barley soup is a favorite of mine and barley is low glycemic. Birria stew served with corn torts (medium glycemic). Squash soups are generally low. I like butternut soup with shrimp and star anise. African peanut stew with chicken.
Thanks for this. I made a soup awhile back that was delicious. Now, with the weather getting chillier, stews sound perfect. I didn’t know about the barley & the glycemic index. I’m going to have to try that.
I would miss having a loaf of bread with any of those soups. 
Good quality bread was the hardest thing I had to give up.
The idea that there’s any diabetic-compatible bread that can be eaten in any quantity beyond a bare taste is IME/IMO just bunk. It’s made almost entirely from flour and glycemically speaking flour is darn near equivalent to sugar.
You can buy them OTC. I bought two for $100. Each one is good for two week, so that’s a month of data. I found it immensely valuable to see immediately (well, with a short lag) approximately how my blood sugar reacted to various foods and exercise. They aren’t incredibly accurate, if it reads 100 you might be 90 or 110. But blood glucose swings a LOT during the day, and i found the info really useful.
If he can afford it, it might be worth buying a pack for the training.
Thanks, that’s great to know. Now, he’s just recording everything as we go, but that would be great to have all of the info so easily accessible.
I hear you, and I agree, I think LSL Guy said, finding a healthy, quality bread is damn near impossible.
Bread is a big big loss for so many.
There’s no good ones. You might find one a tiny bit better. It’s just not worth it for lack of taste as opposed to any benifits.
Cold turkey it is the best way.