Carbohydrate chart

L

littlewoman

Longterm Registered User
Does anyone know of a decent yet simple carbohydrate chart on the internet?
I need it for an elderly diabetic to give him an idea of the good foods and the bad foods.

I have searched the internet. I can find lots of charts that give you everything under the sun but I doubt he know what a bagel or quinoa is! I need something with about 20 basic foods. Others have lists that only include things like grains, flour etc. but not fruit, veg and meat.

I can also find lots of healthy eating pyramids which don't really work because they all say wholewheat bread is wonderful but whilst its better than white bread for diabetics it still isn't wonderful.

I've tried lots of diabetic help sites and they either just talk in vague terms about which foods are mostly carbs or sugars or they have things that allow you to calculate exactly how many carbs you're eating by weighing every bit of food, looking it up on a chart and doing the calculation. That's just too complicated.

I have a feeling I'm going to have to make my own by looking up each of the foods he eats individually.
 
12345 said:
Hi littlewoman,

Here is a link to Carbohydrate chart on Precision Nutrition's website

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/w...012/08/Protein-Fat-and-Carbohydrate-Chart.pdf

Good luck

12345
Click to expand...
Thanks but that is just putting things into rough groups with a "eat sparingly " 2eat often" sort of guidance. I'm looking for something that puts things on a scale with hi carb foods at one end and low carb foods at the other end. What I hope to end up with, even it I do the graphics myself, is foods on a vertical scale beside a column which is green at the bottom and red at the top with an arrow on pointing to the various health problems it causes.
 
Hi littlewoman,

search their website as they are highly regarded in the nutrition world.
Are you looking for The Glycemic index's of each carbohydrate and the Glycemic Load?

Regards
12345
 
12345 said:
Hi littlewoman,

search their website as they are highly regarded in the nutrition world.
Are you looking for The Glycemic index's of each carbohydrate and the Glycemic Load?

Regards
12345
Click to expand...
As I understand it the GI thing takes into consideration how fast the carbs get into the blood stream and whilst that is important for diabetics with this particular case its more of the build up through the day that is the problem.

Incidentally does anyone happen to know if abnormally low sodium levels in the blood can raise the sugar levels in any way? Something to do with the water balance maybe?
 
Hello littlewoman

As a diabetic myself it can be difficult to manage diabetes as there are other factors such as insulin used, type of insulin, how often taken, metformin used, insulin regime etc I would suggest two things as someone with experience of diabetes.

Consistent Hgb1a checks should be on going with his diabetes specialist. There are groups like diabetes research uk and the nhs has an extensive collection of information about diabetes. Very helpful I've found.

First, Dr Bernstein has a book called Diabetes Solutions you can find it on Amazon for book or kindle. Second I would suggest accurate recording of food intake, how much, what time, when and consistent monitoring over the course of a week to have an idea of how the glucose is being controlled. His gp should prescribe the kit at no charge. You can also get some nice kit from the pharmaceutical companies for free. When I say kit I mean a hand held monitor, strips, Lancet and the device.

Send me a pm as I say I have experience with diabetes and may be able to offer you some advice.

Best Regards

Tapmaster

Sent from my KFSOWI using Close Protection World mobile app
 
12345,

Had to pack it mate. There comes a point where your health has to be a priority (in my case). My cardiologist has advised me to pack it in. Been in the game of powerlifting since 1986 and it's hard to give up on your sport.

Diabetes is hard to manage with the extra calories, excessive body weight and excessive pounds lifted. I'm down four stones in weight since January. Drastic and not advised to lose weight so fast but it had to be done. If you want to know how not to do it I can tell you how I gained the weight and lifted the big weights. So you see what not to do. One of my mates didn't have a second chance. I do have a second chance. I'm going to use it correctly.

That's why I say I have had to learn a lot of diabetes over the last year and a bit.

Best Regards

Tapmaster
 
Thanks for all the advice tapmaster. He's getting his blood sugar tested twice a day and his lanctus dose adjusted accordingly. He's also on gliclazide once a day.
The thing is he also has dementia, so the only way we could monitor his food intake is to put an SV camera in the kitchen, or possibly mark all likely food stuffs and measure how much has gone. He won't wear a medic alert bracelet or carry an alarm that can be pressed to summon help.

So what I am trying to do is have a poster I can put up in the kitchen, that will highlight to him the consequences of eating the bad foods every time he goes in the kitchen. I have a pretty good understanding of diabetes and I can look up each item and put together my own chart, I was just looking for an easier way of doing it.

I've scoured the various diabetes help sites and the various dementia help sites and none of them have specific advice for dealing with both conditions. Its very hard to get someone to control their diet when they don't understand why they shouldn't eat certain things and have no idea when they last ate or drank anything. Exercise is out for other medical reasons but also because it makes them feel tired and they can't comprehend that if they do a bit regularly they will feel better all the time.
 
Thanks for your reply little woman. If he is only taking Gliclazide once a day it may be too much. Is he taking metformin? You have an excellent idea about putting up a chart in the kitchen. If he has someone to prepare his meals in advance and put them in a tupperware dish that would sort the problem out.

Exercise is not the cure all for diabetics as it could actually be harmful. I like the medical alert bracelt as when a person has a hypo to the untrained eye the person may be acting like a drunk. The person could become combative or argumentative not because they want to but because the diabetes is out of control. Someone would not notice a necklace that's why I use the bracelet. Asked him if he would carry a card in his pocket that his GP or nurse should give him that lists his name, meds used, how much meds used, when he uses them etc. It could save him the hassle of being arrested for being a problem to society. I would also suggest not drinking fizzy drinks, eating cakes, biscuits etc as all of these products have processed chemicals in them.

best wishes

tapmaster
 
He rarely goes out anywhere so the medic alert thing isn't a big issue at the moment, we'd be more concerned about him falling in the house. The diet issue isn't with the meals themselves its with him having snacks and drinks (mostly milk). He was on Metformin for years, one of the side affects that no-one bothered to tell us about is that it can affect appetite and leave a funny taste in the mouth, both of which combined to him being in danger of malnutrition due to hardly eating anything. So he's not going to be taking that again.
 
This diabetes can make him gain a lot of weight around the belly. Milk is good. I was told by the dietician to drink it every day and not fall into the malnourish program of not eating as that will affect the diabetes

Best Wishes and if I can offer any advise from my experience with diabetes. All of these medications have some serious side effects. I went through the not eating phase as you say Metformin causes a bad taste in your mouth. I was juicing vegetables a few weeks back and that seemed to help even though I was not eating food. i have gone from 8-10k calories a day to now 1500-2000 calories a day.

Regards

tapmaster
 
tapmaster said:
This diabetes can make him gain a lot of weight around the belly. Milk is good. I was told by the dietician to drink it every day and not fall into the malnourish program of not eating as that will affect the diabetes

Best Wishes and if I can offer any advise from my experience with diabetes. All of these medications have some serious side effects. I went through the not eating phase as you say Metformin causes a bad taste in your mouth. I was juicing vegetables a few weeks back and that seemed to help even though I was not eating food. i have gone from 8-10k calories a day to now 1500-2000 calories a day.

Regards

tapmaster
Click to expand...
Its a matter of the quantity of milk, 3-4 pints a day is probably not good. He is now eating normally so malnourishment isn't a factor.
 
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