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To lower blood sugar (post #69516)

plantlust on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 14:34

I'm Looking for a Recipe...

I don't have any experience with diabetic-type conditions and am in need of some guidance. Either recipes or help in figuring out which food items are better than others.

As some of you may know, Mother is on steroids for her brain tumour(what a shocker THAT was, eh?) This has increased her blood sugar to unexceptable levels (over 400 was discovered at the doctor's appointment on Monday). She is on a once a day insulin pill and shots are given as needed on a sliding scale. I would LOVE to eliminate the insulin shots all together. Heck I would love to eliminate the pill too but I don't think that's going to happen as long as she's on the steroids to reduce brain swelling.

None of us children have any experience with this kind of thing. Do we just cut out ALL sugar (fructose, lactose etc)? Are some sugars better than others?

I do know someone at work that was recently diagnosed as diabetic. From what little she's said (this was BEFORE I knew about the steroid side-effects), I remember her mentioning that carbs are bad. No sugar and no carb is the way to go?

Mother is craving chocolate & caramel. For obvious reasons, caramel is out. We just tried icecream with grated DARK chocolate (85%), so there was the illusion of a lot of chocolate. Her sugar just came back as over 300. Ice cream is out.

What we are going to try to do, as a treat, is FAGE 0% yoghurt, mixed with Stevia, cinnamon and FROZEN. Then a little grated dark chocolate on top.

Somehow, I also suspect that portion control and frequency of meals may also be a factor?

We are going to eliminate ALL bread types at the moment (no rice, no bread, no potato, no pasta). The American Diabetic Website was a little bit helpful but we need PRACTICAL, real world experience. I've posted both here and at BestofCT for any assistance what-so-ever. Thanks again.

At the moment, I've cooked 2 whole chickens for the meat and broth. Since I am the cook, MWE#2 needs things that will be easy for her to prepare, satisfy Mother and help in the "reducing blood sugar" fight.

Hug your mom, if you are still lucky enough to have one.

Feeding the person with diabetes to control glucose spikes! (post #69516, reply #1 of 2)

by SewingWithKathy in reply to plantlust [original] on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 21:55

Not only am I a home economist by profession, but I was also blessed with a toddler who was diagnosed with diabetes. Blessed, you might ask, yes I would answer. Diabetes forced our whole family to eat healthy and live by a schedule!

I know well the ups and downs of glucose control, and you are on the right track to figuring things out. Here is how I often explain feeding someone with diabetes.

Think of building a bon fire. The paper and starter shoot up rapidly in fire, and burn our fast. This is like simple sugars in a body. They shoot up blood sugar fast (burst of energy), and then there is a let down when the sugar is burned up. (Pure sugars and foods like potatoes).

Kindling burns a little longer, and helps ignite the logs. This is the complex sugars/carbohydrates. (whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.)

Logs burn slow and long. This is like protein in our bodies.

Coals/embers are what remains when the logs are gone, and stay warm for a long time. This is like fats in our bodies.

Portion control, timing of meals and EXERCISE all play a vital role in glucose control. Even exercise like sitting and moving ones arms, or doing leg lifts while in a chair will help. Another factor is stress and infections, both of these activate the "flight or fright" rush of adrenaline which is a flood of stored sugars into ones system.

When you plan a meal for someone with diabetes, start with kindling, not with paper or starter. If you want to add a sweet treat, do it only after a meal has freshly been consumed. It mixes with the other slow burning foods and slows down the absorption. There are chocolates made without sugar. They sometimes cause bowels to work overtime, but they are available. I also found that a 1"square snicker bar "bite" a perfect end to a meal well eaten!

Check out www.dlife.com for some great recipes and help for your mom.

Bless you!

Thanks so much for your (post #69516, reply #2 of 2)

by plantlust in reply to plantlust [original] on Sat, 03/27/2010 - 17:13

Thanks so much for your response.
MWE#2 has experimented and ALL "sugar-free" chocolate/candy/baked goods are OUT. Mother isn't able to go to the bathroom fast enough. No bread at all. The "diabetic" bread made her sugar go over 500. It's NEVER been that high, since we've found out about the high blood sugar from the doctor.

They didn't mention that high blood sugar, insomnia & constipation are side effects of long term steroid use. sigh Really, you practically have to BECOME a doctor just so things don't get screwed up when you or someone close to you gets sick.

So far, no sweet stuff after 5pm. And we are really trying to find no or low carb things. This way both Mother & MWE#2 can get a good night's sleep. As the hospice nursing assistant said to MWE#2, "Only you are standing between your Mother & a nursing home. If something happens to you..."

Omelet w/meat (ham, whatever) & veggies for breakfast. Yoghurt spikes her sugar. Blueberries seem to be ok.

I just made baked coconut shrimp & colerabi w/parsley sauce. Mother was moaning because she was so stuffed. Well heck she must have had at least 16 shrimp. Decent sized ones too.

I wish we could just stop the steroids but without them, she wouldn't have lasted this long. Even so, there has been a marked change from even just a week ago. Last week she was still walking (with help) to the bathroom. Now she's using a commode. I hope she makes it to Easter. Heck, I hope she makes it to see her Redbuds & Serviceberry bloom.

Hug your mom, if you are still lucky enough to have one.

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To lower blood sugar