Diabetes and cake stops etc

[gbs]

Recently I was diagonosed as diabetic, albeit marginally so. Not a classic type 2 in that my BMI has always been around 23/24, I exercise a lot and generally eschew sugary foods. I am making good progress according to blood sugar tests by cutting done on wine, honey, chocolate and fruit juice. Now, after 6 weeks of idleness post op I am anticipating riding again.

My typical ride is up to 4 maybe 5 hrs. What are the recommended fuel and recovery foods? A lot of peering at labels etc has lead me to conclude that walnuts, almond and brazils are the best option. All suggestions incl carrot cake will be interesting BUT I must minimise sugars, particularly cane sugars, wherever possible. I think that I should be looking for foods/energy or recovery bars that are 1) sugar light 2) carb and protein heavy - I am not worried by risk of weight gain 3) jersey pocket transportable

 

[mjr]

That, cashews or yoghurt.

I mix oats and sunflower or pumpkin seeds with a little dried fruit and enough nut or seed butter to bind it. I also add some carob or agave syrup but that might not be good for diabetics.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

4 or 5 hours on the bike is too long to rely on walnuts, almonds, etc. They are lovely but also rich in calories.

A good portion of porridge is the starting point for me. I take with me some fruit, banana, apple, etc. Sunflower seeds and almonds. A sandwich of ham, chicken, turkey or beef is fine too. Boiled eggs it's also an option.
Depending on the weather and the length of the ride I decide what I take with me..... on Thursday I took some vegetable soup as it was over 3 hours ride and very cold.

 

[gbs]

Ham (off the rbone) on rye bread will tick my boxes!

I have expanded my second para - please see OP

 

[Firestorm]

I too have been recently diagnosed as type 2.
The advice I got, and all the reasearch I have seen since, indicates that whilst refined sugars are a problem, because the give a rapid increase in blood sugar which cant be dealt with by the body of a type 2 as well as it used to. Carbs in general are the issue as all carbs turn to sugar in the blood eventually.
The advice I got was cut white carbs, sugar, obviously, white rice, white pasta, white bread. Replace , except the sugar, with wholegrain with a high GI as the increased fibre decreases absorbtion rates.
That said, exercise, obviously, uses blood sugar so the effect may not be as bad.
my suggestion would be to take a Blood sugar level before you go out, eat what you normal eat on the ride and then after you have been home a short while, before you eat anymore do another test. If the second reading is higher than the first then you are retaining more sugar than you are using and need to adjust.

 

[fossyant]

As a type 2 you need to watch carbohydrates, not just sugar, so rice, potatoes etc.

On a ride I don't see it being an issue - it's general diet you need to modify.

My son is type 1, so he can eat anything, but has to take insulin. One thing we learnt was carb counting. It's essential for a Type 1 to ensure the right amounts of insulin are taken. It's also a great way for Type 2's to reduce carbs by weighing them. Carbs and Cals is a great book that gives the carbs per meal size/weight. There is also a paid phone app.

Believe it or not, one blueberry muffin has as many carbs if not more than a homemade curry. It's the rice that is the carbs in the curry.

 

[Yorksman]

wholegrain with a high GI as the increased fibre decreases absorbtion rates.
That said, exercise, obviously, uses blood sugar so the effect may not be as bad.

That should be Low GI. Foods with a lower glycaemic index take longer to digest. Pure glucose has a GI of 100, other foods have GI values relative to it. Low GI is anything below 55.

http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

 

[Yorksman]

I think that I should be looking for foods/energy or recovery bars that are 1) sugar light 2) carb and protein heavy - I am not worried by risk of weight gain 3) jersey pocket transportable

Avoiding sugar is a must but you need to avoid more than just sugary drinks, chocolate bars, biscuits and cakes. Sliced white bread is every bit as bad as sugar. You should avoid starchy carbs as much as possible. Stick to complex carbs like wholegrain pasta, pumpernickel, wholewheat wraps. You can use them all in transportable meals. Stick to northern european fruits, apples, pears, plums, cherries, berries and try to avoid fruits like bananas, mangos, pineapple. You are find with meats and fish is your friend.

The standard NHS 'eat plenty of carbs' line is increasingly rejected and probably leads to the 'inevitable progression' of the disease. What prompted it was a fear of people getting high cholesterol by going on very low carb/high fat diets. It is easy to pig out on double burgers with cheese toppings and a fried egg and whilst your blood glucose won't change, your blood lipids certainly will. The easiest way to remember a lot of complex dietary advice is by and testing and them your choice of foods becomes second nature.

Tuna salad wholegrain wrap. The biggest problem is establishing that the wrap is genuinely wholegrain.

A cheese, ham & egg pumpernickel sandwich. You can see the rye grains in the bread. It is often called brick bread because it feels like a solid block. This bread is as far away as you can get from the 'no time process' bread we see in supermarkets.

Bacofoil is a good way of keeping it all together if stuffing it in a jacket pocket. If there is anything runny or juicy, like tomato, wrap it first in cling film and then in bacofoil. It works for a favourite of mine, salmon, cream cheese and chives in a wholewheat wrap.

Also, things like chicken legs are transportable, tasty and zero carb. Many supermarkets sell cooked roast cicken pieces still warm so, if you see one on your root, call in. If you want to take a flask, take some soup with you. The sky is your limit with carb free or low carb soups. Homemade mushroom soup is a favourite of mine. It might be worth your while getting a cheap soup maker where you bung in your ingredients and it'll blend and cook your soup for you.

Have a look at http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food-and-recipes.html and in particular what it has to say about diets for type 2 and also, check out some of the recipes. They have a forum where members discuss these things in more detail too.

 

[ayceejay]

Check out the Team Novo Nordisk web site and Twitter feed. This is a pro racing team all of whom are diabetic. Being diabetic and being a diabetic athlete are two different things and some of their specific knowledge may be of help to you.

 

[ayceejay]

I am reluctant to offer advice because diabetes is not a one size fits all disease and whatever anyone says (including me) you should suck it and see.
I am not a fan of eating as you go, although 4 - 5 hours is a long ride and it is wise to take emergency food. More important is to make sure that you are going out with enough real food stored in your body (not belly) and to replenish it as soon as you get back. If you don't take on what your body needs after your ride the recovery period is much longer and could lead you into hypo country with no warning.

 

[Yorksman]

If you don't take on what your body needs after your ride the recovery period is much longer and could lead you into hypo country with no warning.

The OP is type 2 and by the sound of it, not on any meds. He won't go into hypo.

Its the very strong meds and, in particular, insulin, which causes type 1 diabetics who have to take insulin to run the risk of going hypo. As they have to calculate how much they need and inject it, it can be tricky for performance athletes to get the dose right. Most carry small 'emergency packs' of jelly babies in case they inject too much or exercise more than they thought. Unless on very strong meds, type 2s will always produce extra glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis, literally, glucose new creation, from stored lipids. This happens automatically once the blood plasma level gets to around 4.0 mmol/mL. Strong meds interfere with this process and when the person has miscalculated, it can continue to fall until all the reserves are used up. Type 2s have the opposite problem as their metabolism is often insulin resistant and most are hyper, not hypo. They suffer from the problems of having too much glucose in their blood.

There are several other types of diabetes too, slow onset type 1, gestational diabetes, though I assume the OP is not pregnant, pancreatic diabetes, which is due to pancreatitis and monogenic diabetes which would be evident from a family history of the disease. But, the OP has been diagnosed with type 2 so his main problem is getting the blood glucose down. It should normally be withing a range 4.0 to 6.0 and although it does go up after a meal, or exercise, it should have fallen to below 7.8 after 2 hours. Most cases are struggling with levels in the 10.0 - 20.0 range. Diet and exercise does work but most people don't keep up with the exercise or don't change the types of food they eat. Many take the meds and expect it to do all the work for them.

Lamb and pearl barley stew, a tasty, filling and healthy meal for a type 2 diabetic:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/14/lamb-stew-pearl-barley-recipe

 

[ayceejay]

and with that I shall bow out

 

[Yorksman]

and with that I shall bow out

It all depends of course if the doctor has got the diagnosis right. As you correctly point out, there are several causes of diabetes and of course, everyone has a slightly different metabolism and reacts differently to different foods. Doctors in the UK are often too quick to diagnose and prescribe.

Performance athletes who are nearly always type 1 have to be very precise in their medication. Steve Redgrave who has 5 consecutive olympic gold medals for rowing is diabetic. However he was diagnosed with 'adult onset' type 2 at the age of 35, 3 years before his last gold medal in Sydney 2000. The standard National Health advice of diet and exercise wasn't going to help him.

 

[Firestorm]

That should be Low GI. Foods with a lower glycaemic index take longer to digest. Pure glucose has a GI of 100, other foods have GI values relative to it. Low GI is anything below 55.

http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/

Thanks, I got a bit muddled there....

 

[Yorksman]

Thanks, I got a bit muddled there....

It's shocking that table sugar has a slightly lower GI than white bread. So much for the sliced white loaf!