[Rie]

Is anyone here a diabetic? I was diagnosed with "diabetic tendencies" last fall. I use sucralose (Splenda brand) in place of sugar when cooking and baking. I won't touch Nutrasweet or Sweet N' Low (which, besides their horrible side effects, do impact your blood sugar levels.) Anyone else here diabetic or have any diabetic friendly recipes? I don't really watch any of the glycemic fruits/veggies, just the added sugar (as I am only slightly diabetic.)

 

[Lothar M Kirsch]

If you just have diabetic tendencies, it should warn you but not freak you out. If you´re overweight, try to slowly loose that overweight. Exercise. Reduce fats. Don´t eat proteins in excess, as this is sometimes told diabetics and people who might develop diabetes. Use veggies that are rich in fibre. Shift your carbohydrates to complex forms.

 

[sandiemac]

i have 'impaired glucose tolerance" which is kinda the same thing i guess. i don't eat sugar and use splenda instead of aspartame or suaacharin (ick). i also had gastric bypass surgery so....i don't eat bread (i use crispbreads or rice cakes) and the only refined carbs i eat is pasta. i aim for 60-90 gms of protein a day. i also don't watch the glycemic content in fruit and eat as much as i want (i need *some* vices). i do, however, use a blood glucose measuring machine at home and check my blood sugar. i used to check it 2-3 times a day pre-surgery and now i check it once a day or every 2 days. i tend to have pretty wild fluctuations...my blood sugar goes anywhere from 50-170. i do use insulin when in hospital for asthma as the medication (solu medrol) pushes my blood sugar up to about 400-500.

 

[Rie]

Lothar,

I'm underweight actually, but, I do exercise plenty and all that jazz. I do eat my complex carbs though... I aim for only whole grains, and eat lots of veggies.

Sandiemac,

I first found out about my problem when I was diagnosed with superventricular tachocardio (heart rate goes up very quickly with for no visable reason.) Although I didn't test positive for diabetes, when I adopted a diabetic diet, my problem went away.

 

[smedley]

diabetics can in fact eat sugar. sugar is a carbohydrate and the body does not know the difference between refined sugar and a slice of white bread/white crackers/white pasta. the total number of carbs consumed at a time is what matters as well as if those carbs are from high fiber sources such as fruits and veggies and whole grains or white foods as mentioned above. have a small slice of cake/scoop of creamy dessert--whatever if you want-- just watch when you consume it and what else you will/have been consuming in the day. exercise also plays a key role in kepping blood suagr levels steady. and do your own research--IMHO very few docs are up to date.

 

[sandiemac]

true. i don't watch the amount of carbs....just the type. refined carbs cause blood sugar to rise and fall quicker. i avoid sugar and bread mainly because due to the changes in my digestive system they cause me to suffer dumping syndrome.

 

[Rie]

I don't watch the amount of carbs either, I just eat good ones by having my whole grains.

 

[MelinaM]

I use Splenda too. Its great! Nutra Sweet is yucky. Aspartame is okay. That's the stuff in diet coke. It doesn't affect my blood sugar at all. I count carbs and take insulin accordingly (I'm on a pump)

Depedning on glucose tolerance total carbs may or may not affect blood sugar levels depending on the absorbtion rate.

Also, if you eat simple sugars with fat the stomach will empty more slowly so blood sugar will rise slowly too.

I highly recomend blood sugar testing for any diatetic or borderline. Its the only way to see if your meal plan, etc. is working. I have tested my sugars four times today and its only noon! (that is probably a little excessive

but its the only way I know if I've taken the right amount of insulin). I've been a type I for 21 years now. I don't think a borderline diabetic would need to test that much. But its good to test occasionaly 1-2 hours after a meal to see how it has affected blood sugar levels.

 

[Lothar M Kirsch]

Rie: you´re doing fine, now it´s up to your body.

Sandiemac: your problems are much different, but you handle them with expert knowledge.

Got to edit this one: what is the contents of sucralose?

 

[Rie]

Lothar,

From what I understand, sucralose is simply sugar that has been altered to be nondigestable (or something along those lines.) It is made from sugar. Here's some more info:

http://www.splenda.com/page.jhtml?id...betes/main.inc

http://www.splenda.com/page.jhtml;js...s/prodinfo.inc

 

[jenni]

i got diagnosed with type 2 in february. so far they say i can control it with diet and exercise but i've gotten zero help from my doctor with all of this because he seems to think that i need meat to keep my blood sugar down. yarrr.

what's worked for me has been checking labels on EVERYTHING for carbs and limiting myself to a 3 carb breakfast (usually oatmeal with peanut butter...it really sticks with you), a 4 carb lunch (usually leftovers from the previous night's dinner plus a piece of fruit and some raw veggies) and a 5 carb dinner. i'm horrible about snacking, though. i've lost 10 lbs since then (without exercising!) and when i got a check-up a couple of weeks ago, my random blood sugar check was 111. (zing! in your face, diabetes!)

so, i guess it just all depends on where in the continuum you are. it sounds like we might be pretty close to the same place, though. so, if it helps, i get all of my recipes from Vegan Planet cookbook and just take some time to figure out how many carbs are in each meal and what appropriate portion sizes are. diabetes really sucks, but if you're type 2, you can beat this.

 

[Rie]

Just for anyone interested, here's the list of all products containing splenda. Some are veg*n, some aren't:

http://www.splenda.com/library/asset...ithsplenda.pdf

 

[Syntax]

Sucralose is a derivative of sugar, made by replacing three hydroxy groups with chlorine groups. I can't grab an exact structure right now (can't get a link to either database), but I strongly suspect that these modify the hemi-acetal chemistry, so that the bond between the monomers, and the ring cyclation reactions, are blocked from enzymic catalysation. Still leaves one to place, so I'm thinking around the available reducing carbon. If you want more info, just ask. I'm a chemist, and I've got a universtity here with a lot of sugar chemists spending faar too much time 'studying sugars' in the coffee room

Jargon free: Bits of sugar moleclues are repaced with something different, so that the body can't break it down. [0]

It's worth noting that, along with all the other artifical sweetners, there have been safety concerns raised over long term use of sucralose. Some are spurious, other are real questions, as yet unansweared. Here's a couple of web sites, giving both sides:

anti: http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/

pro: http://www.caloriecontrol.org/sucralos.html

Like all things, the best advice is, in my opinion, 'everything in moderation'. Another point of view is that sucralose might cause problems, whilst diabeates will cause problems. Don't stop using it on the basis of a few claims on a web page - but do keep an eye on the matter.

Good to hear your all getting the diabetes under control.

Stuart.

[0] Hmm. You'd probably guessed that though

 

[Lothar M Kirsch]

I looked up the information Splenda gives to physicians. It makes me nervous if somebody shows a glossy leaflet and doesn´t present scietific research. Not even the chemistry is mentioned.

Thanks Stuart. But what happens, if the molecule breaks up at the sites that are not near the chlorine groups? How reactive might me such particles?

 

[Syntax]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lothar M Kirsch

... what happens, if the molecule breaks up at the sites that are not near the chlorine groups? How reactive might me such particles?

It's going to take me a few days to collate enough information to even stab at that. I'll post what I find next week.

Stuart