Diabetes – cheese and bread, carbs – please help!?
Please answer only if you are an expert or have experience with diabetes (no "I think" please): My grandmother has type 2 – she is in her 80′s. She loves grilled cheese sandwiches when they go out for dinner but grandfather thinks the cheese raises her blood sugar. I think it might be the carbs in the bread.
My question is this: can she have cheddar cheese? Is wheat bread good for her? (I thought carbs were bad). What do you think could be causing this problem / are there any food she should definatly stay away from? Any help would be great, as she is getting to the point where she doesn’t want to eat anything. thanks so much!
I want to thank you all for your answer! It will be hard to pick the best!
Many great answers ahead of mine. Take note of them.
One thing I didn’t see addressed there is the fat/carbohydrate BALANCE. Diabetics need to try to eat HEALTHY, as I’m sure you’re aware. That means no more that 20% of our calories should come from fat, and most from COMPLEX carbs.
My mother is 85. She and her friends sometimes eat one main meal, and very small snacks till bed. So something like a grilled cheese has not one, but two problems. First, the amount of calories from fat is way out of balance to the carbs. Second, the type of carbs, even in ‘wheat’ bread, unless it’s homemade, is still a simple carb, not a complex one, and converts to glucose very fast, spiking blood sugar.
In addition, at 80, there’s probably not a good BALANCE between her diet and exercise, which will compound the problem.
I’d suggest going to a lunch with true complex carbs–a tasty one is stir fry, no noodles, meat as a condiment, and short on soy sauce. Or perhaps half a grilled cheese with a green salad, and low fat dressing. Just SOME way to balance the fat/carb ratio and achieve a slower glucose uptake. To that end, I’d also recommend a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon daily, as it is a natural glucose regulator.
That having been said, the grand dame is an octogenarian, and deserves to live well and with dignity. Best of luck.
admin on October 14th 2009 in Carbohydrate Counting Diabetes Diet
I love my AGGIE!! responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 8:58 am #
Carbs are bad for your blood sugar. There are carbs in just about anything you eat though. Somehow eventually everything breaks down in to carbs. It is more the bread than the cheese though. The easiest things to eat that are usually low in carbs are vegetables or some fruits or meats. They do make sugar free bread though. I’ve bought it at the store before and its not bad at all. That might be a better alternative for her if she likes grilled cheese sandwiches so much. At least she can eat them at home more.
I’m diabetic and I know how hard it is sometimes. I hope this helps at least a little bit.
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Medic_13 responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 9:14 am #
Cheese has very few carbs. The bread has a lot. The only way that you will know for sure is to look at the packaging for the ingrediants and count the carbs. Remember to look at the serving sizes. The bread is probably listed per slice, so remember there will be two slices in the calculation.
Wheat bread is the best for reasons that don’t really pertain to diabetes. The flour is easier to break down in her system, but it has the same amount of carbs.
Remember, with diabetics it is extremley important that she does have some carbs. The amount should have been determined by her dietician or doctor. If she does not eat enough carbs, the medications she takes can cause her blood sugar to drop below 60, and that is very dangerous.
If you check out your local book store, there are a lot of good recipe books out there for tasty, but diabetic friendly food. My wife and I recently bought one of these for her father, (a newly diagnosed type 2), and we have been cooking some of these recipes for us too (even though neither of us is diabetic.) They are quite good, and I am sure your grandmother could find many recipes that are good for her diabetes and her tastebuds.
Hope this helps.
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dukefan86 responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 10:02 am #
When choosing wheat bread, make sure you shoot for whole grain….that will help. Carbs do raise blood sugars, but our bodies need some carbs to funtion properly. While cheese has few carbs, it’s usually high in fat and salt. You might want to consider using swiss cheese, as swiss had one of the lowest sodium counts of the cheeses out there. Another suggestion: when eating out, ask that butter not be used for grilling the grilled cheese, and leave off the mayo/dressing that may be added with the cheese. A slice of tomato is a healthy and yummy addition to a grilled cheese.
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Personal experience as a diabetic
gy650 responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 10:46 am #
Diet Guidelines
http://www.diabetes911.net/readit/chapter10.shtml
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Dawn S responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 11:18 am #
I take care of my disabled father who has diabetes. He loves grilled cheese too. It’s manly the bread that makes the blood sugar go up. I make him a balanced meal for all his meals to help keep things in order. You have to watch how much starch a diabetic gets in one day. Your body turns it to sugar.
For more information on this check out the American diabetes Association. link below
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http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp
Cracker responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 11:47 am #
The cheese is okay, but bread is very high in carbohydrates and does raise blood sugar. If she is going to eat bread it should be a whole grain variety.
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Cammie responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 12:20 pm #
An 80 yr old deserves to eat whatever she wants. Grilled cheese is fine.
Cheese is protein and fat and has no carbs.
Bread is a carb- about 15 grams per slice so just reflect that in her total carb counts.
A meal can have about 60-75 grams of carbos . Her meds should be adjusted to accommodate these already.
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nett responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 12:34 pm #
Cheese does have some carbs but not like the bread. It is possible that the carbs in the bread are raising her blood sugar. I am type 1 and have to be very careful how many carbs I eat at one time. As for what types of bread to eat – whole grain is always best and just so you know 15g of carbs equal 1 carb. Lets say you’re eating a piece of bread and this slice has a total of 16g that is 1 carb and 1g. But also know that fiber plays a role in this. If you are eating this slice of bread and it’s 16 grams of carbs but has 2g of fiber then you would actually be getting a total of 14g of carb. When looking at carbs you take the total number of carbs and subtract the fiber to come up with the correct amount of carbs being consumed. This is how I calculate taking my insulin and it works every time. Either way know that carbs play a big role on glucose/blood sugar levels and yes it is possible it’s the bread and not the cheese. It is also possible she might need her medicine dose upped if she takes any. Hope this helps
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Dorothy and Toto responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 12:40 pm #
Many great answers ahead of mine. Take note of them.
One thing I didn’t see addressed there is the fat/carbohydrate BALANCE. Diabetics need to try to eat HEALTHY, as I’m sure you’re aware. That means no more that 20% of our calories should come from fat, and most from COMPLEX carbs.
My mother is 85. She and her friends sometimes eat one main meal, and very small snacks till bed. So something like a grilled cheese has not one, but two problems. First, the amount of calories from fat is way out of balance to the carbs. Second, the type of carbs, even in ‘wheat’ bread, unless it’s homemade, is still a simple carb, not a complex one, and converts to glucose very fast, spiking blood sugar.
In addition, at 80, there’s probably not a good BALANCE between her diet and exercise, which will compound the problem.
I’d suggest going to a lunch with true complex carbs–a tasty one is stir fry, no noodles, meat as a condiment, and short on soy sauce. Or perhaps half a grilled cheese with a green salad, and low fat dressing. Just SOME way to balance the fat/carb ratio and achieve a slower glucose uptake. To that end, I’d also recommend a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon daily, as it is a natural glucose regulator.
That having been said, the grand dame is an octogenarian, and deserves to live well and with dignity. Best of luck.
References :
Rock Quarry responded on 14 Oct 2009 at 12:45 pm #
Tell her to get on the Atkins diet.Buy her the book.It works.Its not really so much a diet, but a great meal plan for diabetics.
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