Any diabetic vegans?

Question

I am having trouble keeping my GL at healthy levels! I don't eat foods with added sugars but I crave bread all the time, I try to replace it with seeds and nuts but ughhh its so difficult. I've been vegan since November 2016 and have been diagnosed for less than a year. any suggestions, comments or tips?

Mountainmystic · Answer

I have a few tips for you. I agree with Dr. Taylor on the saturated fats. Think of when you eat potato chips or fried foods, you crave more.  I have to regulate my blood sugar also. I've done it naturally for 20 years without medicine. I have used a glucose monitor, H1C blood tests, and more important I know by body and when something is off. If you are eating white bleached flour breads, switch to only 100% whole wheat flour or 100% whole grains. Read the labels on the bread. I can eat 100% whole wheat or grain bread and it does not spike my blood sugar levels. White flour does. I like Killer Dave's Power Seed bread. It is sweetened with fruit juices. What's sweet about the bread is why and how he started the company. I like to support companies like this with a socially conscious thread. We are all on this Earth together. We have to do the best we can to help each other.

Eat small meals every 2 to 3 hours. Try to stay away from the cereals, processed foods, & snack foods with refined sugars. You can make whole grain cookies using almond or cashew milk (unsweetened) and home made applesauce (no refined sugar added)  as a sweetener. It just takes a commitment & discipline.

I eat a lot of vegetables, whole grains, and a few portions of fresh fruit every day. Blueberries and raspberries are good for blood sugar. I slice up a banana or peach with breakfast and sprinkle a tsp. of cinnamon (plain) on my cereal & mix it in with the almond milk and puffed rice or grain cereal (no sugar). The cinnamon will help lower the blood sugar and counteract the higher sugar in the banana. 

I have found that if my blood sugar is off, after eating something with too much natural sugar (or if I eat something with refined sugar at a restaurant hidden in ingredients) and it spikes my sugar, I eat an apple. It brings it down. Like anything, moderation is the key. With health, there is a mind-body connection and component. Low or high blood sugar can be related to not having sweetness in your life or after a relationship break up. Just a few things to ponder. Take the information that resonates with you, and see what works for you. All I can offer is what has worked for me. Every body is different. I encourage you and wish you the best at regulating your blood sugar with diet. Hang in there. You will feel so much better in mind, body, & spirit.

Mountainmystic · Answer

Dr. Jenna Taylor--thank you so much for sharing nutritional info., and your nutritional knowledge. I binged/googled Dr. Michael Gregor on Beans & The Second Meal effect. I watched the you tube 3 minute video, that was very well-presented in a short form. Even those with a non-scientific background can understand this. Now, I have learned that eating beans (lentil beans, chick peas, or other beans) for breakfast will moderate blood sugar over many hours over the course of 24 hours plus or minus. Feed the good bacteria in your stomach & they feed you back, as Dr. Gregor indicated. A great simple to understand concept.  He's a great presenter of information, especially in our modern age with many people wanting sound bites and quick summaries.

So if we eat lentils, beans, or chickpeas for breakfast and bread for lunch (with maybe some brown rice & beans or a soup), this will reduce glucose levels significantly, as long as one is not eating refined sugar in bulk to offset the glucose reduction (people with high or low blood sugar being more susceptible).

I am a person formally educated in science and work as a professional. I am always reading, researching, & learning about things that interest me in science and metaphysics. It's like operating in 2 extremes at times, but mind-expanding, and I wouldn't trade the knowledge and abilities I have developed for anything. It's amazing once one opens their mind to unlimited knowledge. I can and do learn something from every person I meet. I see it as a great opportunity. Everyone has a piece of the life puzzle. 

I will look up Dr. Neal Barnard's lectures and learn more. Thank you for doing what you do as a medical doctor, performing clinical trials, and helping people get healthier & better. You are advancing plant-based and vegan nutrition and the science behind it. It's refreshing to see in modern medicine. I  am going to read more articles in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Thanks again for sharing.

Mountainmystic · Answer

Dr. Jenna Taylor--is the plant based approach to medicine more of an integrative type medicine? I know your plant based medicine approach is just one factor in the wellness of the patient. It seems like a vegetarian or vegan diet, often opens people's minds to alternative or integrative medicine. It has for me and others. Like Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher believed--living with nature will help one to be the most happy.

So if we consume fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains, and spend a lot of time in nature, then our bodies will be healthier by being in sync with our minds. And our spirit will be happier and more in balance. A sort of integrative mind-body-spirit connection and approach to wellness. Just a few thoughts to ponder.

Coutlernile · Answer

My mother is vegan and suffering from diabetics over 2 years.

betterMonica · Answer

Any bread based on flax flour and amaranth will give you pleasure.

Edieavala · Answer

In order to control diabetes, one must control the emotional and mental health. Even My mom is from Vegan and suffering from diabetes, she is also dealing with memory loss since she got retired from the office. Due to the busy schedule, we don't get enough time to spend with her and to listen to her in deep. So my dad decided to call the Eldercare lawyers ( www.scottcounsel.com/ ) for help, the lawyers are there with her all the time, taking care of her.

Search HappyCow

Vegan Health & Nutrition Discussion Forum