Newly Diagnosed Diabetic coming for Xmas!!

morganlefay

French and italian salads usually have a standard vinaigrette made of roughly one third lemon juice/wine vinegar + two thirds nice oil (olive, groundnut, rape, sunflower). can add mustard, sugar (some say this VERY bad) herbs, a splash of balsamic vinegar, honey etc etc. I use more oil than this usually. BUT he doesn't need to stick to salads as all the folk above have said. I know a woman who - when her Oh was first diagnosed - used to say loudly to waiters 'My husband can't eat that he's diabetic' and I'd watch him cringe. But we diabetics don't need to be treated like lepers. I eat more or less normally (but a 'healthy' diet). I never have orange juice (unless having a hypo, which I don't very often) or pineapple or mango or jam or honey except in very small amounts, but I'd eat a normal Xmas lunch, with fewer roasties and less bread sauce than I used to, and if it's following a sensible plateful of non-sweet things I would have a small helping of pud with custard or cream or whatever. I would eat one or two chocs and a small piece of Xmas cake. It will not kill him and it's only one day a year (plus his birthday of course). it does sound as if a kindly dietitian's advice would be good. But if in doubt go to the Diabetes Uk website and buy a diabetic cookbook (very similar to the GI diet books) Anthony Worral Thompson has written one which is full of nice 'normal' food.
Cheer up - he will get used to it, there are hundreds (thousands) of us out here and we eat quite nicely most of the time and stay healthy and happy ! Good luck ................

mardatha

No dietician so far, just a practice nurse who handed us a leaflet with a pile of veg on the front. Most of the problem is himself being a virgo pain in the !!!.
I know.... I'm just SO caring .. thanks everybody.

morganlefay

It is all very bewildering to start with and it doesn't sound as if you were very kindly treated. Ask to see a dietitian (even if there's a wait) You can't be expected to know how to do it from a leaflet, and they should give you a bit more support if he's miserable about it all - it really isn't the end of the world, tho it does feel like it to start with. One small consolation - alcohol is supposed to lower blood sugars - I've never put this to the test, but he might be a bit cheered up especially over Xmas (now I expect someone might be tempted to tell me that's irresponsible, but sometimes we need all the cheerful things we can get ) :beer:

Olliebeak

I might be a good idea for you to go along to see the dietician with him so that you can ask the necessary questions and confirm in front of him that he doesn not have to 'become a martyr to his diabetes'.

For many males who are diagnosed as 'diabetic' one of the worst things to deal with is having to restrict/reduce/cut out their alcohol intake - all of which depend on how severe the diabetes is.

Love the description of a 6ft 3yr old 'in a snit' .

mardatha

He doesnt drink. But I might drink his share !!

charliee_3

cinnamon is supposed to have a stabilising effect which is a nice christmassy flavouring.. also i have heard that if you have something sugary, you can balance it out by having something like cheese after it to lower the GL...

i cant see he'd need to do anything different christmas wise really.. just dont buy many sweeties.. this is your chance to show him its not a complete end to fun xx

Dazi

My 15 yr old DSD is a type 1 diabetic, diagnosed at 10, when she was first diagnosed it was all, can't eat this, can't eat that, seemed very daunting. Me and her mum both went through our cupboards and got rid of all goodies. 5 years on and its all carb counting and adjusting the insulin to carb intake. Much easier. I tend to cook most things from scratch and had a problem cos the nurse and her mum said just read off the back of the packet! I devised a spreadsheet so I could put my recipies in and get the carb content. So whatever I cook now I put into the spreadsheet and can work out the carbs. It does mean weighing things, but you soon get to know how many carbs in a scoop of potato etc then you can guestimate. The spreadsheet works best for cakes etc.

I try to cook to a balanced diet so TBH she eats whatever we do, at xmas she has what we have but maybe a smaller portion of the pudding.

thriftlady_2

thriftlady wrote: »

My dad's diabetic and he always eats what everyone else is eating at Christmas. I provide a tropical fruit salad as an alternative pud (fresh pineapple, grapes, melon, mango -no sugar) but he generally has a bit of Xmas pud and watches his intake of other sweet things.

morganlefay wrote: »

I never have orange juice (unless having a hypo, which I don't very often) or pineapple or mango

Is my fruit salad not suitable then? Pineapple and mango too sugary? What would be good fruits that are also a bit special and festive?