Blood Sugar And Gluten-free Flours

[Gram2Bri]

I have been diagnosed with DH for seven years and just recently got a great cookbook which has a great gluten-free Foccacia Bread recipe in it. I have gone overboard and eaten it every day--sometimes several pieces a day. I just had a blood test which indicates that my blood sugar is at 211--very high, and they told me that this is considered pre-diabetic. (My diabetic friend tells me that this is terribly high). This has never happened to me before and I wondered if it could be caused by all of the cornstarch and rice flour that I have been eating. I come from a family with diabetes and realize that at my age (57), I could be getting diabetes anyway--but I really want to lower this blood sugar count and am thinking I should stop eating bread altogether. Can anybody help me? TIA--

Gram

[chatycady]

I have been diagnosed with DH for seven years and just recently got a great cookbook which has a great gluten-free Foccacia Bread recipe in it. I have gone overboard and eaten it every day--sometimes several pieces a day. I just had a blood test which indicates that my blood sugar is at 211--very high, and they told me that this is considered pre-diabetic. (My diabetic friend tells me that this is terribly high). This has never happened to me before and I wondered if it could be caused by all of the cornstarch and rice flour that I have been eating. I come from a family with diabetes and realize that at my age (57), I could be getting diabetes anyway--but I really want to lower this blood sugar count and am thinking I should stop eating bread altogether. Can anybody help me? TIA--

Gram

Well, I know I get very LOW blood sugar (hypoglycemia) from gluten-free grains. I don't eat any of it now. Most gluten -free breads are even higher in carbs than regular bed, so I would think it would be a problem for people with blood sugar issues.

Sorry - I'm not much help.

[ravenwoodglass]

211 is quite high if it was a fasting blood sugar. Did they do an A1C test on you? That measures your average BS over a three month period. Your blood sugar can be raised by being ill, were you sick when you took the test?

I would pick up a book on the glycemic index of foods and pick from ones that are low index. I would also cut out all high fructose corn syrup and lower the amount of carbs that you take in. I am hoping your doctor gave you a script for a BS meter and test strips. With those you can test your BS at home after eating, complete instructions will come with the kit, it will show you the impact of the foods you are eating. Excercise can help bring the BS levels down also. I would not rush to meds if you can avoid it. Try changing your diet first. The diet changes may not be enough but they are worth a try with all the nasty side effects to the drugs.

[AZKat]

211 is quite high if it was a fasting blood sugar. Did they do an A1C test on you? That measures your average BS over a three month period. Your blood sugar can be raised by being ill, were you sick when you took the test?

I would pick up a book on the glycemic index of foods and pick from ones that are low index. I would also cut out all high fructose corn syrup and lower the amount of carbs that you take in. I am hoping your doctor gave you a script for a BS meter and test strips. With those you can test your BS at home after eating, complete instructions will come with the kit, it will show you the impact of the foods you are eating. Excercise can help bring the BS levels down also. I would not rush to meds if you can avoid it. Try changing your diet first. The diet changes may not be enough but they are worth a try with all the nasty side effects to the drugs.

Have you tried adding some brown rice flour and other whole grain flours to the mix?

It's a good idea to have protein with the bread too, it will help balance out the rate

of digestion so it doesn't all hit the bloodstream at once.

[ranger]

I have been diagnosed with DH for seven years and just recently got a great cookbook which has a great gluten-free Foccacia Bread recipe in it. I have gone overboard and eaten it every day--sometimes several pieces a day. I just had a blood test which indicates that my blood sugar is at 211--very high, and they told me that this is considered pre-diabetic. (My diabetic friend tells me that this is terribly high). This has never happened to me before and I wondered if it could be caused by all of the cornstarch and rice flour that I have been eating. I come from a family with diabetes and realize that at my age (57), I could be getting diabetes anyway--but I really want to lower this blood sugar count and am thinking I should stop eating bread altogether. Can anybody help me? TIA--

Gram

211 is very high,especially if it is a fasting bg. I am a diabetic, and could not get my blood sugar under control. My doc kept wanting to up my meds or even put me on insulin. I started on metformin, but that didn't really help much (blood sugar still about 300) and it made me sick.So, I switched to glyburide. It brought my blood sugar down to the 200 area, but still made me sick. By accident, I found out that it wasn't the meds making me sick, but gluten. As I started to lessen my gluten intake, I noticed my blood sugar coming down. Now. 2 months gluten free, my morning readings are NORMAL! I have halfed my meds, and soon will quit them. Just waiting to get an up to date AIC. But I do find that if I eat a lot of gluten-free bread, it will raise my bg, so you might want to lighten up on that. And, PLEASE, get tested Susan

[missy'smom]

Yes, please do get properly tested, at least a glucose tolerance test that measures you reaction to glucose over an extened time with multiple blood draws. The more info you have the better. Then you'll know exactly what's going on and how to address it. Guessing doesn't help and too many doctors wait too long before testing and helping their patients manage it. And too many doctors accept too high BG's. If you catch it and manage it sooner you can cut the risks of complcations later. Don't leave it up to fate, family genetics etc. certain things are not inevitable. There are things that you can do to take control.

[RollingAlong]

www.bloodsugar101.com is a great web site for all issues related to blood sugar. This website will explain exactly how to get your numbers down and keep them there, with lots of links to the relevant research.

Elana's pantry has some wonderful recipes that happen to be gluten-free and glycemic index friendly.