Beans and Diabetes

louisefour · Mon Aug 16, 2004 1:13 pm

I got my training about what to eat for diabetes a long time ago, but I was told to be very careful of beans and treat them the same as a carb. Have any diabetics out there tracked the effect of beans on their sugars while on the beach. I want to eat more beans, because I worry about the cholesterol thing, but I worry about the blood sugars.

Burdle · Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:34 pm

Hi. I was waiting to see if anyone with diabetes would answer your question, because I really don't know the answer. I would suggest you eat 1/2 cup of beans by themselves, then take your blood sugar an hour later and see if it effects your blood sugar. It might in some, hopefully it won't for you.
Burdle The Bean Queen
172/128/120 started 1/5/04

Cetaganda · Fri Aug 20, 2004 2:18 am

louisefour wrote: I got my training about what to eat for diabetes a long time ago, but I was told to be very careful of beans and treat them the same as a carb. Have any diabetics out there tracked the effect of beans on their sugars while on the beach. I want to eat more beans, because I worry about the cholesterol thing, but I worry about the blood sugars.

I am going to submit your question to another forum which has a diabetics thread ... because there are people there who are much more experienced at living with diabetes and being on the South Beach Diet. I'll get back to you soon. If I forget, please send me a PM (private message).

Burdle · Fri Aug 20, 2004 11:20 am

Hi, Linda. Thanks, even tho I don't have diabetes, I'd like to know the answer as my best friend does, weighs 300 lbs., and I've been trying to convince her to go SBD.
Also, thanks for the 'free advertising'!
Burdle

Cetaganda · Fri Aug 20, 2004 4:00 pm

louisefour wrote: I got my training about what to eat for diabetes a long time ago, but I was told to be very careful of beans and treat them the same as a carb. Have any diabetics out there tracked the effect of beans on their sugars while on the beach. I want to eat more beans, because I worry about the cholesterol thing, but I worry about the blood sugars.

Hi louisefour and Burdle,

Here are the two answers I got for your question from more experienced diabetics:

Answer #1:

"I agree with Linda.. there is no point in staying on phase 1 if you're feeling that badly. Head straight to phase II. You'll see your readings will still be good.

One word of caution. Unlike other people on the South Beach Diet who are NON diabetics.. we must still watch carb intake even though they are "good" carbs ... it's really more a phase 1 1/2 we're striving for."

Answer #2:

"My experience as a diabetic is that I have to be careful of beans - they raise my blood sugar, so use them in moderation - let's say 1/4 cup of chick peas in a salad, or mixed with green beans, and have it with protein (lean meat, eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds, and whole grains). It would be a mistake for us to eat a cup AS our protein and think that it won't raise our blood sugar. The beauty of that little glucose meter and test strip is that you can prove this to yourself. It isn't based just on someone else telling you so.

If you are feeling weak on phase I, I would say that you aren't eating enough and could try adding a phase II food. By now, the two weeks are probably past, but add phase II foods slowly, only one at each meal.

If you are on a medication that lowers your blood sugar by getting your pancreas to produce more insulin, you might feel weak because your blood glucose level might get too low. If you are on a medication that just deals with insulin resistance, that shouldn't happen. For anyone wanting feedback, it would help if you listed what you are eating, because without that we really can't figure it out."

Now for a request from me (Linda/Cetaganda): I am trying to get all diabetics to gather on the following thread: "DIABETICS ON THE BEACH New thread please join us". If you haven't found us yet, please join us there and post away.. Thanks! 8)

Burdle: you are most welcome. I added the "free advertising" :wink: to my signature because your bean thread has benefited me a lot already; and I want to help everyone else know about your valuable and extremely popular thread on the Recipes and Food sub-forum.. :D

Burdle · Fri Aug 20, 2004 8:46 pm

Again, thanks, Linda. It is nice to feel welcomed on threads where I really don't belong, but I went on SBD to avoid diabetes. My paternal grandmother had it. I eat as low GI as I possibly can.
I would also like to point out that different types of beans have different carb counts. One day last week I took out 3 or 4 different kinds of beans from my cupboard, and found a vast difference between dried large lima beans, which I think were 22 g. carbs for 1/4 c. dry beans (sorry, we ate those so I'm not sure...), these I have sitting before me right now: Black beans, 23 g., Great Northern beans, 22 g., Cannellini beans, 27 g. The first 3 types of beans are 70 calories, the last, 150 calories. Fiber, Black beans 15g, Great Northern, 13g, Cannellini, 4g.
Bet you didn't know I held court with all my beans...
Just wanted to show you all that all beans are not created equal.
I'd go for the ones with the lowest calorie, most fiber. Think I'll give away the Cannellini beans, and not buy them again.
Burdle

OldGreyBob · Sat Aug 21, 2004 4:14 pm

I am a type 2 diabetic I watch both my blood sugar and diet very carefully. I notice that when chickpeas are in my diet my blood glucose goes up 10 points the next morning!

This does not happen with green beans, navy beans or white kidney beans. I guess that every beans is different!

louisefour · Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:30 pm

Thank you all for your input. I am going to start testing myself after eating beans. and am going to post another question about this on the diabetes thread.


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