"Robert of St Louis" > wrote in message
...
>I keep reading that I can have whole wheat bread and bagels. I hear so
> damned much about bread exchanges. But what if they are these 2 good
> choices?

Hi Robert,

That is because you are reading books about the wrong kind of diabetes, and
stuff that is recommended by the ADA (American Diabetes Association).
Follow their guidelines only if you want to have complications, lose a leg,
failed kidneys....etc.

One kind of diabetes is where the body no longer makes its own insulin
anymore. That is called Type 1 .... also Juvenile diabetes. The other
kind of diabetes, which you, and I, and so many others who are diagnosed
later on in life get is type 2. Type two is a complicated bunch of
symptoms that are characterized sometimes as Syndrome X. High cholesterol,
high blood pressure and high blood glucose.

With type two diabetes there are problems where the person has insulin
production, and has glucose in their blood, but for some reason as yet
unknown, they don't recognize one another. Some medications improve the
ability of the cells to be able to use the sugars in ones blood and some
stimulate the production of additional insulin.

All of this is a vast oversimplification of a complex disease. You can
manage it, but not cure it. If one chooses to ignore it, complications
will surely follow.

Some diabetics can have some bread products. You can only know for sure by
testing frequently. The only way to control your blood glucose is to count
carbohydrates and know what allowance is OK for you. Some try to stay
under 30 grams. Some can handle 100 per day. Your meter will be your
guide to see what will send your blood glucose soaring, and what will not.

There are lots of good books and lots of good advice out there. The best
free advice will come to you from alt.support.diabetes. Here we mainly
discuss recipes and food issues.

This is the BEST book to get that I know of..... THE FIRST YEAR TYPE 2
DIABETES by
Gretchen Becker. It contains lots of helpful information and is a source
you can return to again and again. You'll get lots more info from this
book than from most doctors who just don't have the time or patience to
explain the condition. Ms Becker has diabetes and has been thru all the
feelings that the diagosis brings to you. Plus, she is very proactive
about knowing all she can and taking charge of her life and condition.

--

Evelyn

The fool thinks he has won a battle when he bullies with harsh speech, but
knowing how to be forbearing alone makes one victorious.
Samyutta Nikaya I, 163