Diet woes with Type 2 Diabetes. Too many conflicting diets.

I am on The Mayo Clinic Diet diabetes plan. You can access this a couple of ways, there is a book available on Amazon, The Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet, a journal that goes with it. Lots of good info on how to choose your foods. This Diet plan is also available online, you pay for it. It includes an app, a website, tracking, recipes, lessons etc. I love it, I like to track food exchanges and get the nutrition info also. You can use their recipes or adjust your own.
The American Diabetes Association also has a food hub with lots of recipes, also many books to choose from.
Your Dr can refer you to a diabetes educator/dietician that insurance will pay for and will really help.

@denny2019 You are correct. There are many confusing diets out there today. @susieaz1548 points to a good dietitian who would be the best for helping you to decide. Just excellent advice, and if you live near a Mayo Clinic as I do in Arizona, make that appointment as their diet program is excellent. Your endocrinologist can guide you as well because many hospitals have specific programs for dieting and handling diabetes as I attended a weekly meeting for several months. This was a hands on class with other diabetics who would share their experiences. Totally worthwhile in my opinion.

Lastly, when you get your lab work done and appropriate A1C tests, make sure to include an eGFR test to monitor your kidney health as well. Diabetes that becomes uncontrolled cften affects the kidneys. Sounds like you are off to a terrific start.

I've always been in the pre-diabetes class with both my sisters and mother having diabetes. I found this video enlightening using humor and information to help me better understand diets related to diabetes and the food industry.

Dr. Jay Wortman - 'Undoing Atkins: A Cautionary Tale'

Do you know how much this plan is?

Shouldn’t a Diabetes Reversal diet be an anti/inflammatory diet?

No gluten, grains, dairy. Lots of non starchy veggies, meat, and low glycemic fruit. Limited alcohol and caeffine.

You can check out prices by Googling The Mayo Clinic Diet. They offer it monthly, 6 months or a year. You can see examples of the diet there. The diabetic plan offers lots of info and guidance. You choose from 6 different choices, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, Original Mayo diet, Simple Mayo Diet, Higher protein plan and healthy Keto. I am prediabetic and am doing the higher protein plan. You can easily switch plans to try the ones you want. This is not dirty, is is healthy eating and how to add good habits and get Reid of bad eating habits. You can get the books, Mayo Clinic Diet 3rd edition or The Mayo Clinic Diabetes 2nd edition ( 3rd edition comes out in September) from either Mayo website or from Amazon. You could preview the plan either from website or the books. There is also a Facebook group you could check out.

As far as the No gluten etc that is individual. Your endocrinologist and diabetes educator/dietitian would help with that. At this time I prefer to eat all the food groups, some in moderation.

Have any of you tried a low fat plant-based diet? I have read two books that promote this diet saying that it can reverse Type 1, Pre-diabetes, and Type 2 diabetes. The books are "Reversing Diabetes" by Dr. Neal Barnard and "Mastering Diabetes" by Cyrus Khambatta PhD, Robby Barbaro MPH , et al. They make the argument that the problem is not too many carbs, but too much animal fat. They recommend decreasing intake of processed foods and animal products; while eating all you want of plant-based whole foods that are not processed. It seems to be working for me bring my A1c down to 5.7 so far.

Hi Seapen

I am really glad this diet is working for you and your sugars are under control.
But, nothing can reverse diabetes. The only instance I have seen it in type 1 is if you have late onset diabetes caused by too much weight gain and an unhealthy diet, if one loses weight and eat a proper diet, I have seen the type 1 diabetes reverse but type 2 cannot be reversed only controlled with proper diet and exercise which may help with lowering a insulin dose. Although the books are written by people with many professional degrees. Dr. Barnard is a doctor but what kind of doctor? The other two do not qualify as doctors. I am sure they have provided you with good sound information but, Type 2 diabetes cannot be reversed but controlled and Type 1 only in certain conditions. You may want to research other information on diabetes. I hope this helps and I respect you for doing the diet which has helped control your blood sugars. Bravo!
At our hospital the dietitian gives our diabetic clients a regular diet with a smaller portion of food, low carbs deserts, but a small treat once in awhile.
No sugar free pop allowed or juices saturated with different types of sugars which can easily fool you.
Keep up the good work!

D. Somde, RN

Very Very good advice!

Just to add a little additional information regarding the commentary about diet and diabetes—-

Dr Neal Barnard is an MD and has been/may still be an Adjunct Professor at George Washington University among other notable achievements.

Cyrus Khambatta holds a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry.

It is my understanding that Type I diabetes is irreversible and may only be controlled, as the pancreas does not produce insulin; there is an absence of functional Beta cells.

Type ll diabetes, on the other hand, may not only be controlled but also potentially be reversed or reduced to a state of “remission”(there is a great debate about the definition of “state of remission”). There is insulin resistance as the Beta cells do not function properly. Weight loss can often contribute to better glucose control and improve insulin resistance. Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is important in all types of diabetes.

Type ll diabetes is often referred to as “late onset”, although the incidence of Type II in young people has been increasing in numbers.

Type I diabetes generally occurs early in life and is often referred to as “Juvenile Diabetes “. There are, however, relatively rare instances when Type I occurs later in life. Type lll is an additional, recently-recognized, by some experts, type of diabetes.

Research has shown that a plant-based approach to nutritional is generally beneficial to overall health and can be helpful to those who experience diabetes in any form.

Type 2 diabetes ran in my ancestors even though most were not overweight. I keep my diabetes under control but I don't expect to ever be able to "cure" it. However, I have a close relative in his early 40s whose fasting tests were in the 300s and high 200s! He was shocked into action and became extremely serious and faithful about exercise and eating properly. His fasting tests are now always well under 100!
Is he no longer diabetic? Does the answer depend on semantics, exactly how we define diabetic and diabetes?
If he had waited a decade or more to change his exercise and eating habits, would he have been able to achieve the same results? If he quit his present successful routine, would his high scores return?
Perhaps some people can reverse their Type 2 diabetes, but not cure it. Whichever, a good thing about Type 2 is that there is much we can do to improve our situation. So let's be determined to do it. Best wishes to all who are struggling with this.