Glycemic Index and Diabetes

One of the most confusing things as I've begun the process of trying to figure out diabetes, is just figuring out what I can and can't eat.  I've bought several books.  I've been researching things on diabetes.org.  I've been googling and scouring the internet for information.

One thing I've learned about is glycemic index.  A bunch of people way smarter than me have compiled a rating system for how fast sugar is absorbed in the blood stream.  This is important because one of the primary goals when handling diabetes is to keep the amount of sugar (or glucose) in your blood relatively constant.  You don't want it to spike too high after eating.

Here is a great resource that explains glycemic index as well as glycemic load.  Glycemic load is all about how much you can eat of a given food.  This is important because, for example, a piece of candy has a very high glycemic index, but if you just eat one piece, the load is not very high and therefore won't heavily affect your blood sugar.  (That's good news!  As a diabetic you can still eat candy, just watch how much you're eating.)

The information has been a bit overwhelming.  I asked my doctor about a million questions, just about food.  I have an amazing doctor that was very patient with all my questions.  If you have questions, make sure to ask your doctor.  You (or your insurance) are paying that individual a lot of money.  Get your money's worth.  The most valuable thing your doctor can give you is information.  So be sure to get it.

Here are a few links with info:

What is glycemic index? (linked above as well)
What are some good low GI foods?
Look up the GI of any food.
GI and GL for 100 common foods
List of low GI foods
List of high GI foods

Feel free to ask me any questions.  I will gladly answer what I know, but I am by no means a replacement for your doctor.

The Diagnosis

One month ago I was diagnosed with diabetes.  It terrified me.  I didn't know what to do.  I didn't know what to think.  I read online about blindness, neuropathy, amputaded limbs, deafness, heart disease and other complications.  Was this my fate?  Was I resigned to slowly degenerate into incredible pain and loss of all my sensory abilities?

The doctor said that with lifestyle changes I could prevent or at least delay these complications, but I was terrified of lifestyle changes.  Could I never enjoy food again?  Was I going to spend the rest of my life gnawing on a carrot?

I literally wept.  I'm not an emotional person.  But I wept.  I cried for hours.  My poor wife wanted to console me.  She wanted to give me comfort, but in that moment, there was no comfort.

She knows how much I like to travel.  She wanted to get my mind on something happy.  She said, "maybe if you lose some weight we could reward you with a neat trip to somewhere you've always wanted to go, like Tahiti."

I really love her.  She knows me really well.  That was an excellent thing to say.  But, unfortunately, at that moment, it was not consoling.  I lashed out at her, "My favorite thing while travelling is to eat food.  I can't enjoy food anymore.  What's the point?"

I went and laid in bed.  I cried some more.  She asked me what I needed.  I told her I needed to be left alone.  I needed to mourn.

I've learned a lot in the last month.  Diabetes doesn't have to be the terror I thought it was that first day.  I haven't arrived, by any means.  But I've begun a journey.  I thought that, perhaps, I could share some of the stops on my journey.  If it helps out someone else, then it was worth it.

I keep a journal, so I'll probably post a bunch of stuff from my journal over the next few days to get everything caught up to this point.  After that, my journey will be in real time.