So, here's the situation
I have been vegan for over a year and I was doing pretty well, but I just found out I am diabetic and I saw the nutritionist last week and found out I have to limit my carbs to about 100-120 a day. This is a lot harder than it sounds. Even kethup has 5 grams for a tablespoon!!! Plus, I usually eat alot of pasta, potato's and cereal and my snacks have always been fruit (36gms for an apple!). My god even most vegetables have carbs and I won't even start on grains and beans. I have been wandering around my kitchen all week just staring and finding nothing to eat. I am starving. It is so easy for omni's to just eat chicken or other meat and cheese to lower their carbs and it sucks for me! Sorry about the rant, but I am so frustrated! Any suggestions? I don't have a lot of time to cook, and by the way I also have to lose about 30lbs...so low fat. At this rate it shouldn't be to hard by starvation!

I would take more of Flax seeds and also Alpha Lipoic Acid Tablets also known as ALA.
Instead of usual carb, try out Millet and Shorgum seed powder diet. They are filling as well as full of fiber.
You can get readymade Millet bread called "BAJARI NA ROTALA"  and JAWAR NA ROTLA" from Patel Brothers.
You can stone ground flour also.

You may have to develop taste for them.
You may also try eating Bitter gourd and its juice. again available only at Indian grocers like Patel brotheres in USA.

NJA

Hi! Im sorry you are so frustrated! It must be hard. I remember as a kid being put on a low carb diet because they thought I had diabetes and the only thing I could eat was pretty much meat and eggs. I hated meat wayyyyy before that, it was awful.

Anyways, I have heard that vegan diets can actually reduce type 2 diabetes...I cannot site any articles, maybe some of the links already posted have info on that, but if not, you should Google it.

Also, I have to agree with what others have said about the carbs. My understanding from working in nursing homes with diabetic residences is that the issue is really more about getting the RIGHT carbs in. The carbs in salad, for example, don't really count towards your carb intake for these purposes (but the ones in the salad dressing do!) The low carb diet for diabetics is different from the Atkins diet in which you attempt to lower/eliminate all carbs (that is the diet I was on as a kid-- my parents did not know the difference.) You still need to be careful about fruits, as those really can mess with your blood sugar levels. But I understand small amounts with a high protein snack are okay, and foods lower on the "GI" glycemic index (a measure of how fast carbohydrate foods are converted by the body into blood glucose) like I know cherries are pretty low on the GI, as are small apples and pears but dried fruits, pineapple and cantaloupe are moderately high to high.

Ok....I just googled the term "glycemic index" and here is a site I pulled up...its not veg but hopefully it will give you more info...I bet there are loads of good sites out there once you know where to look...probably even some for veg*ns with diabetes.....

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

I agree with Quintess  re: my reactions to your doctor!

My first thought when reading your post was to recommend Eat to Live. Joel Fuhrman has even written some articles specifically about it as related to diabetes:

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/diabetes-dr-fuhrman-low-carb-vs-eat-to-live-in-diabetes-reversal.html

I need to lose weight too (15 pounds at last Dr. visit, probably more now; thanks, new BCP!) and I need to lower my triglyceride levels. Thankfully my doctor (or her technician) was very specific to indicate that lowering carbs meant lowering BAD carbs. (I'm a pasta queen, so I was guilty of the bad carbs!) Maybe it was the "vegetarian" note on my file...

Also, since the new BCP I've noticed that it's been harder to lose weight. I've since cut my grain consumption down to next-to-nothing (save for the special occasion quinoa or rice--but it's the exception rather than the rule) and still feel satisfied and like I'm eating great food. Carb counts are still higher than your doc recommends (lots of fruit and beans), but it's still less than the average diet and it's full of the RIGHT stuff.

Good luck!

Whoa whoa whoa.

i wish i could find shit on this (i just googled and all i came up with were assholes that wanted to keep their body in ketosis --the goal of the atkins diet and super unhealthy), but if my memory serves me correctly it is something like 130-150g CHO/day that you have to get in order to keep your body out of ketosis (a bad thing). Do you have type I or II? I want more information, but I am pretty sure your nutritionist is dead wrong. i do know that at the hospital where we had many type II diabetics we gave them about 200gCHO/day and just spread it out between meals and snacks.

seitan is your friend! and beans! i think you can find a lot of meat subs that have low or no carbs at most grocery stores.

are you comfortable checking your sugars and everything? learn how certain foods affect you and work off of that.

I am new to being a vegan, too. I speak from experience because I have type 2 diabetes (also insulin dependant for 20+ years). Being vegan & eating the slower acting carbs has brought down my insulin dependance 10 fold. Diabetes testing by your doctor is done on an a1c scale. Anything below 7 is good. Since I have been a  vegan my a1c are around 6. Previously they were sometimes as high as 10. I eat foods such as pasta , quinoi, + fruit. I stay away from processed foods such as sugars & stick to extremely low fat. You would be surprised what can be cooked in water instead of oil. I highly recommend Dr. Neal Barnard's guide to a helathy life style. Try web sites like cancerproject.org & pcrm (I think) .org

Hi!!! Here in puerto rico we have a Dr. Norman and he create a diet or live style that clean your sistem and a lot of people thoose have diabetes dont haved now. Is a monodiet you only eat potatoes and carrots. Is hard but your sistem feels good. Im vegan and use like a diet and i want to adopt like a life style. im in transition. If you understand spanish you can find in internet. you eat potatoes, carrots, use liquid yeast for protein 3 times a day, and others stuff. if you want info write me by email. eval(unescape('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%6e%6c%64%66%6c%6f%72%65%73%33%30%40%67%6d%61%69%6c%2e%63%6f%6d%22%3e%6e%6c%64%66%6c%6f%72%65%73%33%30%40%67%6d%61%69%6c%2e%63%6f%6d%3c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b'))  God bless you.  ;)

I'm sorry to hear about your diabetes! that sucks the big one.

Grains, nuts and legumes should be a-okay, from what (little) I know about diabetes. If blood glucose spikes are what you're trying to avoid, complex carbs are the kind you want to eat, like beans nuts and grains, because they have alot of fibre  Which is awesome because it means your body will digest them slowly, so any glucose will be released slowly into your blood instead of all at once, like you get with simple carbs (sugars, white bread etc). A slow steady release will prevent the high blood sugar levels you're probably trying to avoid. This would probably be a good thing to see a dietician about, they would be able to give you a meal plan outline to follow or something to keep your blood sugar down.

I apologize if I've repeated things others have said, or if this isn't as relevant to you as I thought. I was too lazy to read all the posts :P good luck!

on a related note, my grandpa is in the hospital for some lung problems, and he was put on steroids that have induced diabetes...now the hospital gives him special "diabetic meals" consisting of the exact same foods he ate before, but anything containing sugar has been replaced with things with artificial sweetener. ugh. I know it helps, but I also know he could be so much healthier eating plant-based foods! I made him butternut squash soup for his birthday and brought a big batch there...but still, you'd think people would catch on and start serving things like chick pea salads or lentil stews or something like that. It's probably way cheaper than the meat, potatoes & 'diabetic' foods he gets now anyway. :P

I've been researching natural ways to control blood sugar as there's a strong history of Type II diabetes in my family. I've read that cinnamon contains an ingredient that is extermely effective at reducing the sugar count in your blood. I've recommended that to my mom and she's reporting lower levels in her last few tests (altho she's generally doing all else that she needs to do like medication etc.)
Also, among rices, basmati has the lowest Glycemic index so should a craving hit you, go for basmati..
Also I'd like to recommend Dr. Saul from http://www.doctoryourself.com/diabetes.html he's about orthomolecular medicine and supplementation.
Hope this helps and good luck. Sorry this wasn't exactly answering your question.