Korean Job Discussion Forums

[asatruteacher]

I've only been here a couple of weeks, but one of the problems I've been having is finding food with no or low sugar content. A friend pointed out the word that Koreans use to refer to sugar in their food, but I'm beginning to think that it only means ADDED sugar.

Could someone help me with this? Could you suggest some low sugar foods?

Danny

[gazz]

Sorry I carn't help you with your request.

Have you got a bracelet or neck chain that states you are diabetic (In Korean)?

I assume you have/your doctor in your own country thought of this, if not get one ASAP!

[sarbonn]

My advice is to stick to the staples of food for your food intake. Korea isn't really known for its attention to dietary food. They do have sodas that have no calories, like Coke products and such, but I can't state that you're probably going to like the taste. I drink CocaCola Zero here, and it tastes mostly awful, but it's about the best I can find.

I'd focus on water as a general drink, although you have to be careful to make sure it's not salted water, because a lot of diabetics have problems with salt intake as well, leading to high blood pressure and other such complications.

What's most important is to get in touch with a doctor that you are going to be seeing regularly, and don't be afraid to dump him or her and find someone else if you find one of those "I'm the only one who knows anything" doctors that I've run into too many times since I've been here. There's no worse feeling than having to argue with your doctor because he thinks he's the end all in knowledge, when in fact he's got just a little bit more knowledge than anyone else, but feels that everyone should do as he says.

[OiGirl]

You can get a list of low-sugar Korean foods from a doctor. (Or elsewhere, I'm sure, but I first saw it when a friend had gestational diabetes.)

Are you ordering food in restaurants or buying packaged food in a store? The Nutritional Information labels have quite a bit of info, but it's sometimes hard to find. It's all mashed up together, not in neat columns like it might be in other countries.

[Crockpot2001]

Edit: the below response was written making the ASSumption the OP has DM. Sorry.

Love,
ASS



http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=148580&highlight=

Above is a link to some translations I did for food labels. Although I did not translate sugar, I did translate other factors that are important for those with DM such as saturated fat, fiber, carbohydrates, and sodium are included along with some micronutrients.

I might also suggest you contact the Korean dietetic Association as some dietitians are DM educators. I will say that they were slow to respond in English and you may wish to have a Korean help you make contact. In addition, I think Dr. Love (found on this site sometimes) has English speaking dietitans.

Cheers,
Crockpot

[dr. love]

We have a diabetes education center at our hospital that can help you with choosing appropriate food. English service is available

Feel free to contact me for any help.
http://www.khnmc.or.kr/eng/index.html

[greedy_bones]

There's tons of low sugar food here. I'm diabetic and go the low sugar, average complex carbohydrate route. Avoid the bakeries and toast, and you should be fine. If you want no carbohydrate, stick to some of the soups/stus and barbecue. If you want low sugar but are ok with rice and noodles, you can eat at any of the kimbap places. What sort of diet are you on?

Also, if you've had diabetes for a while, completely ignore anything Korean doctors tell you. I've been told to only take insulin 3 times a week, to try a brand new insulin type called Nph, and to eat 30g of beef and a head of cabbage every day.

[Illysook]

I hope that you chose a school in Seoul, because if you were at my school out in the boonies, you might be in a pickle. God bless!