Include a photo here if you wish to. Just not a good idea these days -
- What is your name? Chris
- How old are you? 53
- Are you male or female? Male
- Which country are you from? Britain
- Which city/area do you live in? North Yorkshire, but originally from East Fife
- Are you religious? I believe in the need for spirituality, but that any attempt to codify that is flawed.
- Pick three words to describe your personality. Not Going To
- Do you have any pets? yes - two fantastic cats.
- Microsoft or Apple? Wrong choice, you use services and you use hardware - choose what's best for you.
- Which sport(s) (if any) do you like/play? Some time in Jui Jitsu, kayaking, and currently paddleboarding, even in winter
- Do you get angry easily? Not usually.
- Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so, where? Nope
- List your five favourite musicians/bands. Crowded House, Pink Floyd, The The, Talk Talk, Talking Heads
- What would you say your favourite music genre is? Rock with emotional engagement
- What is your favourite flag? White rose of Yorkshire
- Ever gone camping? many times a year
- Ever been in love? Many times - and still very much in love
- Ever used fake tan? never
- Which countries have you visited? too many to list - grew up all over Africa and Asia
- Favourite city? Barcelona
- List your five favourite TV programmes. The Wire, The Expanse, Babylon 5,
- List your five favourite films. The Nightmare before Christmas, Seven Samurai, The Abyss, Fight Club, Magnolia
- Are you wealthy? No, but not struggling either
- Do you work? If so, as what? I'm at the center of a small startup making high tech satellite comms components.
- List the subjects you study/have studied. Don't think that's truly relevant, wanting to continue to learn is the important thing - I'm always studying
- What do you like most about yourself? being able to take on a problem knowing I can solve it.
- What do you like least about yourself? difficulty with self confidence in social situations
Surprising amount of sharing going on here, so I'll try to do my bit:
I was diagnosed in following a routine check-up in June of 2023 - but not clear whether Type 1 or 2 - I didn't fall easily into either camp, no family history but also in good shape, but I did have evidence of weight loss, excess urination, and drinking, so I can't argue with being put on medication as a type 1.
After about 6 months, 5 of which with increasing doses of insulin, the support team decided that the evidence pointed more at type 2, and I switched to Metformin.
And started again from scratch to try to better understand type 2 having spent the entire time so far concentrating exclusively on controlling blood sugar.
And was immediately horrified, even having spent half a year dealing with coming to terms with things.
I have a plan of action for my own condition, and I`ve really joined this forum to try to find a group in a comparable situation, and to further my own understanding. My powerful sense is that I've rapidly developed insulin resistance through a bone headed misunderstanding of how dangerous fructose is, thinking I had a well-controlled diet, with a consequence free treat in the form of honey. I think I've basically turned my liver into Foie Gras, which has rapidly overwhelmed my pancreas, and led to a diagnosis of type? diabetes, and then the treatment has (with all good intent) caused a stone of weight to go on and established the diagnosis but done nothing for my future health. I really, really don't want to come across as invalidating anyone else's situation, but my plan is to reverse this with ultra-low sugar diet and alternate day fasting.
I'm still using a CGM (from the type-1 diagnosis) so being careful but not had a chance to clear this plan with my GP. So, I'm really hoping to use this forum to meet any one in similar circumstances or with similar experience particularly with fatty liver and using intermittent fasting to reverse that.
If you've read all this, thanks for taking the time...
Chris
Hi Chris,
Sheesh, you've dealt with quite a bit, but you sound like you're ready to take this on. Okay, so... The non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is, as Dr. Google likely informed you by now, part of Metabolic Syndrome, and yes, blood sugar control should help with that, and practically all other components of that condition. Mind you, most specialists, and I am assuming that would then go for a GP too, believe there is nothing to be done about NAFLD. Case in point, the specialist told me that he'd see me again when I needed pain management for palliative care. According to that guy I had a date with a casket 6 years or so ago. It's low carbing that mended my liver and its function within a matter of months, though I took it slower than you intend to. Keep in mind that changing blood glucose rapidly can have its own drawbacks. I don't know whether alternate day fasting works for you, I don't know what you consider ultra-low sugar... But you have options, and some are more sustainable in the long run than others. Just keep in the back of your mind that your GP might not sign off on any of it, due to out-dated knowledge. Okay?
So, the "ultra low sugars", how many grams are we talking per day? Because you know it's not just sugars, practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested. If it's 20 grams
of carbs per day or under, you're going for a ketogenic diet, aka "keto", which would work. Lower than that, you'd be talking a carnivore diet, (only meat, poultry, fish, eggs and full fat dairy) which has its own risks. It works, oh boy, does it ever, but you have to get everything exactly right not to become deficient in certain rather vital vitamins and minerals. (And in my case, it made my urine so acidic my right kidney is a gravel pit full of stones). Scurvy is
not a thing of the past. So if you want to make sure you still get plenty of what you need, keep to a keto diet and hug those above ground veg as well.
As for fasting, some find it easier to just go for intermittent fasting, meaning possibly OMAD, (One Meal a Day), or having two. I usually break my fast around 1 p.m. for my breakfast/lunch, and start fasting again after dinner, around 6:30. That works just fine for me, two filling, nutricious meals, and possibly could for you too. If you want to fast more rigorously, by all means, do, but know it's not the only way to do this.
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help some with a ketogenic diet, as well as dietdoctor.com (no need to sign up, plenty of info on there available for free). Should you want to know more about a carnivore diet, check the youtube channel by Dr. Ken Berry. He's a rather enthusiastic and knowledgable Carnivore.
Keep in mind that it's likely insulin resistance that led to NAFLD in the first place. It's a bit of a domino-effect, insulin resistance causes a fatty liver, that in turn doesn't make a pancreas happy, hello T2. Tackling the carbs should make a massive, massive difference. You've got this.
Good luck!
Jo
