Hello. Reading about different diets for diabetics I'm confused which is the best one for T2DM. I'm convinced that it should be low carb. But apart from that what about fats and proteins? Should they be low, high or normal and why? There is lot of buzz about LCHF and also about low fat. How is high fat good? Will it not cause increased blood cholesterol and increased calorie intake leading to increased weight?
mo53
Expert
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- Type of diabetes
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Click here to understand LCHF in just 60 seconds, on the www.dietdoctor.com website
@tsalman hello. Have you had the information from @daisy1 ? It's excellent. The link above is very informative too.
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Hi and welcome.
There are only 3 basic types of food (macronutrients) - fats, carbs and proteins.
Everything we eat is made of one or more of the 3.
So if you reduce carbs, you either increase the other two, or you don't eat enough.
Of course, if weight loss is desired, then that is a good thing. But take it too far, and you gently starve to death, or get malnutrition.
So really, we each have to weigh up where we want our personal macros to be, depending on our exercise, fitness, health issues, appetite and medical history.
Me? I am low carb, high fat. The low carb controls my blood glucose (mainly veg, salad, dark choc). The 'normal' protein keeps things interesting. The fat fills me up and prevents hunger, and tastes delicious.
There are only 3 basic types of food (macronutrients) - fats, carbs and proteins.
Everything we eat is made of one or more of the 3.
So if you reduce carbs, you either increase the other two, or you don't eat enough.
Of course, if weight loss is desired, then that is a good thing. But take it too far, and you gently starve to death, or get malnutrition.
So really, we each have to weigh up where we want our personal macros to be, depending on our exercise, fitness, health issues, appetite and medical history.
Me? I am low carb, high fat. The low carb controls my blood glucose (mainly veg, salad, dark choc). The 'normal' protein keeps things interesting. The fat fills me up and prevents hunger, and tastes delicious.
daisy1
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- Type of diabetes
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- Tablets (oral)
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@tsalman
Hello and welcome to the forum As mentioned above, here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find this useful, especially the advice about carbs. Included in here is a link to the Low Carb Program which could be useful to you too. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Hello and welcome to the forum
As mentioned above, here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find this useful, especially the advice about carbs. Included in here is a link to the Low Carb Program which could be useful to you too. Ask more questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.
Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Thanks for the post. Well, this is quite understandable. So, I think I should go for low carb with normal fat and proteins till my weight comes within normal limit (currently my BMI is 28). Then I can switch to LCHF. What do you say?
Kristin251
Expert
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- 5,334
- Type of diabetes
- LADA
- Treatment type
- Insulin
That sounds perfect. Of course eat to your meter as well
I eat vlc, less than 20 carbs per day but many people eat higher. If I do my bs shoots up along with my weight. I eat moderate protein, .75 g per kg of IDEAL body weight and then I eat fat until I'm satisfied. My main fats are avocado, olive oil, olives and nuts. Then the occasional butter but that is my only dairy.I try to keep my saturated fats low and eat more mono fats. I have avocado with every meal or I am simply not satisfied. I don't gob fat but I never have a meal or snack without some.
