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Type 1: Low carb versus insulin for type 1

H

Hwrightyoga

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I have looked at the various low carb diets and recipes including the dr Bernstein book and the new 8 week blood sugar diet. I have been following a low carb over the last couple of days with a big reduction in my short acting insulin and background insulin. My blood sugars have been good between 5 and 7 after food and in the morning my short term has reduced from 12 units throughout the day to 5 and background from 14 7 morning and 7 night to 8 4 morning 4 night. One book says no fruit dr Bernstein which I don't think is good. Other is restrictive in calories. Can anyone who has been following low carb give me any advice thanks.
 
I occasionally enjoy 50g or thereabouts of blueberries or raspberries with full fat Greek yoghurt - and the occasional strawberry or three when they are ripe from my garden. ;) I have also recently started eating very small portions of black grapes - about 25-30g - and I'm careful to test my BG before and after to see what they are doing to me.

I am T2 and I used to inject insulin but I don't need to now as I eat a very low carb diet of less than 20g per day (and love it) but it does mean that most fruits are out of my carb range.
 
Can you say what is good about the fruits available to us?
We are told to eat them but not why.
'It's good for you' is not a reason.
I do eat berries, with cream or low carb yoghurt, selecting the lowest carb ones from the frozen fruit cabinet, as I seem better at portion control with them - and I love grapes and melon and can eat small amounts without geting an ! from my meter, but my reason for eating them is purely for the experience, not the suposed theraputic benefit.
 
How many carbs are you aiming for @Hwrightyoga ?

I eat fruit each day, usually after a meal. I eat moderately low carb.
 
Hwrightyoga said:
One book says no fruit dr Bernstein which I don't think is good.
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I quite agree that it's not good advice.

Berries such as strawberries and blueberries are low in carbs and very delicious.
 
Fruit doesn't offer us any nutrients that aren't available in other foods, and offers less fibre than veg, if that is a priority for you.

Having said that, eating fruit like courgettes, aubergines, avocado, tomato, peppers, chillis and okra can give a wonderful amount of nutrition but without the unnecessary fructose. (thank you @Avocado Sevenfold for the handy reminder, in another thread, about how many of our so called 'vegetables' are really fruit).

I used to love eating sweet fruit. However, my meter has taught me that I am better not having any, except for very small portions of berries.
 
noblehead said:
I quite agree that it's not good advice.

Berries such as strawberries and blueberries are low in carbs and very delicious.
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Absolutely @noblehead There are plenty of lower carb fruits, and having them after a meal works well.

While excessive fruit intake might be harder to manage, it's perfectly possible to eat fruit and still get excellent control as a Type 1.
 
Thank you for replies - I find it all so new Bernstein book surprises me as it mentions on the no no list chickpeas, carrots, tomatoes and beets all of which I enjoy and don't seem to spike my sugars. I love berries and normally would eat them with Greek yoghurt full fat. Tonight I made a recipe for chocolate brownies with almonds, pears, chocolate and butter, my sugars are at 6.2 with 2 units of humalog.
 
@azure I'm not sure yet I have looked at diabetic site and recommends 120g per day dr Bernstein is only 30g! And other book is restricted calories of 800 which I couldn't do!
 
There are a lot of different ways people manage the condition and different people seem to tolerate foods differently.

I try to moderate carbs where I can - I don't agree that the recommended daily allowance is right for everyone but I do agree with some of the posts above that you can be sensible and have carbs to a degree. I find my bolus doses drop a lot when I have less and usually don't bolus for breakfast as that's usually my lowest carb meal of the day. I've not changed my basal at all on days where I have had a lot less carbs though I suspect I still have enough to not need to.
 
Hwrightyoga said:
@azure I'm not sure yet I have looked at diabetic site and recommends 120g per day dr Bernstein is only 30g! And other book is restricted calories of 800 which I couldn't do!
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As long as you don't eat excessive carbs, then there's no need to restrict your carb intake hugely. I eat 180g approx a day. It's what works for you.

The low carb diet here is aimed at Type 2s. For Type 1s, using insulin appropriately is the important thing. I recommend the book Think Like A Pancreas - the Type 1 'bible'. :)
 
@Hwrightyoga

I usually have blueberries and either raspberries/strawberries/blackberries (dependent on availability) with my nuts/seeds and double cream/yoghurt for my breakfast. Far from giving me a spike, this actually lowers my BGs.

If driving, and I'm near to 5 on the meter, I'll have an apple as it's about 5 grams carbs and will give me a one unit rise.

Over the course of the day, I usually eat 30-50g carbs. I don't bother counting calories. Since going low carb, I have steadily reduced my insulin and finally stopped it altogether. I feel better now than I have in decades; LCHF all the way
 
But you have Type 1.5, Nidge. I could not eat and only drink water for a week and I'd still need insulin. Please don't give people false hope.

There is no need for Type 1s to go on very restrictive diets to get good results.. If you're able to avoid insulin, then that's great, but most Type 1s don't have that option and the key for them is to use insulin appropriately.
 
azure said:
Absolutely @noblehead There are plenty of lower carb fruits, and having them after a meal works well.

While excessive fruit intake might be harder to manage, it's perfectly possible to eat fruit and still get excellent control as a Type 1.
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Raspberries are a fantastic fruit and taste delicious :hungry::)
 
As a LADA I could NEVER not take insulin even if I didn't eat. The body slowly releases bs throughout the day and without insulin my bs would just keep rising.

I'm wondering what your c peptide results are Nidge. Seems as though you still produce SOME insulin. Mine was very low last year and I will find out if it dropped more as I have an appt today.
At DX I needed less insulin for the same food than I do now. I suspect my c peptide will be even lower as nothing else has changed. I eat 20g or less carbs per day so low carb doesn't cure all!
 
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