I'll say one thing for Prof Taylor & his work, it's the first piece of got news you normally find googling after diagnosis. It's when you drill down into his data that you start asking questions. First flaw in his method is the high amount of relapse due to weight regain, after bariatric surgery the patient is limited in the amount of food they can consume, not so when you lose it voluntary. Whatever about the personal fat threshold it's the bodies preset fat state that's the bigger danger, eating is a way of life that's difficult to change. Second issue I have with Taylor is his definition of remission @ <6.5%. At year one his successful candidates at an average HbA1c of 5.8, this slipped to 6.0 at year 2. You have to believe This prediabetic state wasn't good for their beta cells. Thirdly, although their max insulin output was the same a non-diabetic control group at 12 months their first phase insulin response was still only half of what the non-diabetic group managed, I would have liked to see how high they spiked on an OGTT but there's no available data on that.
I have a diary kept since 2012 that I try and record my meals but through my experimental period these records are my standard to how I eat. I have never carb counted, I have never calorie counted, I only take the weight and size of food and the portion size.
I am non diabetic, I have a weak initial insulin phase, this has only changed since I started taking sitagliptin and this has helped during two eOGTT tests. My body reacts to food. I am carb intolerant.
What happens is if I have glucose, as in a oral glucose tolerance test my blood glucose levels spike from normal levels up to and beyond double figures in the teens usually between 12 to 15mmols.
Then I have an over production of insulin stimulation from my pancreas, which drives my blood levels into hypo.
Now because of my experimental phase which I needed to do to avoid all the foods that trigger a spike. I found that certain foods gave different recordings, of course different portions of the same food also give different readings. But if I had a potato of the size for a medium sized baked potato, this would spike me more or less the same as a 75g drink of glucose. I always spike within the first hour, around 45mins, but now due to the Gliptin, my spike has come down to just after half an hour. That is because my initial insulin response is better
Why, when a vegetable which is mostly water and starch can cause such a huge spike?
Starch is a form of carbohydrates and it turns to glucose very quickly.
It has nothing to do wether it is a carb, calories or a sugar, it is how quickly the load is on your system, the higher quick load is worse than a low slow load.
With insulin resistance and high circulating insulin caused by the excess insulin not used, every time you eat more of those glucose loads that are doing the damage.
This is why testing before eating and two hour after gives you a baseline to work with. If your blood levels are above two mmols higher than the fasting, it means something in that food will eventually damage your health over a period. It will raise your fasting levels, it will raise your insulin resistance and you will gain weight or more fatty tissues around your organs. And so on.
So, like me, I cannot eat potatoes because of that huge spike. I have a to avoid all grains wether low GI, which is known as complex carbs like whole wheat or rolled oats. Or high bleached flour in bread, the additives in these production foods are not nutritional or needed, but the point is, regardless of how the food is made any grains will trigger a reaction. I have been lactose intolerant since very young.
How do I live without these essential healthy carbs. Very well indeed thanks very much!
Yes you need energy, as a carb intolerant metabolism, your only option is to eat very low carb with higher saturated fat and of course vegetables, always depending on how it effects you. I used to have a very busy working schedule, often away, often out of the house for a couple of days regularly. So I didn't have the necessary information of my dietary intake to make a judgment on if my energy output equals the dietary intake. Your body will not become more unhealthy because you need to balance energy levels, what happens when your energy levels are poor because of your symptoms or a bad sleep or you suffer from other conditions which effects your energy levels such as depression, anxiety or being overweight or a fever, wether it's summer or winter. Or like @zand getting over long covid and a life battling against medical advice.
I have found that we eat too much anyway and have too many meals in general.
My last eOGTT, I only had a spike of 8+mmols but I still had a hypo!
Finding the right balance of protein, fats and vegetables, and the carbs that you can't avoid is something that maintains health without getting energy from carbs or sugar.
If your body is happier without carbs as mine is, then why would you want them?
The higher energy levels will respond naturally.
The healthy you are the better energy you will have. And you feel better.
There are only a few examples of when you need to count or balance energy or if you need certain additions to your usual dietary needs. When you have your annual check and your blood panel tests are done, this will highlight any deficiencies.
My experience of having hyperinsulinaemia, hyperglycaemia and too much glucose then insulin throughout the day had a really unhealthy outcome for me. Insulin resistance on top and despite the high circulating insulin levels I still went very high glucose levels. It all depended on when I tested. In 2009 when I was misdiagnosed with T2, if they had tested for insulin levels instead of glucose. I would not have been in no doubt that I didn't have diabetes because for over twenty years I ate porridge for breakfast. Now I know that porridge is really bad for me, a big spike and a big hypo!
Keep safe.