Food combining?

[Chris24Main]

afaiu having high triglyceride levels in the blood stream does increase insulin resistance -

Going down a bit of a rabbit hole, but wanted just to pick at this -
It's one of the things that is ... used as evidence ... but isn't quite correct. In a lab (and this is all Ben Bikman, he did the lab work but also the rebuttal to the way it was represented).

1 - in a lab - you can take adipose tissue cells and suffuse them in triglycerides, and show that this has an effect on the insulin receptors - which seems to indicate that fat makes fat cells insulin resistant. While this is true in a lab, the scenario just cannot happen in a human body. Triglycerides don't just float about, because they don't float - our entire lipid transport system evolved in order to chaperone fats in the form of triglycerides, and cholesterol about the body safely.

2 - in the body, it's actually the other way around - insulin resistance leads to those same adipose cells swelling up (hypertrophy) because that's what insulin does - tells those cells to take in fats and glucose and store them. Those cells swell up, causing inflammation and for triglycerides to break down into free fatty acids and leak from the cells.

 

[SimonP78]

In which case I'm happy to stand corrected!

I'm sure I've also read that high fat diets produce insulin resistance - or is this a similar case of mis-application of lab studies into a real-world setting?

 

[KennyA]

In which case I'm happy to stand corrected!

I'm sure I've also read that high fat diets produce insulin resistance - or is this a similar case of mis-application of lab studies into a real-world setting?

It may be, but a lot of these "statements" are simply unsupported by facts, and are/were made with the aim of supporting the current official dietary advice - basically 'fat bad, carb good'. I can recall reading so much unreferenced/unsupported statementing in my early days that I stopped using "the internet" for info and went to printed sources.

 

[ianf0ster]

I don't have a reference to hand, but recently saw a Nick Norwitz video about C15 (saturated fat) which mentioned that the only evidence about saturated fat and Insulin Resistance is that Sat Fat improves (i.e. decreases) IR rather than making it worse.
Certainly, if sat Fat was making my IR worse, then how did it put me in T2D remission at the very same time?

 

[SimonP78]

I don't have a reference to hand, but recently saw a Nick Norwitz video about C15 (saturated fat) which mentioned that the only evidence about saturated fat and Insulin Resistance is that Sat Fat improves (i.e. decreases) IR rather than making it worse.
Certainly, if sat Fat was making my IR worse, then how did it put me in T2D remission at the very same time?

Consider me duly corrected, I shall strike "fat produces insulin resistance" from my parroting list

 

[Deleted member 596235]

I agree that the UK Daily Mail is not the most reliable source of facts
and figures, and often goes for the shock headline. It's been criticised
for its unreliability; its printing of sensationalist and inaccurate scare
stories about science and medical research.

Having said that though, it's important to check out accredited medical
opinion in order to confirm or discredit what the Daily Mail often reports.

Professor François R. Jornayvaz is the Chief Medical Officer of the Department
of Endocrinology, Diabetology, Nutrition and Therapeutic Education of the
Hôpitaux universitaires de Genève. He is also an Associate Professor at the
Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva.

He states, of Inchauspé: "She hides behind a pseudoscientific appearance to advocate
a method which, in my opinion, doesn't work and is based on very little evidence.
The scientific studies she cites are highly anecdotal, if not outright false, or not
applicable to what she proposes".

So... do we accept the claims of the self-styled Glucose Goddess, or the research
of the highly qualified researcher professor Jornayvaz?

I'd also suggest people check out THIS site, hosted by Sophie Gastman, who holds
a First-Class BSc in Nutrition and Food Science, and is a Registered Nutritionist
(RNutr Public Health). Gastam weighs in on the science behind Inchauspé’s claims.

​

​

 

[BoldItalic]

I don't know the answer yet but I'm hoping to find out next month. I've been on lo-carb for a couple of years and kept my HbA1C to 41 (diagnosed at 50) but I've lost weight and my BMI dropped to around 16 which is worrying. I've been referred to a dietician who firmly believes that it's only peak glucose levels that matter and duration of peaks doesn't. She also believes in eating snacks between meals and that eating more fat and protein at the same time as carbs will reduce the effect so is urging me to eat more of everything to put on weight. I've been obediently doing that for two months now, and after another month I will get an HbA1c test done to see if it's true. I have put on about 4kg so that's working. Doing finger-prick tests, I'm getting 5 peaks a day instead of three but the peaks are indeed shorter - maybe 4 hours instead of 6 - going from a baseline of 5 to a maximum of around 8 which I can't complain about. On that basis, maybe the HbA1c won't be so bad. Fingers crossed.

As a follow-up, after another 3 months, weight gain has reached 5kg, BMI is now just under 18, and HbA1c has only gone up to 45 which I'm happy about. Part of that, I think, can be attributed to the extra carbs combined with fats and proteins in the snacks but some of it, I'm sure, is attributable to the daily food supplement that I've been prescribed (it's like a fortified smoothie - essentially a meal in a bottle).

I would say, if you are naturally skinny like me, go for lo-carb to get the HbA1c down but get yourself referred to a dietician if you experience too much weight loss. Look for a happy medium.

 

[Flane]

As a follow-up, after another 3 months, weight gain has reached 5kg, BMI is now just under 18, and HbA1c has only gone up to 45 which I'm happy about. Part of that, I think, can be attributed to the extra carbs combined with fats and proteins in the snacks but some of it, I'm sure, is attributable to the daily food supplement that I've been prescribed (it's like a fortified smoothie - essentially a meal in a bottle).

I would say, if you are naturally skinny like me, go for lo-carb to get the HbA1c down but get yourself referred to a dietician if you experience too much weight loss. Look for a happy medium.

Thank you very much for the update. Very interesting and helpful.
I am awaiting results of blood tests last week- at that point I will decide what to do next. My weight has stablised but I am still 4 kg down on what I was ( and where I’d like to be). I find the lo-carb challenging but stick to it most of the time.

 

[careysu]

I don't know the answer yet but I'm hoping to find out next month. I've been on lo-carb for a couple of years and kept my HbA1C to 41 (diagnosed at 50) but I've lost weight and my BMI dropped to around 16 which is worrying. I've been referred to a dietician who firmly believes that it's only peak glucose levels that matter and duration of peaks doesn't. She also believes in eating snacks between meals and that eating more fat and protein at the same time as carbs will reduce the effect so is urging me to eat more of everything to put on weight. I've been obediently doing that for two months now, and after another month I will get an HbA1c test done to see if it's true. I have put on about 4kg so that's working. Doing finger-prick tests, I'm getting 5 peaks a day instead of three but the peaks are indeed shorter - maybe 4 hours instead of 6 - going from a baseline of 5 to a maximum of around 8 which I can't complain about. On that basis, maybe the HbA1c won't be so bad. Fingers crossed.

Hello, how did you get on with your test results. I was diagnosed at 42 on 9th Sept 2025. My diet is pretty good but I have decreased carbs a little and increased activity. Trouble is I'm losing weight. now my BMI is 16.8. I would love to know if your regime kept your HbA1C down as I would like to try the same as you to get my weight up.

 

[BoldItalic]

Hello, how did you get on with your test results. I was diagnosed at 42 on 9th Sept 2025. My diet is pretty good but I have decreased carbs a little and increased activity. Trouble is I'm losing weight. now my BMI is 16.8. I would love to know if your regime kept your HbA1C down as I would like to try the same as you to get my weight up.

Hi, carysu, and welcome to the forum

Yes, mine went up from 41 to 45 while I put on 4kg and my BMI went back up to just under 18 which is where it was when I was in my 20's (I'm 79 now) so I thought that was a good result. The dietician prescribed a food supplement which helped but then stopped it when it was obviously working . She has signed me off now.

I've kept the diet stable for the last six months or so (it's second nature now) and weight is correspondingly stable at 56-57 kg (it varies up and down about a kg during the day). I haven't had a more recent HbA1c test but I guess that would be stable too. Finger-prick tests numbers are normal for me - baseline of 5.2 and peak of 8.3 with the peak taking 2 hours to go up and 2 hours to go down again after meals. It's carbs. of course, that do it - I limit sugar and starch separately and keep up the fat and protein (I'm a happy carnivore) to match.

Just a suggestion, as a BMI anything below 18 is clinically underweight, I think you could reasonably ask your GP to refer you to a dietician who might be helpful (or maybe not, they are only human). I'm in England, the system might be different in Wales but it's worth a try.

(edit - added) The view of my GP seems to be that I should keep the weight up and not worry too much about the diabetes. I see their point - being underweight brings poorer disease resistance and more likelihood of broken bones from falls, whereas the detrimental effects of diabetes take so long to develop that, at my age, I'm likely to have died of something else before they happen. I'm not sure if that's comforting or not

 

[careysu]

Hi, carysu, and welcome to the forum

Yes, mine went up from 41 to 45 while I put on 4kg and my BMI went back up to just under 18 which is where it was when I was in my 20's (I'm 79 now) so I thought that was a good result. The dietician prescribed a food supplement which helped but then stopped it when it was obviously working . She has signed me off now.

I've kept the diet stable for the last six months or so (it's second nature now) and weight is correspondingly stable at 56-57 kg (it varies up and down about a kg during the day). I haven't had a more recent HbA1c test but I guess that would be stable too. Finger-prick tests numbers are normal for me - baseline of 5.2 and peak of 8.3 with the peak taking 2 hours to go up and 2 hours to go down again after meals. It's carbs. of course, that do it - I limit sugar and starch separately and keep up the fat and protein (I'm a happy carnivore) to match.

Just a suggestion, as a BMI anything below 18 is clinically underweight, I think you could reasonably ask your GP to refer you to a dietician who might be helpful (or maybe not, they are only human). I'm in England, the system might be different in Wales but it's worth a try.

(edit - added) The view of my GP seems to be that I should keep the weight up and not worry too much about the diabetes. I see their point - being underweight brings poorer disease resistance and more likelihood of broken bones from falls, whereas the detrimental effects of diabetes take so long to develop that, at my age, I'm likely to have died of something else before they happen. I'm not sure if that's comforting or not

It is a big help thank you. In some ways this diagnosis has been a good thing, I'm taking more notice of my health and I would not have taken up walking without it but it has also caused so much stress. The conflicting information is a nightmare. I think this forum is going to be a big help to me. Thank you for your advice.

 

[BoldItalic]

It is a big help thank you. In some ways this diagnosis has been a good thing, I'm taking more notice of my health and I would not have taken up walking without it but it has also caused so much stress. The conflicting information is a nightmare. I think this forum is going to be a big help to me. Thank you for your advice.

Yes, I'm sure you will find this forum helpful; I did when I was first diagnosed. With a pre-diabetes diagnosis, it's just a gentle warning, more of an amber light than a red light. And yes, you will get a lot of conflicting advice - even from the health professionals. You have to pick and choose who to believe and work out what works for you; everybody is different, as will be obvious the more you read around these forums. Much of the advice is based on the assumption that diabetes is the result of being overweight and patients need to be encouraged to lose weight, which is often right but for you and me it is the opposite of reality. You will be okay