Many people DO tell themselves (and others) that they are eating low carb or LCHF when it's patently obvious that they are NOT following the guidelines.
If you read
www.dietdoctor.com/LCHF - and people often use the photos on that page to advise newbies - it says nothing about eating Lidl rolls or toast.
It seems to me that the majority of people on the forum come here with newly diagnosed mild T2DM or pre-diabetes and within a few months of eating lower carb are able to ditch the meds having normalised their BG and that's GREAT. Many lose a large amount of weight by low carbing and that's also fantastic. It does take effort.
We seem to hear less, from people who ate a moderate carb diet and who still have many symptoms or who started off by losing weight and normalizing BG by moderating carb intake but ended up on medication.
We also hear less from people who have pretty severe T2DM and struggle. It must be pretty galling for them, to be told how to eat, by people who have toast and go out for a curry.
In his book 'Waist Disposal', Dr John Briffa advocates giving up sweeteners and sweet things generally rather than trying to substitute lower carb sweet things. He says (and I totally agree) that if you don't lose the taste for them, they are always there to trip you up.
If this was a forum for alcoholics, and you were trying to give up your addiction, would it be helpful for forum members to talk about going into the pub for a shandy or comparing low alcohol bottled beers ?
Dr Jason Fung says that medicine treats the symptoms of T2DM not the cause, which is insulin resistance.
Professor Tim Noakes is Emeritus Professor of Exercise Science & Sports Medicine at Cape Town University and is a qualified medical doctor. He also has T2DM as it runs in his family. He has said that unless you're eating under 25g carbs per day, diabetes can worsen.
It was stated on Twitter in a discussion between LCHF types and doctors that reducing carbs increases insulin resistance. Certainly I've seen posts on Mark Sissons' website from non-diabetic posters, saying that unless they refeed with carbs they fail OGTT because of high FBG.
Professor Noakes says that if people eat less than 25g a day of carbs and lay off the sweet things, after a few months their brains stop searching for sugar.
Doctors argue whether normal BG numbers signify a cure, control or reversal. IMO if you're having to eat very low carb, then you're not curing diabetes.
Professor Noakes says that insulin resistance is in the genes and I guess if true, that might explain why some obese people get T2DM diabetes, why others don't and why some thinner people also develop it.
I don't see another alternative to very low carb for me personally. My BG doesn't warrant insulin or a pump or even Byetta and neither does my BMI. I have to accept that some food makes me sick, in the same way that my husband accepts that gluten will make him ill.
If low carb worsens insulin resistance then well since I hardly eat any carbs and only moderate protein, I don't think it will be too much of a problem.
