Is this good advice or bad

Mettam

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, sorry if I have posted this to the wrong category.

My Dr told me I need to loose weight and could be concidered pre diabetic. He sent me to a nutritionist who told me to start a Low Glycemic index diet.

So here are my questions.

The nutritionist said I could eat cheese even though it's high in fat because it's a low glycemic food. Is this true? And are all cheeses the same?
She also said if eat Popcorn (I love popcorn) I should put butter on it? This advice I find surprising since all my life I have been told to avoid fat.
She also said if I have to drink milk I should drink whole milk rather than low fat milk, but coconut milk would be better.
In essence if I eat a carbohydrate then I should include a fat with it.

What is your opinion on this advice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

mfactor

Well-Known Member
Messages
389
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Wrong on many levels :) unless you heard wrong

Cheese is good .......

But milk tho low GI will probably spike your blood sugars , if taken as a drink (a bit in tea/coffee is fine)


Popcorn is high Glycemic index (GI)


Fat + Carbs :banghead:




Most of us follow a low carb lifestyle of some kind , and low GI can be a good choice (not for me) IMO low carb is better(LCHF)

will tag daisy who will clear it up some

@daisy1
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Mettam

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Wrong on many levels :) unless you heard wrong

Cheese is good .......

But milk tho low GI will probably spike your blood sugars , if taken as a drink (a bit in tea/coffee is fine)


Popcorn is high Glycemic index (GI)


Fat + Carbs :banghead:




Most of us follow a low carb lifestyle of some kind , and low GI can be a good choice (not for me) IMO low carb is better(LCHF)

will tag daisy who will clear it up some

@daisy1
So are you saying Cheese is bad or good for a low GI diet?
She also said that mangos have a high GI but if I was to put cream on the mangos then the fat in the cream helps counter balance the sugar.
Also I can eat as many peanuts as I want because they are very low GI. So I have been eating peanut butter, something I use to avoid.
 

DeejayR

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,375
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello. I started with the GI chart and at first found quite useful, but then I found that eating fewer carbs is the way to go for me, which isn't quite the same thing. Your nutritionist isn't far off the mark imho, but errs by omission.
I use a book called Carbs and Cals, which tells me what I can eat and what I should avoid or eat sparingly.
Cheese is good and I don't know any variety to beware of.
If you search "popcorn" on here you will find one or two recommended brands.
Full fat milk is better than skim, but cream and double cream are even better. Check out the carb content on the different cartons. Many people here don't have any cows' milk, even in tea & coffee. I've just bought some coconut milk, which seems like a good way of charging £1.50 for water with a bit of coconut cream :facepalm:
It's true we sometimes try to slow down carb conversion to glucose by eating fat with it but keeping the carbs low is more important!
Underpinning all this is the belief that fat doesn't make you fat and it won't affect your cholesterol level.
@daisy1 has some info for you so I'm tagging her. Lots to read so you can ask more questions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10 people

IanD

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,429
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Carbohydrates
Yes - fats are good as they provide energy without metabolising to blood sugar - which all carbohydrates do. BUT - use good clean fresh fats - not what you buy in pastries & chip shops, nor in the margarine tubs.

Olive oil, nuts, butter, avocados, lard, fat that comes with meat ....

On diagnosis 15 years ago I was advised to eat the low GI diet - but any inclusion of carbs -including the "good healthy" wholegrain carbs takes it to medium GI, & I was getting 1/2 my calories from carbs. It took 8 years for my condition to progress to crippling diabetic neuropathy. 7 1/2 years ago I changed to low carb with increased fat, & my condition rapidly improved. I now have NO diabetes problems/symptoms. I'm still active in sport. About 10% of my energy comes from carbs, the rest from fats & proteins. I'm 76.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Totto

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,831
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, sorry if I have posted this to the wrong category.

My Dr told me I need to loose weight and could be concidered pre diabetic. He sent me to a nutritionist who told me to start a Low Glycemic index diet.

So here are my questions.

The nutritionist said I could eat cheese even though it's high in fat because it's a low glycemic food. Is this true? And are all cheeses the same?
She also said if eat Popcorn (I love popcorn) I should put butter on it? This advice I find surprising since all my life I have been told to avoid fat.
She also said if I have to drink milk I should drink whole milk rather than low fat milk, but coconut milk would be better.
In essence if I eat a carbohydrate then I should include a fat with it.

What is your opinion on this advice.
I think she is surprisingly sensible for a nutritionist. Carbs will however always be carbs so even if you do low GI they will affect BG.

Have you seen the http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf site? It's good.

As to cheese, very few cheese contain any carbs. The ready-grated ones can have starch added though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people

Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I think what she is explaining to you is that fat slows down carb absorption, it lowers the glycemic index of the carb you're eating. If you eat popcorn, by adding butter you are slowing down the absorption of a quick acting carb. That's why if you eat white crackers which are usually high GI, have cheese with it, etc. I was told this information by my dietician years back. It's a way of making carbs break down slower in your body, rather than spike your sugar levels quick... so keeping them more stable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 6 people

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Yes, adding fats to carbs slows down the rate of metabolism, which basically means the blood glucose levels won't spike as high as they would without the fat. However, what it does is raise the blood glucose levels less but keeps them at that level longer. So a lower but longer curve.

We have all been brainwashed over decades to eat less fat, low fat products, avoid butter, cheese, cream and so on. It is hard to get our heads round this, but many people on this forum, myself included, have found that cutting/reducing carbs (especially starchy ones like pop corn, rice, potatoes, bread, pasta and cereals) and replacing the lost energy with good fats has improved our blood sugar levels and also our general health.

Have a good read round and make up your own mind.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10 people

britishpub

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,722
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I would not think consuming large amounts of Fat alongside large amounts of Carbs (whether high or low GI) is particularly healthy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Mettam

Hello Mettam and welcome to the forum :) As you have seen above, Low Carb/High Fat is the diet we recommend for diabetics. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 over 150,000 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

Reduce your 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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 bloodglucose 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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Mep

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,461
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
I would not think consuming large amounts of Fat alongside large amounts of Carbs (whether high or low GI) is particularly healthy.

No, it wouldn't be healthy. It really is just a tip on how to lower the GI of a carb. It comes in handy if you're somewhere and the carb choice isn't particularly a good one. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. The dietician is partly right and at least not suggesting you have loads of carbs. As others have said, taking fat with carbs does slow absorption so reducing blood sugar spikes, but the carbs are still absorbed raising average blood sugar. She is right that the previous advice that fats were bad for you was not based on good science so they are OK. Low GI carbs are always better than High-GI carbs but do keep the carbs down overall and make up with protein and fats as well as veg
 

superwoman1964

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Type of diabetes
Type 2
It really is just a tip on how to lower the GI of a carb. It comes in handy if you're somewhere and the carb choice isn't particularly a good one. :)

Completely agree.

However the problem with eating fat with carbs is it makes it so much easier to overeat. Who wants to eat plain carbs but add fat to them they become so much more palatable and the converse is true - not many people will dip into chunks of butter on their own but spread on bread is a different story. Same is true of a jacket potato, pasta etc etc. It will also keep you out of ketosis and the weight loss and appetite suppression you get with LCHF won't happen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Mettam

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
@Mettam

Hello Mettam and welcome to the forum :) As you have seen above, Low Carb/High Fat is the diet we recommend for diabetics. Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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 over 150,000 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

Reduce your 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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 bloodglucose 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 you so much Daisy1. I am so impressed with the responses I have gotten. What a great way to start my day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

Mettam

Newbie
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I am the original poster of this question.

Thank you all for responding. For me this is a revolutionary diet program as I had never understood the Low GI diet before, I didn't believe what my nutritionist was telling, at first. So thank you for confirming her advice.

I am 5tf 10in (178cm) and weight 230lb (104kg) My triglycerides are at 188, and I often feel tired and heavy. My goal is to get down to 200lb (90kg)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
HCP
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Queues!
Hi, sorry if I have posted this to the wrong category.

My Dr told me I need to loose weight and could be concidered pre diabetic. He sent me to a nutritionist who told me to start a Low Glycemic index diet.

So here are my questions.

The nutritionist said I could eat cheese even though it's high in fat because it's a low glycemic food. Is this true? And are all cheeses the same?
She also said if eat Popcorn (I love popcorn) I should put butter on it? This advice I find surprising since all my life I have been told to avoid fat.
She also said if I have to drink milk I should drink whole milk rather than low fat milk, but coconut milk would be better.
In essence if I eat a carbohydrate then I should include a fat with it.

What is your opinion on this advice.
I love your nutritionist as he/she is definitely moving in the right direction, so many aren't so you actually have a little gem there. However, couple of things there that I personally wouldn't do:
a) they feed corn and skimmed milk to cattle to fatten them up and while putting butter on corn would help reduce the impact on your blood sugar (the fat makes the absorption is slower) it still increases your blood sugar and, did I say, corn is a grain and fattening?!
b) Agree with previous statements that milk will affect your blood sugar too, but the nutritionist recommending full fat (YAY) The full fat has a slower peak in blood sugar in my experience but, if you are trying to keep good control, then milk is higher in carbs and will influence your blood sugar more.
Good luck. :)
 
Messages
4
Type of diabetes
HCP
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Queues!
I love your nutritionist as he/she is definitely moving in the right direction, so many aren't so you actually have a little gem there. However, couple of things there that I personally wouldn't do:
a) they feed corn and skimmed milk to cattle to fatten them up and while putting butter on corn would help reduce the impact on your blood sugar (the fat makes the absorption is slower) it still increases your blood sugar and, did I say, corn is a grain and fattening?!
b) Agree with previous statements that milk will affect your blood sugar too, but the nutritionist recommending full fat (YAY) The full fat has a slower peak in blood sugar in my experience but, if you are trying to keep good control, then milk is higher in carbs and will influence your blood sugar more.
Good luck. :)

PS. Glycemic index is confusing and not terribly helpful. For example sucrose (pure table sugar) has a GI of about 65, whereas a 100g wholemeal bread GI 71. So it is never going to be a good guideline really.
Eat real food, meat, fish, poultry, dairy (in moderation) and avoid obvious carbohydrates, eat vegetables and not fruit except maybe occasional berries. And your vegetables need to be above the ground veg with the exception of peas and corn.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 people