I was told on the X-PERT course that Hounslow spend more on test strips than drugs - so I asked if good control was keeping the drug cost down ..... it is for me.
Drs prescribe, while dietitians advise a high starchy carb diet as a healthy diet for everybody, especially diabetics. Eat the carbs, & control the resultant high BG with the drugs prescribed.
On the occasions when discussion arises, the conversation goes:
Me: Are you as an HP diabetic yourself?
Them: No!
Me: Is your advice based on successful control of diabetics, or on what you have learned?
Them: Research reports.
Me: Your research finds that T2 is progressive, so that we go from diet, to oral medication, to insulin, with complications setting in along the way.
Them: Agreed.
Me: I've been there, done that. I followed the starchy carb diet, until the complications set in. I was becoming crippled with neuropathy, & had the beginning of diabetic retinopathy.
Me: I began a low carb diet, & within 3 months, my mobility was fully restored. Two years on, my retinopathy is clear.
Them: If it works for you, fine, but we have to recommend the findings of research.
Me: I learned from diabetics with good control (on this forum.) You HPs should learn from us, NOT from other people's research. Their research confirms the idea that diabetes is progressive. Our experience shows that low carb can give long term good control, & reverse complications.
Them: but you NEED carbs for energy, for brain function, etc.
Me: I'm 71; I play tennis at club standard & hold my own against younger players without bananas & energy drinks. While playing, I drink water. My BG is maintained at 6-7, whereas if I rest, it will drop to 5-6. The BG I need is generated by my body. As for brain function, I read, do complex puzzles (thanks Daily Mail) & study the Bible & prepare sermons.
Them: If it works for you, fine, but we have to recommend the findings of research. In any case the long term effects of low carb are questionable.
Me: I'm a research/development scientist, working in industry. My research had to work, or I would have been out of a job. I trusted your research for 8 years, until I was becoming crippled. 2 1/2 years on, my results are all good. Your "long term" research results on low carb are inconclusive & are related to sustainability, NOT effect. (Ally might update us, but we are still waiting.) I am afraid to abandon low carb. I've too much good health to lose.
Them: If it works for you, fine, but we have to recommend the findings of research.
