I was told to avoid dairy
I was told to avoid red meat and processed meat as being diabetic increases you chances of a heart attack and all of the above can also contribute
To be honest I have been told so many different things by different people it’s hard to know what to believe
It is extremely confusing, I agree. Even within a particular "route" (such as low-carb) there are all sorts of minefields, which I will elaborate on below. Not to mention what happens when people disagree about which "route" to take ("low carb" and "balanced diet" being the two main contenders in the "diabetes diet" arena).
My comments pertain only to low-carb, and specifically to a diet called "low-carb, high-fat" which some of us on this forum have used successfully to bring our blood glucose levels to good (non-diabetic) levels. Also, we are all different and I will be talking in generalities. If you want to know how these foods affect
your body, use your own blood-glucose (BG) meter to test.
- It is not unusual to be advised to avoid dairy, but only certain dairy products are high-carb. Milk is high-carb, but many other dairy products (butter, cheese, for instance) are not. You are being advised to avoid them mainly because many of these products are high in fat. Avoiding them will not lower your BG, although it may help you lose weight faster if that is your goal.
- Red meat is zero-carb. You are being asked to avoid it because of the research showing that it can contribute to heart disease. Your doctors are assuming that because you have diabetes, you are more likely to develop heart disease, and should therefore avoid red meat, and fats in general. Cutting out red meat will make no difference in controlling BG.
- In general, if you decide to go the "low-carb" route, education is the key. "Common sense" is not a terribly good guide in "guessing" which foods are high-carb, and which are not. Look them up on dietdoctor.com and/or test with your own BG meter.
For what it's worth, I ended up choosing a slightly different route: "low-carb, low-fat." After more than 30 years of a "low-fat" lifestyle and having been brainwashed into thinking that this was good for avoiding heart disease and obesity, I balked at really amping up the fat (and I find the taste of some full-fat foods quite gross, after years of conditioning). I do like red meat, but almost never eat it except when going to a restaurant or to someone else's home. So I simply dropped the carbs from my existing, already low-fat diet.
Edited to add: Your main goal is to avoid "diabetic complications." Heart disease is one of them. But if you can keep your BG consistently below diabetic levels, the
diabetes-related heart disease complications are radically less likely to happen. Eating fats may be a contributor to heart disease and cardio-vascular issues in its own right, but that is another matter, and one that people debate with some passion on this forum.
Experiment, find your own way. That's the best way. (But also, initially, confusing and hard.)
