Heart versus diabetes

[philosophy47]

Hi
I am currently in France for a while. On the day I left the UK I randomly got my blood pressure taken whilst waiting for my flu jab. The pharmacist said it wasn't good news - 200/80. Anyway, I came to France as my surgery couldn't get me an urgent appointment - of course not! My French is not very good but I daresay when my EHIC card arrives I could see a doctor here. In the meantime I just don't know what to do for the best - treat the heart or the diabetes. I have lost 1/2 a stone in the last 10 days and have more to go but it seems to me being LCHF isn't best for the heart. Can anyone advise please? I would rather not have 'best guesses' I am sure you will understand that, but I wondered if anyone had any medical knowledge. Many thanks.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Even if we have medical knowledge we can't advise on here. One off blood pressure readings are notoriously unreliable, why not get a second test done in France, maybe pharmacies can do them. Sit quietly for 5 mins and don't talk during the test. I don't think that LCHF is a problem with high blood pressure, the usual dietary advice is to eat less salt.

 

[KK123]

Hi
I am currently in France for a while. On the day I left the UK I randomly got my blood pressure taken whilst waiting for my flu jab. The pharmacist said it wasn't good news - 200/80. Anyway, I came to France as my surgery couldn't get me an urgent appointment - of course not! My French is not very good but I daresay when my EHIC card arrives I could see a doctor here. In the meantime I just don't know what to do for the best - treat the heart or the diabetes. I have lost 1/2 a stone in the last 10 days and have more to go but it seems to me being LCHF isn't best for the heart. Can anyone advise please? I would rather not have 'best guesses' I am sure you will understand that, but I wondered if anyone had any medical knowledge. Many thanks.

Hi there, as Mr Pot says, even if anyone had 'medical knowledge' we are not allowed to advise. Are you able to buy a BP monitor at all?, I know they are expensive (from around £50 I think) but they are quite accurate and you would be able to check your BP whenever you liked and at different times of the day, etc. Whenever I have mine done at the hospital or surgery it is ALWAYS higher, I think I have white coat syndrome but am never conscious of it, I don't feel stressed at the time and my arm is usually hanging off the end of the table and the Doc is rattling on about something else so they never follow the BP rules anyway. I had a 24/7 ambulatory monitor that showed my BP actually went low most of the time. Now I test my own every so often and it is always lower than when at the Doctors. x

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi
I am currently in France for a while. On the day I left the UK I randomly got my blood pressure taken whilst waiting for my flu jab. The pharmacist said it wasn't good news - 200/80. Anyway, I came to France as my surgery couldn't get me an urgent appointment - of course not! My French is not very good but I daresay when my EHIC card arrives I could see a doctor here. In the meantime I just don't know what to do for the best - treat the heart or the diabetes. I have lost 1/2 a stone in the last 10 days and have more to go but it seems to me being LCHF isn't best for the heart. Can anyone advise please? I would rather not have 'best guesses' I am sure you will understand that, but I wondered if anyone had any medical knowledge. Many thanks.

Hi philosophy47,
As Mr Potts says, dietary Fats themselves (as opposed to being overweight) don't appear to have been vilified for 'causing' high blood pressure. (I wonder why they missed out that scare tactic - Oh I know because they already said that dietary fat makes you fat!)

Salt has been accused of causing High BP - I really don't know if it is true or not (my BP tends to be on the low side).
However LCHF is good and more importantly sustainable for moderate weight loss. I'm a Thin Outside Fat Inside (TOFI) T2D, yet even I lost 10% of bodyweight on LCHF.
So you can work on both the Diabetes and the high BP at the same time !

 

[Resurgam]

Dr Atkins was a cardiologist, first off - but his patients kept getting better, from most accounts.

 

[zand]

When my BP was 240/180 I was advised to do gentle walking exercise.

 

[catinahat]

I would rather not have 'best guesses'

No "guesses" just personal experience.
Within 6 months of starting a lchf diet I was taken off all blood pressure and diabetes medication.
Here's a couple of links you may find helpful
https://www.dietdoctor.com/blood-pressure
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-low-carb-ketogenic-diets#section6

 

[Guzzler]

"...but it seems to me being LCHF isn't best for the heart."

Why?

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Hi
I am currently in France for a while. On the day I left the UK I randomly got my blood pressure taken whilst waiting for my flu jab. The pharmacist said it wasn't good news - 200/80. Anyway, I came to France as my surgery couldn't get me an urgent appointment - of course not! My French is not very good but I daresay when my EHIC card arrives I could see a doctor here. In the meantime I just don't know what to do for the best - treat the heart or the diabetes. I have lost 1/2 a stone in the last 10 days and have more to go but it seems to me being LCHF isn't best for the heart. Can anyone advise please? I would rather not have 'best guesses' I am sure you will understand that, but I wondered if anyone had any medical knowledge. Many thanks.

A little more information might help.

You have lost half a stone - what was your starting weight?

What are your medications, and how long have you been diagnosed?

Any other health issues?
[Apart from the one off high blood pressure test.]

LCHF is probably not bad for high blood pressure; eating fat causing heart problems has been mainly disproved now. We would be interested to know why you think it might be bad.

 

[Route 66]

I have T2 diabetes and suffered a heart attack in May. My advice is to see a Doctor as soon as you can. Don't leave it.

 

[Rachox]

My personal experience is that straight after my type 2 diagnosis I went low carb and after nine months I had lost five stone, I had halved my BP meds and I had a normal BP. Even on the two meds my BP hadn’t been controlled!

 

[philosophy47]

Even if we have medical knowledge we can't advise on here. One off blood pressure readings are notoriously unreliable, why not get a second test done in France, maybe pharmacies can do them. Sit quietly for 5 mins and don't talk during the test. I don't think that LCHF is a problem with high blood pressure, the usual dietary advice is to eat less salt.

Thanks. I am not sure I can eat less salt than I do now, I cook all the time from scratch as I have an intolerance to onion etc. I was very surprised when the reading was done as I have been watching my diet for a long time now and so all the recommended things. It is so diasappointing.

 

[philosophy47]

A little more information might help.

You have lost half a stone - what was your starting weight?

What are your medications, and how long have you been diagnosed?

Any other health issues?
[Apart from the one off high blood pressure test.]

LCHF is probably not bad for high blood pressure; eating fat causing heart problems has been mainly disproved now. We would be interested to know why you think it might be bad.

Hi
I don't know really I am trying to think what to do for the best and I am on no medication and have been diagnosed a year nearly. No other health issues, I thought I was as fit as a fiddle. I just thought the first step might be to lose a marked amount of weight, it seems to be recommended.

 

[philosophy47]

Hi there, as Mr Pot says, even if anyone had 'medical knowledge' we are not allowed to advise. Are you able to buy a BP monitor at all?, I know they are expensive (from around £50 I think) but they are quite accurate and you would be able to check your BP whenever you liked and at different times of the day, etc. Whenever I have mine done at the hospital or surgery it is ALWAYS higher, I think I have white coat syndrome but am never conscious of it, I don't feel stressed at the time and my arm is usually hanging off the end of the table and the Doc is rattling on about something else so they never follow the BP rules anyway. I had a 24/7 ambulatory monitor that showed my BP actually went low most of the time. Now I test my own every so often and it is always lower than when at the Doctors. x

Perhaps that might be best, I have been trying to think how it could be so bad, the surgery wasn't bothered so perhaps I should just carry on LCHF as usual.

 

[Mike d]

What is "onion etc"?

 

[philosophy47]

When my BP was 240/180 I was advised to do gentle walking exercise.

I am generally active and have a dog so I walk most days, gardening, allotment. Not in France though at the moment. Perhaps I am worrying unnecessarily.

 

[philosophy47]

What is "onion etc"?

What is "onion etc"?

Leeks, garlic, stuff with allicin, most prepacked foods have onion that's why I cook my own food.

 

[Guzzler]

I will ask again about your comment on LCHF being (seemingly) bad for the heart. Why?

 

[Energize]

I've been on LCHF since 2015, lost just over 4 st over that time (still more to lose) and just a few months ago, my BP dropped to problematic levels, so the GP stopped my BP meds. I think that could suggest the LCHF way of eating is not necessarily detrimental to health.

Also, you said you were about to go to France when you had your BP checked. Maybe it was high due to the stress and pressure one experiences when about to embark on such travel, what with packing, planning journey, sorting out care for your dog etc and all that comes with going away.

Like already mentioned, when you're more relaxed, maybe you could get your blood pressure checked while you're in France? Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised to find it's no where as high

 

[Walking Girl]

Have you been doing any fasting lately? My BP shoots up on day 2-3 of a fast or very low calorie diet. No clue why, but a quick google search at the time told me I was not alone, particularly among women. We react differently to fasting or generally eating a lot less food, and often not in a good way.

I’ve not heard of HFLC causing high BP, although I don’t eat that way myself.