Heart versus diabetes

[philosophy47]

Hi,
Like some others I am puzzled as to what you think you have to guess at and why you say you are trying not to eat meat.

After being diagnosed with T2D I changed from a High Crab Low Fat (= so called healthy heart lifestyle) to Low Carb High Fat.
I understand that LCHF doesn't suit everybody and that we are all different in out tolerance of carbs and our food like/dislikes and food tolerances.

The main change for me was breakfast which used to be porridge (boiled oats). Now it is 2 large boiled eggs. As part of my new LCHF lifestyle ( I count carbs - not calories) I have been eating more of the following: Eggs, Cheese, Butter, Cream, Full Fat Yoghurt , Red Meat, fattier cuts of meat, Nuts, Avocado, Salmon, Trout, Cauliflower, Broccoli.

I have lost over 11% of my body weight as a side effect from controlling my blood Glucose. I did not count calories, I did not do extra exercise, I did not feel deprived or hungry.
Whatever method you use to control your BG must be sustainable, it is for life - for a long and healthy life!
Thus, for me at least, a crash diet is not appropriate, imho they are not sustainable and worse still they reduce the metabolic resting rate meaning that you start burning fewer calories per day - which mean you have to keep cutting more calories again.

I am concerned about eating meat as especially here in France the abbatoir sysem is very bad and last time I was here I decided to be more vegetarian. There is a strange new word - flexitarian, that sort of suits me I think as I only have meat once or twice a week, sometimes less. I wouldn't say I couldn't eat more meat for the LCHF diet, but I used to really love all underground veg, lentils, beans etc so I am finding it hard. Since the bp reading was so bad I have tried to think what couse of action is best, I have tried avoiding all thoughts of it for a week, but it is remote here and I did read the best thing is to lose weight asap to lower the bp and then I would see about the LCHF diet as an ongoing way of life.I am paralysed by indecision at the moment. I dare say it will pass.

 

[philosophy47]

True but it would be good to hear from @philosophy47 if she managed to get some more readings of her blood pressure, maybe she doesn't have a problem, or at least not a serious one. At any rate the concensus seems to be that continuing with her LCHF diet won't make her BP any worse.

Sorry, I have just been here thinking and wondering. I have not yet got my monitor so no more readings. My EHIC card seems to have got lost. I have not done a huge amount of walking here yet due to the fact it's so wet but I am losing some weight steadily, not by VLC methods but I have done LCHF at the same time. I'm afraid I'm gutted by all this as aside from being overweight I felt really fit and well. Still do actually, but there we are c'est la vie.

 

[Alexandra100]

It's just that things I have seen about improving heart health include things like oats, lentils etc which are not included in the LCHF diet. I cannot go on eating meat it's a heck of a diet to change to and I have always hated it but stuck with it as it is so heavily recommended. Now the heart thing!

I do sympathise. I was eating a super-healthy low fat vegetarian (except for fish) high fruit and vegetable diet when a routine A1c test showed I was galloping towards diabetes. It's a big shock and a big disappointment, isn't it? My strategy now is to eat lots of free range chicken legs (cheaper, tastier and fatter than breast) and wild caught frozen Alaskan salmon. I also eat a lot of cheese. Like you, I am concerned abut animal welfare, even in the UK. I'm not sure how available ethical-ish chicken and salmon are in France, but at least you will have a tremendous choice of cheeses. Before, I would only eat organic dairy products on the assumption that those cows would have better lives. Sadly, the organic cheese I used to eat turned out to be relatively high carb. Now, I have chosen to compromise. I am not willing to sacrifice my eyes or my feet to the cause of animal welfare.

I don't think you should worry too much about your heart after one high bp reading. To see a GP in France, you can't use an EHIC card. You pay a fee and reclaim it from your insurance (if any). As others have suggested, pharmacies are probably your best first recourse, and in France they have the advantage of being almost as numerous as varieties of cheese.

 

[Alexandra100]

I got some salmon at the weekend but just can't face it, so the dog can have it.

More sympathy! Long ago, when I was a vegetarian who didn't even eat fish, I set off for a 15 day walking tour in France. I thought I ought to have some emergency food with me, so I packed a tin of sardines. Well, I carried that tin in my rucsac the whole way but I never could face eating all those tiny corpses. (This is how they appeared to me then.) Now, my sense of self-preservation has blunted my ethical and other sensibilities. I cheerfully handle raw chicken legs and eat cooked ones with enjoyment. I do draw the line at battery chickens and eggs, but if I were to become poor enough maybe I'd even compromise on that. It's a cruel world.

 

[Alexandra100]

Sorry, I have just been here thinking and wondering. I have not yet got my monitor so no more readings. My EHIC card seems to have got lost. I have not done a huge amount of walking here yet due to the fact it's so wet but I am losing some weight steadily, not by VLC methods but I have done LCHF at the same time. I'm afraid I'm gutted by all this as aside from being overweight I felt really fit and well. Still do actually, but there we are c'est la vie.

This is all such good news. Congratulations on the weight loss. In another post you mention following a flexitarian diet. That is a very modern approach and seems to me ideal for you. That way you can ease in to lower carb, perhaps gradually eating a little more meat but not forcing yourself. Great too that you feel fit and well. Surely your dog is insisting on some walks even in the rain? Whereabouts in France are you?

 

[Antechinus]

Inflammation seems to be the new miscellaneous illness like "the lurgy" "gip" or "ague". I understand when you have some injury or infection and the site becomes hot, swollen and painful this is said to be inflamed but what has that got to do with diet? Seed oils are always accused of being inflammatory, is there any scientific evidence for this, and where abouts does the inflammation occur?

There is good evidence that seed oils high in omega 6 favor the production of prostaglandins which is a hormone that excites inflammation. Omega 3 go on to produce eicanosoids which are anti-imflammatory. It is the balance of 3:6 that is important. Out of balance, excess 6, leads to silent, systemic inflammation, anywhere that damage occurs naturally, such as coronary arteries, healing becomes impaired, is body favors inflammation, and this leads to disease.