You need about 210 g glucose per day and your brain needs something like 130g of that. So, if you only eat 100g, your body has to get energy from somewhere and it does so by converting things like your fatty acids to glucose and, in turn, reducing your stored fats into fatty acids and other molecules. The process is called
gluconeogenesis.
"
Gluconeogenesis (abbreviated
GNG) is a
metabolic pathway that results in the generation of
glucose from non-
carbohydrate carbon substrates such as
pyruvate,
lactate,
glycerol,
glucogenic amino acids, and odd-chain fatty acids."
Back in the 1970s and 1980s there was a zero carbohydrate diet, also known as a protein only diet. It was one of these eat as much protein as you want, never feel hungry and lose weight fast. It works but is unpleasant after a short time. It was followed by the Atkins diet which restricts carbs but does not eliminate them. But these are short term weight loss diets where you stop after you achieve your target. Most diabetics are looking for a diet which is a lifestyle change and which they can continue with, one that makes eating pleasurable but which will not raise their BG levels.
If you restrict your carbs, either at 50g or 100g you will use stored fats or intermediate fatty acids for energy but my advice is not to keep topping your fat supply up by eating more of it. Burn off what you have got. Things like fish, especially oily fish and poultry are good but, if you want to stir fry some prawns or a piece of chicken, use a spray oil and if you eat a pork chop, cut off some of the excess fat.
A good tip I remember is that when you cook any meat and let it cool, the fat solidifies. The softer the fat, the better it is. Fish oils remain liquid, so they are best. Chicken fat is very soft so that is OK too but some fats become very hard, and they are the worst ones and should be eaten in moderation.
You need to be careful because mostly people only ever measure their weight and their BG levels. Even though I have regular blood tests which include liver and kidney function tests which are in all the usual tests completely normal, some less common tests show a degree of proteinuria, a kidney problem and my liver triglycerides are too high. I have a healthy heart and low blood sugars so I definitely do not want to stress out my liver and kidneys. I do low carb to some extent but I also try to be moderate in proteins and fats. I am careful with cheese and red meats in the same way that I am careful with white flours or other highly refined carbs.
