Canadian Diebetes. can you believe this

Yes. It's pretty much the standard dietary advice for type 2 diabetics in the western world and beyond. I am in Canada and got this exact advice. I ignored it and reversed my type 2.

Standard advice unfortunately.

"Limit sugars and sweets such as sugar, regular pop, desserts, candies, jam and honey."

"Choose starchy foods such as whole grain breads and cereals, rice, noodles, or potatoes at every meal. Starchy foods are broken down into glucose, which your body needs for energy. "

Every official document on diet seems to contain this contradiction, Haven't they noticed?

I dont think so, it seems to be the theme.

Squire Fulwood said:

Every official document on diet seems to contain this contradiction, Haven't they noticed?

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Well, thats how the world is operating nowadays. Re health matters, I am trying to keep away all the standard western type aspects though living in west. Nothing can be trusted. When I started researching for myself 3 years before, I believed in
'standard advices', but ended up putting on more weight. These recommendations are very powerful, people do believe and follow.

For that matter, This forum suggests LC diet - '50 gram carb limit per day'. I did not believe it initially, due to 'standard advices' or instructions from doctors or my own understanding. However, I tried to cut carbs, over the time. I am now down to 50-75gr range now. Feeling much better health wise. Changes in this new year for me:

1. strict LCLF diet - stopped using myfitnesspal - will write another thread on it.
2. 50 minutes of workouts on every alternate day - got a gadget - Garmin Forerunner 15 - all workouts are measured and HR and calories accounted for. Then a 5k run on weekend - at my own slow pace. Not competing with anyone, do not want to be world rank runner.

However, diet is the major factor in control of body fat and particularly the visceral fat. Basically we need to change our diet or/and workouts so that they put the body in fat burning mode. In other words, for normal routine operations, body should derive energy from fat; and not from Carbs, free sugars or proteins.

But with standard advices or even tools such as myfitnesspal - weight gain (fat gain too) definitely happens. I am not sure how such flawed recommendations can be online. May be those recommendations work for some? - I am not sure.

I'm Canadian and have never had that advice. My Diabetes people tell me to eat what I like and they will medicate accordingly.
The 1st thing they asked me was what foods I avoid and why. The trick is to medicate since many foods that have sugar or carbs can be good for you.

I eat low carbs and don't need to medicate.

Tom Green said:

The trick is to medicate since many foods that have sugar or carbs can be good for you.

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LOL, I don't think that's a trick. It would be a trick if you DIDN'T have to medicate.

Tom Green said:

I'm Canadian and have never had that advice. My Diabetes people tell me to eat what I like and they will medicate accordingly.
The 1st thing they asked me was what foods I avoid and why. The trick is to medicate since many foods that have sugar or carbs can be good for you.

Click to expand...

My trick is to test which foods send my blood sugar to dangerous levels, and then not eat them.

The result is non-diabetic blood glucose levels. No medication. No cost of medication. No side effects of medication.

Chance of developing diabetic complications = the same as a non-diabetic.

Works for me.

I'm sitting down with a nice hot curry and I'm going to cut carbs? Not going to happen!

Brunneria said:

My trick is to test which foods send my blood sugar to dangerous levels, and then not eat them.

The result is non-diabetic blood glucose levels. No medication. No cost of medication. No side effects of medication.

Chance of developing diabetic complications = the same as a non-diabetic.

Works for me.

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All my meds cost 10 dollars a month. I really dont want to avoid food when I don't have to.

Its not about avoiding food its about staying as healthy as possible for as long as possible. The problem with medication is if you dont make any dietary or lifestyle changes your medication just keeps increasing, thats hardly a good quality of life just for the sake of eating what you want.

I often sit down to a nice hot curry - but I still eat a low carb medium fat diet. As @4ratbags says, it's all about staying as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

I'm 71 and not concerned about longevity. Never have been. I enjoy life but I don't want to live to 90 life is short and I have always lived to enjoy it. Food is one pleasure I won't scrimp on. I watch my weight and test BG about 5 times a day. My A1c is 6.1 tested on the 8th Jan. I'm not about to change my life style.

We each make our own priorities in this life. @Tom Green , that you choose to inject daily so that you can eat whatever you want to is up to you. For me, I prefer to be able to live a healthy, free and independent life, without a tether to the pharmacy or the need to test my blood every time I need to drive.

I can make trips with durations of several months, without wondering how I top up my drug supplies, and my greatest concern if my baggage is lost by the airline is how long it might be before I run out of underclothes, not when I might be missing my life-maintaining drugs.

I can also eat a lovely curry, only I concentrate on the flavourful part of it, and can eat lots of it; leaving the stodge for others.

I would prefer to have my body work as it was designed to, for as long as I can, and if that means I have to modify my eating a bit, then so be it. I love my life and intend to squeeze every last morsel out of it.

Tom Green said:

I'm Canadian and have never had that advice. My Diabetes people tell me to eat what I like and they will medicate accordingly.
The 1st thing they asked me was what foods I avoid and why. The trick is to medicate since many foods that have sugar or carbs can be good for you.

Click to expand...

I think that the medics cannot cope with food, they can only cope with pills. The moment that you demonstrate that food can give significantly better results than pills then there is a crisis in the medical world.

I do not decry pills and I would be foolish to since there are many instances where they have been beneficial. There have been many other instances where they could only offer a panacea effect and what 's wrong with that if you makes you feel better?

The medical profession has given out advice on diet for years and people have got fatter and sicker. Then they say that people are not following the advice. The more they live according to the accepted advice the fatter and sicker they get.

Tom, it's time to stop eating everything you like to see if you can reduce your medication.

Squire Fulwood said:

I think that the medics cannot cope with food, they can only cope with pills. The moment that you demonstrate that food can give significantly better results than pills then there is a crisis in the medical world.

I do not decry pills and I would be foolish to since there are many instances where they have been beneficial. There have been many other instances where they could only offer a panacea effect and what 's wrong with that if you makes you feel better?

The medical profession has given out advice on diet for years and people have got fatter and sicker. Then they say that people are not following the advice. The more they live according to the accepted advice the fatter and sicker they get.

Tom, it's time to stop eating everything you like to see if you can reduce your medication.

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Why when I like what is happening. I'm not fat. I have maintained a good weight for years.

Tom Green said:

Why when I like what is happening. I'm not fat. I have maintained a good weight for years.

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If I was 71 years old I'd probably feel the same way. However, I'm 44 years younger than you so longevity is pretty important to me and many others I'm sure.

I think we can all respect and appreciate that you are living life the way you believe it should be lived. However, I don't think it's right to suggest that "The trick" is leveraging medication in the ways that you do.

I'm sure you can respect that many of us would love to be alive to see our 71st birthday even if that means making a few compromises with food along the way.

For people that struggle with their BG numbers, medication is the way ro go according to my Diabetes care givers. People seem so afraid Of medication. I was on Metformin for years and had no negatives while on it. I insisted on going on Insulin to get better control and it worked.