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Carb confused

DanW13 said:
What about cancer risk bulkbiker, aren’t there links to excessive red/processed meat & bowel cancer for example?
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Complete and utter drivel I'm afraid.. we have all been lied to on that front.

Full story behind it here.. well worth a watch

 
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bulkbiker said:
Complete and utter drivel I'm afraid.. we have all been lied to on that front.
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So you think these experts are wrong? Personally I’ve no idea as I’m not an expert, but if the below is right the evidence against processed meat looks pretty compelling??

IARC findings
In 2015, 22 experts from 10 countries met to evaluate existing research about the link between red meat and cancer.

They reviewed more than 800 studies from the past 20 years. Some studies looked at only processed or unprocessed red meat. Others looked at both.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The IARC’s findings indicate that:

  • Eating red meat regularly probably increases your risk for colorectal cancer.
  • Eating processed meatregularly does increase your risk for colorectal cancer.
They also found some evidence to suggest a link between red meat consumption and prostate cancerand pancreatic cancer, but more research is needed.

How sure are we that processed meat causes cancer?
Over the last decade, strong evidence has proven that processed meat causes cancer. So we are equally as sure of the link as we are for other proven causes of cancer, like tobacco and UV rays from the sun. But this doesn’t mean they all cause the same number of cases of cancer.
 
I cook scrambled eggs in less time than it takes to toast bread. You can also cook egg muffins ahead and eat them cold.
Cheeses and cold meats make a continental breakfast
Yoghurt and seeds mixed the night before swell to make a porridge consistency ready to eat bowl
 
DanW13 said:
They reviewed more than 800 studies from the past 20 years. Some studies looked at only processed or unprocessed red meat. Others looked at both.
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Watch the video I posted.. they didn't do any such thing and ignored the most recent research.
 
Thanks bulkbiker will take a look, I am open minded on these things, especially given the constant pushing of low fat, high carb foods as the healthy choice, just that I thought it was pretty much agreed that processed meat (in excess) was not a good thing due to cancer risk.
 
SilverK said:
That sounds interesting! Is there a recipe??
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I use 2/3 tablespoons of yoghurt to 1/2 tablespoons of seeds, but it is really to taste.
Can add a chopped strawberry or a few blueberries.
Some people use coconut milk instead of yoghurt. Some use just one type of milled seeds, such as chia or flax. I prefer a mix
Can double or triple ingredients and make enough for 3-4 days
 
Hello CherryCakes, like you had prediabetes HbA1c of 42. Your doctor sounds great, mine basically said come back in a year and we will see how you have done.
Losing weight will help, although you may get a temporary rise in cholesterol levels.
I started by halving the recommended level of carbs to 125g, but later found my body functions better on about 100g per day.
We are all different.
Have you got a blood glucose meter? Testing before a meal and two hours after will tell you what foods you can tolerate.

The Carbs and Calorie Counter book or app can be a great help in working out carb loads.

Sometimes a smaller portion works.
For potatoes. Try cooking the day before and resting in the fridge overnight. But do keep them for an occasional treat.
Cauliflower rice is actually more tasty than the real thing, esp when fried in butter.

You will find many friendly helpful people here. Maybe check out the Newly Diagnosed section for answers to some of your many questions.
Best wishes on your journey to better health. Lizzy
 

Slimlizzy,

Interesting to hear your strategy of reducing carbs & opposed to nearly eliminating them. What impact has this had on your blood sugar, Hba1c results? I’m new prediabetic and think I’ve slashed my carbs down to 50g per day (probably less) but it’s impacted my energy/stamina negatively, though my weight has shot down (11lb in 4 weeks), so I’m interested in hearing how your less draconian approach worked out for you?

Can you provide a bit of feedback on this?

best wishes
Dan
 
Hi Dan,
Like Slimlizzy I too have a less stringent approach to carbohydrate consumption and some days have 80-100g usually as a result of a meal out or one that has included beans or lentils. At diagnosis I became very low carb, lost 20kg but felt fairly dreadful. However, this strategy did decrease my HbA1c from 104 to 39 over 6 months. For the last 6 years I have largely followed LCHF and my HbA1c has remained in the normal range. Two days ago it came back at 38 and that is now a year on diet and exercise only. As I see LCHF as an eating plan for the rest of my life I had to find an approach that I could sustain. So about once a month I have fish and chips as a treat and I have an occasional 'full fat' biscuit or piece of cake but only if I really, really feel like it. I also walk a lot. I think that most of us have to find a way that will provide a long, healthy future and that will vary from person to person.
 

Dr Snoddy,

That’s an amazing achievement to get your blood sugar back into the normal range after it got that high, and so quickly, you should be really proud of yourself for achieving & sustaining it.

My Hba1c was 43 so nothing like as dramatic as yours, but like you I’m finding the draconian approach tough, so think once I hit my target weight (5lb to go) and have my next Hba1c test at the end of October, I’ll have to reappraise & moderate it a bit to make it more sustainable long term. I’m finding my 5-10k runs much harder than I used to and my times have slipped about 3-5% and I’m not happy with that! Hopefully my next test is back in the normal range.

All the best
Dan
 

Hi Dan
Although not a great exerciser..(understatement of the year) I have heard tell that it takes a while for the body to adapt to running on fat over carbs .

It has been known to be a few months before you become fully fat adapted. However once you are the benefits are quite positive.
One of which would be not "hitting the wall" when your glucose stores run out.

These guys did ok on it
https://www.dietdoctor.com/uk-team-completes-a-100-mile-five-day-run-with-no-food
 

A bit more on it here bulkbiker from same site, suggests run times may suffer, but possibly improve after several months adaptation. I do think there maybe some truth in that, the body is amazingly adaptable as those marathon runners showed.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/keto-helps-burn-fat-for-fuel-but-hurts-athlete-race-times


Interestingly after today’s 8k run, about an hour later I got a low sugar alarm from my Libre, which had me down at 3.7 mmol. I wasn’t bothered as didn’t feel particularly unwell and was about to have dinner anyway, but clearly the body hasn’t adapted yet to the low carb diet.
 
3.7 for a non diabetic would be perfectly "normal" if not on any meds although it usually takes me 3 days of fasting to get to that level.
Assuming you're not on any blood sugar lowering meds you should be fine.
 

Hi Dan,
My last HbA1c was down to 40, back into normal range.
This is on approx 100g carbs per day max.
And no more than 30g in any one meal.
Most days come in under the 100g.
My weight plummeted at first, but was hardly eating any carbs at the time, and my Dr had advised low fat diet! Unsurprisingly I lost weight. When I decided to have some carbs it more or less stabilised. Of course abandoning the idea of low fat diet probably helped as well.
Am still trying to get the weight/BG balance right though. Don't have any issues with stamina or energy, although am a bit tired now, after morning spent digging the vegetable patch.
Any more questions, you can PM me.
Best wishes Lizzy

Edited to add: most of my daily carbs come from vegetables or dairy produce, never eat rice, having decided cauliflower rice is tastier, have occasional tiny portion of pasta (20-25 wholemeal penne), occasional small portion (about a dozen) frozen chips.
Have also found a lower carb bread (28gcarbs per 100g)so can have a slice of toast.
The sugary stuff is best avoided.
 
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bulkbiker said:
3.7 for a non diabetic would be perfectly "normal" if not on any meds although it usually takes me 3 days of fasting to get to that level.
Assuming you're not on any blood sugar lowering meds you should be fine.
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Ok that’s good to know, no not on any meds. My average reading on the Libre is 5.0 so far (albeit only on day 3), and so far everything looks very ‘normal’ , with short spikes up after food (but not higher than 6.9 yet), with a quick drop back to level I started at within 90 minutes.
 


Hi Lizzy, thank you. I haven't got a meter yet but am looking into it. I think it would be handy to know how certain foods affect me. I'd like to know what level, if any, of carbs I could have.

Will definitely have a look at that app, thanks. I've always shied away from cauliflower rice, but maybe I'll revisit it.

Thanks for your advice.
 
CherryCakes said:
I don't eat red meat, but this morning had eggs and turkey bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes. Yum.

It's just like retraining yourself isn't it. I need to think about weekday breakfasts a bit, but am doing lots of research.
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Turkey bacon? Are you in the USA by any chance?

I find food over there such a surprise - you get such amazing vegetables and meat, so I don't understand why folks eat so much processed stuff.
 
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