Carbs!!!! YES OR NO

Low carb eating is an option for all- not jut diabetics. It is essential for non insulin users. For insulin users like me, we need to adjust the dose of insulin to match the amount of carbs in the meal. Increasing insulin leads to weight gain leading to increased insulin resistance (also for a lot of long term type 1s).

There is a mode of thought that implies that high carb intake is worse for you than a high fat diet (even saturated fats). In general, health professional advice about carb intake is seen as old fashioned and potentially erroneous. My dietician advice was just plain wrong in this area.

However, it is a case of suck it and see. I go sky high with brown rice and pasta (which is not the case with all diabetics). It is a reaosn why all interested diabetics (what ever treatmetn regime they have) should have test trips prescribed.

Marty B

If what youare eating just now works for you then carry on doing it!The low carb suggestion is for those who's sugars are through the roof and eating low carb is the quickest way to bring down high blood sugars to more normal levels and keep them there.If you have found a diet that works for you then go for it.We are all different,some diabetics can't eat bread,pasta etc without their sugars going up big time.Others find that these have very little effect on them.Hope that helps.

Knowledge is the key to control

You're right there! I have type 1 and a young baby thats just started crawling and nearly walking, if I dont have my carbs i'll collapse!

I don't hate carbs at all. But 27 years of type 1 have taught me that carbs at every meal and normal blood sugars are mutually incompatible.
The only reason that dieticians recommend meals based upon starchy carbohydrates is a suspicion that dietary fat raises cholesterol and increases the risk of heart disease. But this was only a hypothesis which emerged in the late 1950's and has never been proven, despite the vast amounts of money spent trying to do so. If they recommend less fat, this means more carbohydrate instead. But more carbohydrate means much higher blood sugars, weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes. Now this IS a proven fact. We ate much more fat before this low fat hypothesis emerged, and had much less obesity and diabetes as a result.
Starchy carbs in particular offer no nutritional benefit, but require huge amounts of insulin. We'd all be much healthier without them.
As has been said often before, there are essential fats, essential proteins, but no such thing as an essential carbohydrate!
KoolKazzy, if you'd collapse without your carbs, perhaps you're using too much insulin?

All the best,

fergusc

I've not got any real skin in this discussion - maybe except fully support Martin's comments, that each diabetic should know what foods affect their BG levels by testing

But Fergusc - *** <b>please </b> stop looking back and using anecdotal evidence about our ancestors diets, obesity, and lifespan to support your carbs comments. You are not comparing like with like - lifestyle, availability of foodstuffs, disease management and understanding are all completely different, and I genuinely find it offensive to try and use that as part of your justification.

I do understand what you are saying - but lets base it on what helps people - understand what impacts the individual - and that can best be understood by measuring the impact of any meal or combination thereof on your BG levels :evil:- spend more time persuading people to test than to give up carbs - arghhhhh

Tormod,

Steady on! I'm not talking about anecdotal evidence when there is abundant research literature on the subject! No need to be so touchy!

Of course everyone needs to test and see what works for them, nobody would deny that. My point is simply that the current official line is to base diets upon carbohydrates when there is no evidence that this is helpful. Many people seem to feel that they are failing when their test results don't reflect the efforts they put in to looking after themselves.

Anyway, take it easy - ***!