DIET HELP PLEASE

Hi Natasha, it is difficult but portion control is important, I was told to aim for a 'small apple or a clenched fist', this would mean that portion size for carbs, fruit etc.

As a type 1 I work to 100g or 4 oz as much as possible, but I need to remember with things like pasta/rice this is has to be the amount after cooking.

If your mum enjoys cooking then there are some really good recipe books for a diabetic diet. I bought one called Recipes for Health - Diabetes, by Azmina Govindji & Jill Myers (I bought it from Waterstones).

Hope it all works out for her

Hi Natasha,

Sorry to hear about your Mum, but you'll help her a great deal by checking out the great advice on offer in this forum.
She isn't the first diabetic to be misguided by a well intentioned but misinformed dietician.
In my view, it's pointless and actually harmful to switch to low fat alternatives to 'normal' foods. It's not the fat that causes or worsens diabetes - it's the carbohydrates. The bacon and sausages will have a much smaller impact on her blood sugar levels than the chips for example.
If she was to eat more meat, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and vegeatables and cut out the potatoes, bread, pasta and rice she'll do an awful lot better than on the 'official' diet, and she'll enjoy it a lot more too!

All the best,

fergusc

What Fergus said.

Make sure you are focussing on the right thing:

1. First and foremost you have to appreciate that it's carbohydrates that have the biggest impact on blood glucose levels, not fats or anything else. As Ferg said, if she can cut down on her carbs (potatoes, bread, rice, pasta) then her BG levels are bound to improve;
2. Second, though, she's right in trying to lose some weight. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance which will be greatly improved by losing some weight. From that perspective, she needs to watch the amount of fat being consumed. To be honest, sausage and chips is never going to be a particularly healthy meal for anyone, regardless of diabetes!

LJ

Thanks, LJ.

Insulin resistance certainly improves as body weight improves and there is a direct relationship between the two. At the same time, insulin resistance also improves when we produce or inject less insulin.

It's impossible to lose weight while insulin levels are high without extreme calorie restriction. Even with extreme restriction it's still sometimes impossible. Weight loss is only going to happen when there are low levels of insulin in the bloodstream, which is when free fatty acids are used for fuel and the body produces glucagon to fuel this process. Glucagon synthesis is shut down when insulin levels are too high, so that fat is stored rather than burned.

This is why eating fat won't make you fat, but eating carbohydrates will.

My advice would be to eat more fat and fewer carbs. That way you won't feel hungry, you won't need much insulin, and your body will mobilise its own fat stores.

All the best,

fergusc

All the best,

fergusc

Ferg, interesting theory. I have to say I haven't looked into the whole issue too much.

What I would say is that regardless of weight loss goals, eating a lot of bad fats (saturated fats) is going to be bad for you in the long run. Aren't those fats bad for the heart, and diabetes sufferes already have an increased chance of heart attack as it is.

LJ

Hi LJ,

I think that the fear of saturated fat is widespread, rarely questioned, but actually pretty groundless. It dates back to the Seven Countries Study of 1980 by Ancel Keys. It claimed a direct correlation between coronary heart disease and saturated fat intake.

Only a couple of wee problems though. He rejected the evidence from all the countries which disproved his connection (15 of them!) and he didn't look at the effect of the consumption of either protein or carbohydrates. Bit of an oversight there, then!

The more I look at the available evidence, the more convinced I am that we have nothing to fear from saturated fat. The principal diatary cause of diabetes, heart disease, and many cancers is refined carbohydrates.

End of story!

All the best,

fergusc