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Discussion on levels not lowering

Lynnzhealth

Well-Known Member
Messages
160
Location
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
This thread is an offshoot of another, which got derailed by @Lynnzhealth's question.
So we have moved her question, and the subsequent discussion to this new thread.
Regards,
Brunneria

Lynnzhealth said:
I was doing really well since about June 2017 when I started Keto. Everything was good. This past few months, in spite of Keto, my blood sugars have been rising. I am totally baffled and don't know what to do. I was off Metformin about 2 wks after starting back in 2017, but started taking it again yesterday. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong and I'm getting very scared. Yesterday and today my sugars were up to 15.2. I do not eat anything that is not Keto approved. I have been under a lot of stress/anxiety and the weather is finally improving enough so that my dog and I can get some much needed exercise. My last test results showed my A1C level at 6.9 and I do not want it to go higher than that but I'm afraid it will by the end of June. Today I ate 2 sl low carb bread (homemade), 1 egg, bulletproof coffee. Lunch low carb biscuit (homemade), peanut butter and black tea. Supper was some turkey, a few brussels sprouts and broccoli cooled in olive oil/spices. As I said before, what am I doing wrong and how do I fix this sooner rather than later?
 
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Never mind what is "keto approved" what are you actually eating? Brewing infections can really mess up your readings. Likewise stress.
 
xfieldok said:
Never mind what is "keto approved" what are you actually eating? Brewing infections can really mess up your readings. Likewise stress.
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This is what I ate today: Breakfast, I ate 2 sl low carb bread (homemade), 1 egg, bulletproof coffee. Lunch low carb biscuit (homemade), peanut butter and black tea. Supper was some turkey, a few brussels sprouts and broccoli roasted in olive oil/spices. I have not eaten any grains, pastas, breads, sugar, canned drinks, juices etc for two years. Everything is low carb, healthy fat, the same as I've been eating for nearly two years. Nothing has changed in that respect, but lots of stress/anxiety.
 
I would re-ckeck your home made bread and biscuits, but stress is a definite red flag and can play havoc with Bsl.
 
@Lynnzhealth yes, stress can be a problem as can inadequate sleep. One trick I use to get blood glucose levels down is to add a salad of leafy greens with an EVOO and vinegar vinaigrette with spices to one of my meals. If I think I haven't gotten enough salt, which can raise glucose levels, I'll grate a teaspoon of sea salt into a cup of hot water and drink it. Have you considered eating more vegetables? I generally have raw or cooked vegetables with all meals. For days when I'm working, I prepare a bowl of raw vegetables the night before to have with my lunch. Perhaps your caloric intake is too low due to not eating enough fat?
 
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xfieldok said:
I would re-ckeck your home made bread and biscuits, but stress is a definite red flag and can play havoc with Bsl.
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My bread/scones are made with almond flour, ground flax, sometimes psyllium husk powder, eggs, etc. Nothing from the 'old' way of baking bread/scones. They are very low carb and no sugar. I have to do more research. Maybe I'm one of those people who can't do some things. There is a little bit of yeast in one of them. I'll check that out again. Thanks.
 
I was eating a keto snack between meals, but haven't done that for a couple of weeks now. That was due to stress. I thought of too much insulin floating around, too. I know I need to eat more veggies. I thought I was getting enough salt, but will look into that. I did a 15-hr fast last week and it didn't seem to help at all. I had stomach staples done about 40 years ago, so can't eat as much as a normal person. Then, if I eat more often to get more calories, my BG goes up. I'd like to fast for a couple of days, however, I don't want to lose any more weight. It's confusing. Thanks for the tips.
 
Okay, that's all helpful information. The only way I know to stop weight loss is to add more fat. For me that would be avocado, green olives, peanut butter or almond butter, cheese, raw nuts, or butter straight from the fridge.

When I'm stressed, things that help are getting outside and walking, even if it's only 10 minutes. Pace varies. May be brisk or I may walk slow to focus on my breathing to focus on the grass, trees, animals, and sky - (I work and live in older areas of our city so this is possible).

Nutritional supplement strategies for me when stressed would be a good quality B-complex, fish oil, and magnesium. To battle inflammation, I'd take cucurmin.

The salt is important too. I don't eat processed foods and cook from scratch. I always forget to add salt. That may not be a problem for you, but it is for me. Headaches are a clue that that's part of what's going on.

I've never checked my c-peptide level to see if I'm producing adequate insulin but you could do that for peace of mind. I do however monitor my inflammation status with a highy sensitive C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP) test. Having your doctor run a Comprehensive Metabollic Panel would be a way to rule out infection.

I have a condition called subclinical hyperthyroidism, so managing stress is an ongoing challenge for me. It doesn't take much stress to get me doing shallow breathing which just makes things worse.

When life is challenging at work I definitely have a harder time managing glucose levels.
 
Thanks for all the tips. I do the higher fat thing, using most of what you mentioned. And, now that the weather is improving my dog and I go for long walks. I live just outside our city and have tons of trails to walk. No earphones for me. I love to hear all the sounds of nature. I also live near water and find that soothing. Occasionally we go to the North Shore beaches and sit and listen to the waves.

I need more fish oil and curcumin. I only take those occasionally. Foggy brain. I checked my PH levels today and I am way below the best-health level, so need to work on getting my body up to the 7.4 level for optimum health. I thought I was getting enough salt, magnesium and potassium, but maybe not. Also, I'm not eating enough green veggies for sure. I have never heard of the c-peptide level or hsCRP test. There are so many things to be constantly aware of that it's confusing. Thank you again for your input. I appreciate it.
 
That's so great you have regular contact with the natural environments. We have extensive trail systems throughout our city and parks adjacent to the ocean, river, and creeks. I feel so fortunate to live here. We sometimes have up to four deer in our protected back yard, tons of squirrels, a family of chickadees, but could do without the possums!

C-Peptide test is used to rule out a deficiency of insulin, which may lead to further testing for LADA. hsCRP is used to track inflammation which is important for me because I'm have a lot of fear around having a heart attack or stroke.

I really don't know anything about PH levels: what they should be and how to get them there. Could you tell me more about this?

Here's the link to the article on the importance of increasing salt intake - (when you think you're at the end of the article, be sure to scroll down further; the article is broken into two parts, and the last part gives very specific recommendations)...

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/how-salt-impacts-diabetes

The author, James DiNicolantonio, Ph.D., published a book in 2017 titled The Salt Fix: Why the Experst All Got It Wrong - How Eating More Salt May Save Your Life. The book has received more 4 and 5 star reviews than most books. More recently, he's co-authored books with Joseph Mercola, D.O. and Canadian nephrologist Jason Fung, M.D. All three of these books are on my list to read...

Here's the last half of the article for those who don't like clicking on links...

This mineral balances blood sugar and can prevent diabetes.

Giving people more salt may actually fix their pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Indeed, supplementing hypertensive type 2 diabetics with more sodium (increasing their sodium intake from about 3,000 mg to 6,000 mg per day) improved their insulin resistance. The authors concluded, "…an abundant sodium intake may improve glucose tolerance and insulin resistance, especially in diabetic, salt-sensitive, and/or medicated essential hypertensive subjects." And these patients are the very people we assume are harmed by eating more salt. However, the exact opposite appears to be true.

And the harms of low-salt diets on increasing insulin levels are not just a random occurrence. In fact, a meta-analysis of 19 randomized trials in humans has confirmed that low-salt diets increase fasting insulin levels. While more studies should be performed to understand the effect of increased salt intake in pre-diabetics and type 2 diabetics, it’s time to rethink the accepted model and urge caution with sodium restriction.

I recommend Redmond Real Salt, which contains good amounts of iodine (not artificial potassium iodide) and calcium. Hypertensive diabetics who consume about 2½ teaspoons of salt per day have been found to have improved insulin resistance compared to those eating around 1¼ teaspoons of salt per day. Everyone knows exercise is one of the best things that they can do to help with insulin resistance, diabetes, and high blood pressure. However, most people don't know that they lose about ½ a teaspoon of salt per hour of exercise in sweat. More importantly, we lose around 50 to 100 mcg of iodine in sweat per hour of exercise, and we also lose calcium. High-quality, mineral-rich salt is a great way to replace all three minerals (salt, iodine, and calcium) lost in sweat during exercise.
 

Winnie53, thank you. We don't have much wildlife on PEI. Squirrels, chipmunks, skunks (ick), raccoons, beautiful foxes and the dreaded coyote and coywolves, which came over on the ice at one time. Wish they'd go back over the ice. We don't have deer or any large animals like that.

That's a very interesting article. I've wondered recently if my salt intake was enough. I know I need to be aware of magnesium/potassium when I get leg cramps. Here is the link to an article on PH, from the same site you posted.

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-6243/How-to-Balance-Your-pH-to-Heal-Your-Body.html

So much information to absorb. Have a great day.
 
Thanks, that was an interesting read. I eat 17 items on the Acidic side and 35 items on the alkaline side, almost all listed next to the group labeled "10". I don't feel okay if I don't eat this way. Perhaps now I know why.
 
Winnie53 said:
Thanks, that was an interesting read. I eat 17 items on the Acidic side and 35 items on the alkaline side, almost all listed next to the group labeled "10". I don't feel okay if I don't eat this way. Perhaps now I know why.
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I just read the lists again and no wonder my PH level is way down. I need to really watch the acidic list. There are things on there that I didn't realize were acidic. Oooops.
 
I may be being overly cynical here but I thought the whole acid/alkaline thing was a bit of a myth and had been debunked regularly. The body tightly regulates these things and the acid in the stomach pretty much neutralises everything doesn’t it?
 
Lynnzhealth, a question I have is whether or not we're damaging the fat in almonds when we grind and bake them. I do have from our local food co-op a baked cookie that's made with coconut and almond flour then dipped in chocolate a few times a week. It's the only refined food I still eat. Thinking of giving that up too to get my glucose levels down.

I do like having some sugar in my diet though, so I eat very small amounts of fruit with meals. I eat with the seasons. Right now I'm eating grapefruit. I cut a 1/2" slice then cut that slice in half, which weighs about 40 grams, and eat that after I've finished my meal. It's amazingly satisfying.

I've pretty much eliminated all bread, pasta, potato and other tubers from my diet at this point. But I still eat carrots, raw or cooked, and I still eat very small amounts of beans and legumes. I'm getting away from eating baked goods made with almond flour.
 
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HSSS, the body tightly regulates PH in the bloodstream. I have no explanation for this, but I really do feel best when I'm eating highly alkaline vegetables with all my meals.
 
Maybe because the alkaline side has a lot of vegetables whereas the acid side has lots of higher carb stuff??.? I’ll bow out now, unconvinced it’s about ph. If your bgl are good then do what works for you.
 
HSSS I would be interested in anything you can provide, publicly or privately. I am science driven.
 
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