Hi. I am a type 2 diabetic, diagnosed 5 years ago. I take metformin and gliclizide for my sugars. Today i went to see a new primary care doctor for the first time. She told me my a1c was 8.6 and she wants all of my sugars to be below 6.5 at all times, even right after meals. I have never had any big issues lowering my sugars as long as i eat healthy and take care of myself, but I’ve just been going through some stress and failing to do so the past few months. The doctor suggested i eat no carbs. I was happy to hear this because i enjoy eating low carbs/higher fat but every doctor i have ever mentioned this to has told me i need to eat really low fat and high carbs due to an elevated cholesterol and some mild artery blocks. They told me that high fats would clog my arteries more. When i told her this, she right away said no no..no carbs OR fat. She even wants me to not go overboard on n protein, getting most of my protein from veggies. No red meat. Soo now I’m confused again. I thought low carb always meant high fat. And I enjoy my red meat in moderation as well. Is her advice something i should follow? And is it possible to have your sugars at 6.5 or under at all times even afrer meals?
Doctor suggested no carb/no fat diet
- Thread starter ajanes29
- Start Date
bulkbiker
BANNED
- Messages
- 19,569
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Did she actually make any suggestions about what to eat as she has excluded the only three macro nutrients that there are.. maybe survive on air?
I'd suggest a new doctor that knows a little about human nutrition...
lol. She told me to get most of my protein from veggies and to eat fish and some chicken but not to go overboard on the protein. I love veggies but they definitely don’t fill me up.
If you eat no fat and no carbs, then all of you energy must come from protein (assuming alcohol is not used as an energy source)
To get 2000 calories you need to eat 500g of protein per day
But “you are not to go overboard on protein”
The advice makes no sense at all and is impossible to follow
See a different doctor would be my suggestion
To get 2000 calories you need to eat 500g of protein per day
But “you are not to go overboard on protein”
The advice makes no sense at all and is impossible to follow
See a different doctor would be my suggestion
bulkbiker
BANNED
- Messages
- 19,569
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
So in your shoes I'd cut carbs to an absolute minimum and eat fat and protein as my main sources of energy. That's what I did. Drug free and in remission for over 3 1/2 years.
Cholesterol is a red herring in my opinion so don't worry about it or educate yourself about it and knock the socks off your GP. That they said "fat clogs your arteries" show they know very little about human nutrition or the workings of the body.
How much carbs, fats & proteins is a good place to start? Do i have to eat a lot of fat?
Butter, cheese, full fat yoghurt, cream etc. are fats that you can eat, it's not just the fat that surrounds meat that you can eat.
bulkbiker
BANNED
- Messages
- 19,569
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I eat that fat that comes along with my protein so bacon, pork belly, steaks, chicken thighs etc.. I try to minimise carbs as far as possible so mine mainly come from the cream in my coffee.
JohnEGreen
Master
- Messages
- 13,971
- Type of diabetes
- Other
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Tripe and Onions
Hi. I'm afraid your Doc hasn't a clue when it comes to diet and is following the bad advice from PHE. Yes, keep the carbs down but fats are NOT a problem. The fats you eat have little effect on the arteries as the liver produces the bad cholesterol that clogs the arteries rather than the fat you eat. You can have as many proteins of any kind that you want unless you have some other health condition. You need to challenge the Doc on where he gets his information from.
Hi ajanes,
I got similar impossible contradictory advice when I was first diagnosed T2D. In my case it was to eat almost no fat or protein, but also to cut down on carbs, but eat whole grains. Since I had already been eating High Carb (whole grains and other so-called healthy ones) and low Fat or over 10yrs by that time. I too wondered how I was to survive - not off my belly fat, since I was only 2lbs 'overweight.
I decided to ignore their advice since it was their advice that got me a 3x Bypass and T2D.
I went Low Carb Higher Fat with a little more Protein - the complete reverse of what I had previously been eating!
So far, so good: My HDL has improved and my HbA1C is now in the 'pre-diabetic' range.
Resurgam
Master
- Messages
- 10,086
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
There is well documented evidence of how too little fat in the diet leads to illness and even death. Eating only rabbit meat, or caribou at certain times of year can cause it.
There is an article on the BMJ Open site which reports that people with higher levels of LDL cholesterol tend to live longer - they decided to check.
There is an article on the BMJ Open site which reports that people with higher levels of LDL cholesterol tend to live longer - they decided to check.
