Dr Bernstein and blood sugar levels.

[Alexandra100]

You need to remember Dr. Bernstein is Type 1 and insulin dependent. He can control his insulin requirements, we can't.

Good point!

I love you @Bluetit1802 and I thought the same thing. It is NOT EVEN CLOSE to that easy. We can suffer hypos for no reason what so ever. I followed brenstian as a type 2 and just ate vlc ( same as I do now) and if I messed up I took a good walk. All was well. Now insulin acts differnt ALL the time. Sometimes like water and sometimes way overshoots to hypo land. Never know what it's going to do. I remember reading it and first thought was a good laugh and saying ' hello , you take insulin, how hard can it be?' I'm hear to tell you I'm eating my laughter and words. I wish I were those 2 again and could just walk it off.

I do still love and use his laws of small numbers to keep me further ( not gone) away from hypos. They're just not as severe. And I love Jenny Ruhl. Spent hours on her site and have her books. She's a love.y lady too

I also incrrporated on the way the roseday diet that had the magic key to not knowing why my bg was going up with a no carb meal. So the moderating protein helped.

We are all at differnt stages with differnt amount of pancreatic function so differnt foods act differnt for everyone.

I mean no harm or criticism what so ever !!! I highly respect you.

And another good point! Or several. I'll check out the Roseday diet.

 

[Indy51]

Good point!

And another good point! Or several. I'll check out the Roseday diet.

I think this was a typo - the diet is actually the Rosedale diet by Dr Ron Rosedale.

 

[Alexandra100]

I think this was a typo - the diet is actually the Rosedale diet by Dr Ron Rosedale.

Thanks Indy, I found it.

 

[Kristin251]

Yes. Sorry. After rereading this thread, I have SO many typos!!! I read them before I post and autocorrect does something in cyberspace!! I do know how to spell lol.

@Alexandra100, it's a great book and website. It's a small fast read but I picked up quite a few gems

The main ones were the moderation of protein and to space it 4 hours apart. This allows bg, leptin and insulin to come back to baseline before raising them.
Fat snacks only.

He has a 3 week wash out phase and then a few things can be added back but I pretty much ate off his food list anyway. I just had to adjust protein and timing.

I hope you pick up some gems too. I believe his web site is pretty thorough

No typos. I'll see what happens when it hits the forum!!

 

[Alexandra100]

Yes. Sorry. After rereading this thread, I have SO many typos!!! I read them before I post and autocorrect does something in cyberspace!! I do know how to spell lol.

@Alexandra100, it's a great book and website. It's a small fast read but I picked up quite a few gems

The main ones were the moderation of protein and to space it 4 hours apart. This allows bg, leptin and insulin to come back to baseline before raising them.
Fat snacks only.

He has a 3 week wash out phase and then a few things can be added back but I pretty much ate off his food list anyway. I just had to adjust protein and timing.

I hope you pick up some gems too. I believe his web site is pretty thorough

No typos. I'll see what happens when it hits the forum!!

Thanks Kristin, IMO autocorrect is an invention of the devil!!! I have several times been near to smashing my tablet and phone in fury and frustration at its antics, and at my difficulty in finding how to disable it. Being quite old, the Rosedale book is on offer very cheaply from Amazon, so I guess given your recommendation I'll order it. I was a bit reluctant because Dr Bernstein's book should arrive soon, and I'm not sure I can survive two gurus at the same time. (2.5 with the lovely Jenny Ruhl thrown in.)

 

[Alexandra100]

Yes. Sorry. After rereading this thread, I have SO many typos!!! I read them before I post and autocorrect does something in cyberspace!! I do know how to spell lol.

@Alexandra100, it's a great book and website. It's a small fast read but I picked up quite a few gems

The main ones were the moderation of protein and to space it 4 hours apart. This allows bg, leptin and insulin to come back to baseline before raising them.
Fat snacks only.

He has a 3 week wash out phase and then a few things can be added back but I pretty much ate off his food list anyway. I just had to adjust protein and timing.

I hope you pick up some gems too. I believe his web site is pretty thorough

No typos. I'll see what happens when it hits the forum!!

I'm not sure I understand about "fat snacks only". Short of swallowing a slug of olive oil, what would they be? Would cheese do?

 

[tim2000s]

Reading this, I am thinking would it be legal for Dr Bernstein to drive in the UK and would his GP sign the form to say he was safe for a HGV licence given how low he keeps his BG?

No. He is also hypo unaware, so no-one would agree to let him drive anyway.

 

[Kristin251]

Thanks Kristin, IMO autocorrect is an invention of the devil!!! I have several times been near to smashing my tablet and phone in fury and frustration at its antics, and at my difficulty in finding how to disable it. Being quite old, the Rosedale book is on offer very cheaply from Amazon, so I guess given your recommendation I'll order it. I was a bit reluctant because Dr Bernstein's book should arrive soon, and I'm not sure I can survive two gurus at the same time. (2.5 with the lovely Jenny Ruhl thrown in.)

Haha. I have to resist throwing my electronics too. AND my meter.

I like Bernstein and I got a few gems. I like Rosedale and further gems. But my all time fav is Primal Body Primal Mind by Nora Gaudet(sp?) admittedly I only read the body part, not the mind. I should do that some day. It's a conglomeration of lots of gurus including Rosedale. It's not written for diabetics but rather over all health. It is low carb form veggies, MODERATE amounts of protein and higher healthy fats. JUST enough to satisfy. No more no less. It is also like Rosedale in the aspect of keeping protein to no more than 3 oz per meal spaced 4 hours apart to stop the mTOR pathway which is the pathway to all kinds of disease. It's about prevention. Also brings up the leptin theory and keeping insulin levels low is almost more important than keeping bg low.
If I had to give all my books away except one it would be Primal body Primal mind. It covers SO many things and is a gentle easy read.

Rosedales website should be ample to get the gist. It has food lists and answers frequent questions which is informative.

The fat snacks he recommends is a few low carb nuts like macadamias, pecans, walnuts. No pistachio. Cashew or peanut. ( not nuts, they're legumes )
He has a few cheese options but I think they're prohibited in the initial phase but that should the 3 week phase to allow the body to switch to fat burning so if you're there you can choose to ignore.
I have never guzzled oil haha. But admittedly I make flavored mayo with either spicy sauce, mustard, horseradish, lemon and basil and I have dipped a tsp in.. olives work too. It's been a few years since I read it but I'm thinking the website has it.

Are you trying to lose weight, get bg in order or both?

 

[Kristin251]

Haha. I have to resist throwing my electronics too. AND my meter.

I like Bernstein and I got a few gems. I like Rosedale and further gems. But my all time fav is Primal Body Primal Mind by Nora Gaudet(sp?) admittedly I only read the body part, not the mind. I should do that some day. It's a conglomeration of lots of gurus including Rosedale. It's not written for diabetics but rather over all health. It is low carb form veggies, MODERATE amounts of protein and higher healthy fats. JUST enough to satisfy. No more no less. It is also like Rosedale in the aspect of keeping protein to no more than 3 oz per meal spaced 4 hours apart to stop the mTOR pathway which is the pathway to all kinds of disease. It's about prevention. Also brings up the leptin theory and keeping insulin levels low is almost more important than keeping bg low.
If I had to give all my books away except one it would be Primal body Primal mind. It covers SO many things and is a gentle easy read.

Rosedales website should be ample to get the gist. It has food lists and answers frequent questions which is informative.

The fat snacks he recommends is a few low carb nuts like macadamias, pecans, walnuts. No pistachio. Cashew or peanut. ( not nuts, they're legumes )
He has a few cheese options but I think they're prohibited in the initial phase but that should the 3 week phase to allow the body to switch to fat burning so if you're there you can choose to ignore.
I have never guzzled oil haha. But admittedly I make flavored mayo with either spicy sauce, mustard, horseradish, lemon and basil and I have dipped a tsp in.. olives work too. It's been a few years since I read it but I'm thinking the website has it.

Are you trying to lose weight, get bg in order or both?

To add, and not at all to brag but I was able to keep bg in bernsteins range AFTER I found Rosedale, reduced protein and spread it out when I was type two. Now as T 1 I'm still close. My range ( other than morning DP) averages 75ish -100. That is because of bernsteins small numbers rule. My hypos are rare and not severe. 64 is about the lowest. My DP can go up to 105 on average. Sometimes it's higher and sometimes it's right where I went to bed. That's usually around 85. My evening meal can certainly determine my fasting

 

[ringi]

No. He is also hypo unaware, so no-one would agree to let him drive anyway.

Does keeping to his book increase the risk that someone will become hypro unaware?

 

[Kristin251]

Does keeping to his book increase the risk that someone will become hypro unaware?

I am very hypo aware. Anything under 78. He's been doing this a lot longer than me but following his advice I don't get severe hypos like I use daily to

 

[Alexandra100]

Haha. I have to resist throwing my electronics too. AND my meter.

I like Bernstein and I got a few gems. I like Rosedale and further gems. But my all time fav is Primal Body Primal Mind by Nora Gaudet(sp?) admittedly I only read the body part, not the mind. I should do that some day. It's a conglomeration of lots of gurus including Rosedale. It's not written for diabetics but rather over all health. It is low carb form veggies, MODERATE amounts of protein and higher healthy fats. JUST enough to satisfy. No more no less. It is also like Rosedale in the aspect of keeping protein to no more than 3 oz per meal spaced 4 hours apart to stop the mTOR pathway which is the pathway to all kinds of disease. It's about prevention. Also brings up the leptin theory and keeping insulin levels low is almost more important than keeping bg low.
If I had to give all my books away except one it would be Primal body Primal mind. It covers SO many things and is a gentle easy read.

Rosedales website should be ample to get the gist. It has food lists and answers frequent questions which is informative.

The fat snacks he recommends is a few low carb nuts like macadamias, pecans, walnuts. No pistachio. Cashew or peanut. ( not nuts, they're legumes )
He has a few cheese options but I think they're prohibited in the initial phase but that should the 3 week phase to allow the body to switch to fat burning so if you're there you can choose to ignore.
I have never guzzled oil haha. But admittedly I make flavored mayo with either spicy sauce, mustard, horseradish, lemon and basil and I have dipped a tsp in.. olives work too. It's been a few years since I read it but I'm thinking the website has it.

Are you trying to lose weight, get bg in order or both?

All very interesting, thanks very much. Actually, as a vegetarian/pescatarian a lot of my protein comes from nuts. Walnuts are a boon as they are so low in carbs.

I am 5'9" tall and this morning I weighed 109.5lbs (7 stone11.5lbs), so I urgently need to gain weight rather than lose it. I passionately want to lower my bg and am very envious of your good record. At present my status is far from clear and I'm not keen to plunge into keto til I understand better what is going on in my body. I suspect I am LADO rather than T2, partly on account of the weight loss, which has been slowly happening over a few years. Confusingly, I seem to tolerate carbs best for breakfast, and my bg tends to spike towards evening even if I have eaten almost no carbs. I'm struggling to run and my blood pressure is extremely low (which is not always a good sign!) So I'm thinking there may be something inflammatory going on which is raising my bg regardless of what I eat. I'm planning to keep on recording carbs and bg til November and then make an appointment to see a diabetes specialist privately. i do appreciate our dialogue.

 

[Alexandra100]

To add, and not at all to brag but I was able to keep bg in bernsteins range AFTER I found Rosedale, reduced protein and spread it out when I was type two. Now as T 1 I'm still close. My range ( other than morning DP) averages 75ish -100. That is because of bernsteins small numbers rule. My hypos are rare and not severe. 64 is about the lowest. My DP can go up to 105 on average. Sometimes it's higher and sometimes it's right where I went to bed. That's usually around 85. My evening meal can certainly determine my fasting

To add to my woes, my 1 hour readings are often but not always the same as the pre-prandial ones, or even lower. I think I must suffer from intermittent gastro-presis, in a mild form. So I went over to recording only 2 hour tests, but of course that means I never know if the number really represents a 1 hour rise which took place belatedly, or a real 2 hour level, the 1 hour rise having gone unseen.

 

[Kristin251]

To add to my woes, my 1 hour readings are often but not always the same as the pre-prandial ones, or even lower. I think I must suffer from intermittent gastro-presis, in a mild form. So I went over to recording only 2 hour tests, but of course that means I never know if the number really represents a 1 hour rise which took place belatedly, or a real 2 hour level, the 1 hour rise having gone unseen.

Here is my experience. I'm 5'8 and now 120. I've been that weight for many many years with the exception of my LADA progression. I dropped to 112 and stayed there roughly a year. Too thin but I was eating less due to bs rises and zero help from my two docs. Then I dropped rather rapidly to my lowest weight of 94#'s and I was literally skin and bones. Flesh dripping off me and at this point I was eating loads and still dropping. Bs stupid high then. Finally I got the DX and immediately after starting insulin I gained my 25#'s back in two months and it stopped right there. Now I eat exactly as I did pre DX. Looking back LADA was coming on slowly and my 'diabetic endocrinologist specialist' who almost killed me told me to just go out and eat. That's when bs rocketed and I could t bring it down no matter what I did. Three months later I was near death. Close enough I got a small monetary award for his negligence. I controlled it through diet and exercise for a long time but I was just postponing the inevitable which of course I didn't know at the time. Every thing I ate raised me.
As far as your one and two hours I have been testing long enough to know my two and three hours are always higher than my one but I am vlc.
My story on nuts...they don't raise me much if at all however they do effect my insulin sensitivity. I won't go up but I won't come back down. Then the next meal I go up higher than I should so the nut fat accumulates through the day and the more I eat the more resistant I get later in the day. Now on insulin I can clearly see this as ill need more insulin for the next meal as opposed to if I didn't eat them. I love roasted pecans and Macs and have one of each multiple times a day. Then they don't effect me. Cheese is another one that shows up much later than two hours. Animal fats as well but you don't eat them. Eggs are super steady foods for me but I only eat one at a time.
I'm assuming you eat lots of veggies? The fibery stringy ones slow my digestion and when that happens I do see a rise if my tummy isn't happy.

Just so many things to balance but it's been interesting since starting insulin as I can see what's happening, what makes me more sensative or more resistant by how much insulin I need.

The c peptide and gad tests are the ones you want. Doctors don't like doing them but they are the only tests that will determine which 'type' you are

 

[Bluetit1802]

So I went over to recording only 2 hour tests, but of course that means I never know if the number really represents a 1 hour rise which took place belatedly, or a real 2 hour level, the 1 hour rise having gone unseen.

Have you tried 2.5 hour and 3 hour tests? They can be very useful.

 

[Kristin251]

All very interesting, thanks very much. Actually, as a vegetarian/pescatarian a lot of my protein comes from nuts. Walnuts are a boon as they are so low in carbs.

I am 5'9" tall and this morning I weighed 109.5lbs (7 stone11.5lbs), so I urgently need to gain weight rather than lose it. I passionately want to lower my bg and am very envious of your good record. At present my status is far from clear and I'm not keen to plunge into keto til I understand better what is going on in my body. I suspect I am LADO rather than T2, partly on account of the weight loss, which has been slowly happening over a few years. Confusingly, I seem to tolerate carbs best for breakfast, and my bg tends to spike towards evening even if I have eaten almost no carbs. I'm struggling to run and my blood pressure is extremely low (which is not always a good sign!) So I'm thinking there may be something inflammatory going on which is raising my bg regardless of what I eat. I'm planning to keep on recording carbs and bg til November and then make an appointment to see a diabetes specialist privately. i do appreciate our dialogue.

Are you eating high fat? Fat will delay a spike. For me nuts are included. And as I said the fat seems to accumulate over the day and by night I just keep rising.

 

[Alexandra100]

Are you eating high fat? Fat will delay a spike. For me nuts are included. And as I said the fat seems to accumulate over the day and by night I just keep rising.

Kristin, I haven't understood. Are you saying that your bg rises as the day goes on? And that fat is the cause of this, but you keep on eating it anyway? Or that I should not eat too much fat? Please don't think I'm challenging you, I'm just very confused. Last night I was really disappointed to get yet another 7 reading in the early evening despite sacrificing most of the carbs I usually eat for breakfast and having very moderate carbs for lunch. Looking back over my records, l see that decimating my carbs has led to an improvement, in that I no longer see occasional 8s in the evening, but 7s recur often seemingly without any connection to what I have eaten. Given that I am eating less carbs and should NOT lose any more weight, obviously I do have to eat more protein and fat, but I don't think the amounts I eat are excessive. Honestly, carbs wrong, fat wrong, protein wrong - if only I could just give up on eating altogether! But I suspect that wouldn't help either.

PS Sorry, I wrote this before I saw your previous long message, which I'm about to read now & will respond to later. Thanks very much for taking so much trouble.

 

[Kristin251]

Kristin, I haven't understood. Are you saying that your bg rises as the day goes on? And that fat is the cause of this, but you keep on eating it anyway? Or that I should not eat too much fat? Please don't think I'm challenging you, I'm just very confused. Last night I was really disappointed to get yet another 7 reading in the early evening despite sacrificing most of the carbs I usually eat for breakfast and having very moderate carbs for lunch. Looking back over my records, l see that decimating my carbs has led to an improvement, in that I no longer see occasional 8s in the evening, but 7s recur often seemingly without any connection to what I have eaten. Given that I am eating less carbs and should NOT lose any more weight, obviously I do have to eat more protein and fat, but I don't think the amounts I eat are excessive. Honestly, carbs wrong, fat wrong, protein wrong - if only I could just give up on eating altogether! But I suspect that wouldn't help either.

PS Sorry, I wrote this before I saw your previous long message, which I'm about to read now & will respond to later. Thanks very much for taking so much trouble.

Sorry if I confused you. Diabetes is totally confusing.

What I have personally found is that eating certain fats , mainly too many nuts or animal fat, that it doesn't cause a spike early but rather very delayed as well as makes me insulin resistant. I eat an 80% fat diet but I tan mainly in avocado, mayo, olive oil and SOME nuts divided through the day. I eat one Mac and one pecan about 6 or 7 times a day. I think it's just the salt I like haha. I eat them as dessert and snack.
I eat a whole avocado a day. Some with each meal. It keeps my spikes low and slow. If I just eat protein and fat I gluconeogenisis like a rock star and spike. No way I could just eat carbs of any kind alone. I'd be ravenous. In other words if I have some tuna with mayo and a small salad I will rise faster and higher than if I added some avocado. The fat and fiber keep me low and slow and satisfied. It actually as been a miracle for me to keep my glucose not only low but very steady.
Also for ME, I do much better in keto as once my glycogen stores are full and extra just turns to bs. I am not built like a brick house. I'm thin and don't have oodles of muscles so not oodles of places to store glycogen.

The rise you get at night could be an accumulation of what's you e eaten through the day as well and have filled your glycogen stores hence the rise.

I hear you!!! Loud and clear!!! What are we supposed to eat??? My diet is 20c per day. Mostly in avocado, nuts and some chopped veggies and lettuce wraps. I eat 5 oz protein divide into 4 small meals and one oz of cheese. The rest is one avocado and some other various fats. So 5% c, 17% protein and 77% fat roughly.
Where else do you get protein other than nuts?
And perhaps your mornings are lower because you're more active than evenings?

 

[Alexandra100]

Sorry if I confused you. Diabetes is totally confusing.

What I have personally found is that eating certain fats , mainly too many nuts or animal fat, that it doesn't cause a spike early but rather very delayed as well as makes me insulin resistant. I eat an 80% fat diet but I tan mainly in avocado, mayo, olive oil and SOME nuts divided through the day. I eat one Mac and one pecan about 6 or 7 times a day. I think it's just the salt I like haha. I eat them as dessert and snack.
I eat a whole avocado a day. Some with each meal. It keeps my spikes low and slow. If I just eat protein and fat I gluconeogenisis like a rock star and spike. No way I could just eat carbs of any kind alone. I'd be ravenous. In other words if I have some tuna with mayo and a small salad I will rise faster and higher than if I added some avocado. The fat and fiber keep me low and slow and satisfied. It actually as been a miracle for me to keep my glucose not only low but very steady.
Also for ME, I do much better in keto as once my glycogen stores are full and extra just turns to bs. I am not built like a brick house. I'm thin and don't have oodles of muscles so not oodles of places to store glycogen.

The rise you get at night could be an accumulation of what's you e eaten through the day as well and have filled your glycogen stores hence the rise.

I hear you!!! Loud and clear!!! What are we supposed to eat??? My diet is 20c per day. Mostly in avocado, nuts and some chopped veggies and lettuce wraps. I eat 5 oz protein divide into 4 small meals and one oz of cheese. The rest is one avocado and some other various fats. So 5% c, 17% protein and 77% fat roughly.
Where else do you get protein other than nuts?
And perhaps your mornings are lower because you're more active than evenings?

Just a quick reply to say, no way have YOU confused me - it's just that I am confused! I'mnot sure how you survive on what sounds like very few calories.

 

[Kristin251]

Just a quick reply to say, no way have YOU confused me - it's just that I am confused! I'mnot sure how you survive on what sounds like very few calories.

By the end of the day it's about 11-1200. All I need. Food bogs me down, high bs exhausts me. I have more energy and better mood on less food.
I eat about 5oz protein, 20 carbs and the rest is fat. Fat ( avocado) fuels me beautifully. Carbs make me hungry. Too much protein bogs me down. I should add I have an extremely finicky stomach. It likes what it likes and if it doesn't it certainly lets me know.
25+ years ago I did the adtkins induction and never looked back. On the rare occasion I did and added 'healthy grains and fruit' I was exhausted, achy, bloated and RAVENOUS . Looking back even further into my childhood it was the same. I just never knew it was food!!
Luckily now my diet allows me to take very small doses of insulin and that's what I prefer over eat what you want, just inject.

What type of carbs and proteins do you eat? Something might just jump out at me.