Hello from Australia

Hello Everyone,
I am Gus, 60yo male from Melbourne.
Was diagnosed T2 about 3 years ago together with CVD.
Had quadruple bypass operation about 2 years ago.
Have had pretty good control with HbA1c results below 7% but have problems with FBG and 2hr post prandial results usually exceed max limits.
Only medication is metformin but take cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and ubiquinol supplements
Had some success with low carb high fat diet but am very very worried about fat and oils damaging arteries.
Just started very low fat starch diet (McDougall) and have had some success. Cannot figure it out but FBG's have been at or below diabetes limit of 6.0mmol/L for the past week, but 2hr post prandial have been in region of high 7's to 8 (Aust limit is 7.7mmol/L max). However, it has been said that this type of diet will increase lipid levels especially triglycerides, something that I am most concerned about as I already have CVD.
Through this forum, I am looking forward to getting new ideas from others in controlling blood sugar.

Andy12345 said:

Hi, Welcome

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thanks Andy, and nice to now you too

mo1905 said:

Welcome to the forum Gus, can you give us an idea of the foods you eat to see if we can advise how to drop that post meal reading a little ? Take care, Mo

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with pleasure Mo, and thanks for yr interest.

I eat mainly natural and unprocessed carbs and essentially oil/fat free. The majority of oils coming mainly from nuts/tofu

Breakfast - raw rolled oats mixed with crushed walnuts, almonds, oat bran, psyllium husks and chia in oat/soy/almond milk. Sometimes vegetable smoothies made from mainly spinach, rocket(arugula) and sweetened with fresh banana, canned pineapple or stevia in oat/soy/almond milk.

Lunch/Dinner - mains include boiled rice (brown basmati), sweet potato, taro, tofu, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta accompanied with baked beans, tempeh, vegetable curries, oil-free hummous, vegetable soups. Main vegetables currently used are onions, garlic, bak choy, choy sum, lettuce, spinach, parsley, coriander (cilantro). Plenty of spices to flavour everything. At the moment I am still eating a little fish (baked, curried and sometimes from cans) but only as an accompaniment.

Snacks - baked falafels (oil free, no tahini), raw almonds, raw carrots or celery dipped in hummous.
Therefore I have basically cut out meats, dairy and minimised oils/fats.

I do not measure volume and eat as much as I like, stopping only when I feel satiated. Strangely, since starting this diet I have not had the urge to snack and feel pretty full after each meal, especially dinner, where I used to snack a lot before bed.

For the last 2 years I have been on a very low carb high fat diet (atkins style) eating mostly meat, cheeses with hardly any grains, legumes or vegetables, even snacking on home made bacon crisps. Just before giving up on this diet my lipids are up and I could never get my FBG below 7, and whenever I ate hi carbs like brown rice, oats or wholegrain bread, postprandial can go up to 10.

Funnily, since starting on this high starch diet my FBG's have not exceeded 6 and 2hr post prandial does max's at 8. On top of that I have dropped about 3kg in the last 3 weeks (82kg-79kg). It was a very very hard decision to start on this diet as I love my meats and cheese, and have always cooked with oils (using only olive oils for the past 2 yrs). Over here we BBQ a lot and there's nothing tastier than char grilled meat or fish.

Hope above info gives you a better idea of my current diet.

jack412 said:

G'day blue
Wrong diet, try this and watch vid on page

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

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thanks for the advice Jack, and have followed that diet for last 2 years since my op but unfortunately with no success.
Weight creeped up with bad lipids and BG that is at or over limits. See my post in reply to mo below.

Robinredbreast said:

Hello and welcome to the forum Gus. With best wishes

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thanks Robin, and best wishes to you too.

catherinecherub said:

Hi Gusi,

I understand that with your medical history it is difficult to accept advise from virtual strangers. People here are well meaning but many have no experience of CVD and the subsequent feelings. It is a wakeup call and you realise that you have been given a second chance at life. The emotions that you experience are hard to put into words and you rethink every aspect of your life, including diet. Has your cardiac team suggested anything regarding diet?

Following a heart attack and a diagnosis of diabetes, I was advised everything in moderation and the importance of low G.I. for diabetics. A lot of people here do not agree with that but it works for me. Moderation is rather an empty phrase for most of us if there is no explanation and `I think the best way forward for you is to structure your diet around foods that you feel comfortable with, keep a food diary, test repeatedly as some starchy carbs become acceptable with a smaller portion, don't dismiss fats but don't overindulge in them, enjoy vegetables and fruits that are acceptable to your meter, include exercise in your daily life and keep fluid intake up. I rarely eat red meat but rely on chicken and fish for my protein. I don't have to worry about eggs and cheese because they are not my favourite foods and I rarely eat them unless they are incorporated in a menu and I keep away from processed meats.

You will get plenty of advice here but non of us have the medical qualifications to be able to tell you what is right for you but will put forward our experiences. There is some advice for newly diagnosed which is worth looking at as you may see some information there that will help.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.26870/

Control is a marathon, not a sprint and I am sure you will eventually find an eating plan that you are happy with and that works for you as an individual.

Take care
CC.

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Thanks for the feedback Catherine, much appreciated.

From your own experience, I can see that you know very well how I feel, and therefore realise that people in our shoes have to be very careful as we do not really have the luxury of experimenting too much.
I have trawled the net for the past 3 years and the only long-term peer-reviewed study seems to be the one by Caldwell Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic. He has actually shown CAD reversal, and I believe all his patients who complied with his meat/oil/dairy free diet have survived over 20 years with no cardiac events despite coming from a baseline of severe CAD.

Although I knew about this some years ago, I decided on the LCHF diet after my bypass operation as it was so much easier to comply with because I love my meat, fish, fats and oils. Unfortunately, I have not been able to lose weight on that diet and, lipids and BG levels were not spectacular and even exceeded limits half the time.

However, after a recent false alarm where I had symptoms of breathlessness accompanied by light headedness and nausea, I realised that I had just been given another wake-up call. I also realised that my health had in fact not improved over the last 2 years despite my diet where I have essentially cut out most carbs (especially the highly processed type), sugar, diet drinks, trans-fats, salt, etc. and had even added regular exercise to my regime.

Hence the search for something that can in fact improve my heart condition, targeting diabetes as it appears to be where it all starts!

jack412 said:

Something was wrong, what was the percent and calories?
I've dropped 10kg and chol is 2.7 with 5mg statin

But the bg is ok with the diet you are on. So no need to change
I assume you're on statin so carb inflammation will be helped

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Mate,
Did not count % or calories.
Was of the assumption that that you can eat till satiety as per Atkins.
On that very low carb diet I was always hungry shortly after meals and was always snacking. Made sure that snacks were hi-fat like cheeses and crispy bacon(home made).
Not on statins, Doc asked me to take but did not want to comply.
Last month's TC-6.5, LDL-3.8. this time last year TC-4.9, LDL-2.3.

jack412 said:

It's hard not following a plan. You said you were a big meat eater. Too much protein is no good and the carb fat balance was unknown. With you putting on weight, I doubt they were right

But the diet you are on is ok for your bg and see what your lipids are like in a month or two

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good point about protein/fat balance, will take that on board, thanks.
in the meantime will give this oil-free starch diet a go and evaluate after next blood works.
have a good weekend