High carb/Low Carb..........High Med's/Low Med's

[dwilson32392]

I've just found that this forum exists, and I'm so glad to see that many people have realised the essential daftness of the standard high-carb advice we are given.

When first diagnosed I had no dietary predudice one way or the other, but when I started metering to get feedback on what worked and what didn't, I found that, while the standard advice led to one-hour preprandials peaks in double figures, with very low carb I can effectively flatline between 6 and 8 at most (by very low carb I mean less than 50 a day - surprisingly easy to achieve with a little ingenuity).

Your post seems to indicate that this low-carb/ high carb argument has been debated so much that it's become a big yawn. For newbies like me that's very disappointing, as it's going to be increasingly important as a topic in the next few years as the evidence for a change mounts up (and I don'tjust mean Gary Taubes - I think the Swedes certainly and probably the Germans are already moving rapidly towards a change).

 

[RichieG]

Hi All - 1st post!

Having been diagnosed with T2, 2 months ago, my experience is the same. By low carbing I can maintain a range of 6-9mmol/l, before I cut out carbs I was getting 8-11mmol/l. I'm on 2g MF per day.

I think however it's the definition of "low-carb" that causes the most debate. My idea of low carbing is simply cutting out the starches - bread/potatoes/pasta/rice, I find I can have a small bowl of Food Doctor cereal for breakfast, and I don't measure out food, I just try and avoid starches.

I have my "diabetes education" on the 17th and one of the things I'm most interested in is finding out what the "dangers" of a low carb approach are, how to ensure that there is no negative impact on cholesterol, and what I need to know about ketones and the state of "ketosis" that low carb diets are said to induce.

This forum could really do with some good advice on how to make sure a low-carb approach is healthy and sustainable for the long term, as it certainly seems to be the best way for me to maintain good BG's.

I think the biggest problem may be that low-carb isn't sensible for Type-1, but perhaps works for Type-2, although that is pure speculation as I know very little about Type-1. Certainly the debate is an interesting one, and there is surely not a right/wrong answer.

Nice to meet you all

Richie

 

[hanadr]

I declare mysel as a low-carber, before I answer some of your points.By low, I mean that I usually don't eat any starchy stuff. I haven't calculated the carbs from veggies and some, small amount of, fruit.
Point 1) T1 diabetes and low carb. Dr. Richard Bernstein, whose book is my diabetes bible, is a T1 diabetic himself and recommends 30g of carbs per day, from Green veggies. thus ensuring a need for Small doses of insulin only. He calls it his doctrine of small numbers. He has been following his own eating plan for decades and is still well and caring for patients at an age when most people have retired.

point 2) there are several excellent studies which show that low carb is particularly good at controlling Cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as blood glucose. If you've read the Taubes book, you'll find the references in the nearly 100 page index at the back.
point 3) Dietary Ketosis is not the same thing as diabetic ketoacidosis. Dietary ketosis is evidence that fats are being metabolised. Atkins dieters, check for ketosis, to see the diet is going well

point 4 ) there isn't any evidence, that I can find, of low carb ever injuring anyone, although there's plenty of ranting against it. I also looked to see if the Atkins institute has ever been sued for their advice. I can't find any. I'm quite certain that if anyone had been injured by "doing Atkins", there would have been some law suits in the USA. After all it's the country where a woman was awarded millions of dollars after scalding herself driving with a cup of coffee, on her lap, between her thighs.

 

[Dennis]

Hi Richie and welcome to the forum.
There's a few interesting points that you raise. Although you describe yoursels as low-carbing, your descriptions sounds to me more like a reduced carb diet. Low carb is generally regarded as below 50g carbs per day and I suspect that you are probably closer to 100g - 120g per day? If so then that is very reasonable, in view of the advice given to GPs in the BNF (their "bible" for prescribing) that says that diabetics should be prescribed oral medication only where increased exercise and a reduction in carbs have failed to bring blood sugars back under control. Add to this that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) now advocates an intake of 135g to 160g per day as the optimum for a diabetic, and you are not so far off the levels that authorities on both sides of the Atlantic recommend for type-2s.

I'm not quite sure what your "diabetes education" will comprise but I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that it is the standard "eat a healthy diet with plenty of starch included in every meal" that is (a) now completely out of date, (b) has been discredited by various respected research bodies, but (c) is still rolled out with monotonous regularity in the UK.

You mention ketosis - but this is a perfectly natural by-product of reduced glucose. It is not the same as, but often confused with, ketoacidosis, which is a dangerous and potentially fatal condition. I have read that the ketosis will only occur where the carb intake is reduced to below 60g, so unless you intend to switch to a radically reduced carb diet, it is not something you should encounter.