- Messages
- 13
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
A lot of controversy and conflicting information exist about high carb diet v low carb diet. Doctors and dieticians cannot agree on what is best for diabetics and we are overloaded with different types of information; what is good for our bodies and what is not. So, I wanted to join this debate based on my experiences as a type 1 diabetic.
Most of the doctors and dieticians are promoting a high carb diet for diabetics. For example, I am a 58kg female and the total amount of carb dieticians are suggesting to me based on my weight is 260g per day. This means that I should consume around 60g of carbs for breakfast, 80g for both lunch and dinner, and 20g of snacks in between. The total suggested calories to me are 1800kcal per day to maintain my weight and a minimum of 1300kcal, should I wish to lose a bit of weight. The reason why doctors and dieticians are suggesting this is that I suspect they think I would be a very active person and at the same time get all the nutrients that my body needs. Walking, jogging, playing tennis and so on. I agree that if you are a healthy and an energetic person or blessed with good metabolism, whether a diabetic or not, you may get away with eating this much of carbs. However, nowadays most people work all day and come home to eat and go to sleep and do the same again the next day. As a diabetic your metabolism is broken in a way so it cannot process carbs as it should. So, why healthcare policy and doctors are adamant that giving you this much of carbs on a daily basis is the correct path and suits everyone?
In my experience I have found it quite hard to feel energetic by eating many carbs. If anything, it seems to be making me more bloated and often gives me high sugar levels. It is hard to judge the insulin amount on high carb foods. Surely, having high sugar levels cannot be good for the body, although carbs might have some nutrients in them. For me, it is evident from diabetes statistics that this complex illness is not managed or understood very well. In fact, one person dies every 10 seconds from diabetic complications.[1]
Currently only 2% of donations go toward practical cure projects, which would allow people with diabetes to live a normal life with the disease.[2] Sufferers can often feel lonely, depressed and hopeless waiting for something to go seriously wrong with their bodies whether it is amputation, stroke or blindness, and this creates fear. Quality of life is deteriorating and some of these poor people are diagnosed at a very early age, leaving the responsibility for their care to the parents and schools. These people all need to master the insulin-to-carbs ratio and so on for each and every meal they eat, when even doctors with years of education on this illness do not know it all.
In my opinion eating too much carbs did not make me more energetic, nor did it give me good sugar level readings. In fact, the more I eat carbs, the more I crave for this type of food. In addition, it is very hard to find a good dietician, who could explain all the carbs calculations, ratios and so on. A lot of people, who have diabetes may not be even literate. In my opinion it is injustice to diabetic people with no proper education to enforce high carb diet and it causes unnecessary lifelong suffering and complications to their bodies.
In fact, before the discovery of insulin, the removal of high-glycemic carbohydrates such as sugar and flour from the diets of diabetics was found to be a successful method of controlling glycosuria.[3] It makes you wonder, if the reason for this high carb diet could be linked to the fact that there is a $264 billion dollar Diabetes Industry with more than 300 million diabetic customers in the world. The real winners on this formula seem to be the food and drug companies; give sick people more carbs and inject them with more insulin. Apparently, drug companies spend $16 billion annually to directly influence doctors. Most often these salespeople are the physician’s main source of new diabetes information.[4]
In this day and age, money and marketing are the driving forces behind many things, and diabetes seems to be no exception to these. Diabetes is a horrible illness, not because you have to check your sugar levels 4 or 5 times a day, not because you have to inject yourself 4 to 5 times a day, but because despite doing all of these you still feel sick and unwell and lonely; I do not think anyone understands this except people who suffer from it. In fact a lot of people have negative attitudes towards diabetes; they blame you for causing it by eating so much and so on. In fact, even with type 2 diabetes I do not think that it is their fault. I think it is a hormone/chemical imbalance in the body which, whether it is psychological, physiological or genetic, drives them to it. So, eating sugar or too much food are not the cause but symptoms. When you have good sugar levels and a healthy body, your body does not necessarily crave sugary stuff all day long. I think the blame culture on diabetes and diabetic people should be removed.
Having written all this, I am also not convinced that removing all carbs from your diet is the right solution, or for that matter telling diabetic people what they can or cannot eat. I think people should be able to eat as much as they want and when they want, from ethical and natural sources. Diabetic people, however, should be more aware that their body is carb intolerant, and should use substitute foods such as protein and natural fat, vegetables, and salad instead of rice, bread, potatoes, legumes, beans, or sweets where possible. However, these items should not be forbidden, but should be eaten combined with healthy meals and reduced over time until body finds its optimal balance. People should also be educated about food and its impact on blood sugar levels. For example, if you eat 100g vegetables (except beans & potato) this will be around 5-10g of carbs depending on the type of vegetable, and you may not need much insulin if any. In my opinion the ideal meal for diabetics is with plenty of vegetables and salad and a bit of protein, fish, nuts and if desired some fruit at the end as a dessert until they feel satisfied and full. I think it is possible to eat up to 120g carbs as the brain seems to like this type of energy/food. I feel that however, enforcing diabetic people to eat 260/300g carbs may not be the best option for them. In fact, the modern prescription of high carbohydrate, low fat diets and eating snacks between meals has coincided with an increase in obesity, diabetes, and increase in the incidence of many mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.[5] Our digestive metabolism is one of the key components of our well being and life.
People should be aware that carbs come from starch and sugar. Starch is found in bread, rice, potatoes, beans and so on. Sugar is found, for instance, in milk, yogurt and fruit. Fat and protein, such as butter or chicken, do not naturally contain carbs, unless some sugar has been added. When counting carbs, make sure you use the total carbs amount highlighted on the packaging and while cooking add the carb content of all the ingredients together to get the total. Based on the carb amount you should be able to adjust your insulin-to-carb ratio.
In conclusion, I believe that people should be able to eat what their body desires and when it desires, and food should be sourced from natural and ethical sources. The majority of food should come from vegetables and salad. Children should also learn at an early age, without parents pushing them to eat more, to make the correct decision. Parents should however give them healthy options, but let them choose and create their own things. They should provide children with healthy options. If not, I believe that we will end up with more diseases as especially younger generation is starting to think that food is fat. The attitude should change towards food and how we eat, what we eat and why we eat.
Hope that you found the article helpful and it gave you some healthy eating tips which can make your life more enjoyable.
The above writing is based on my experience with type 1 diabetes. Always consult your physician before making any changes to your diabetes management plan.
You can also follow our journey on Twitter
[1] http://www.reverse-diabetes-today.com/?hop=nanangkr
[2] http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11644127.htm
[3] http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/2/276.full
[4] http://www.reverse-diabetes-today.com/?hop=nanangkr
[5] http://www.sott.net/article/228186-Your-Brain-On-Ketones-How-a-High-fat-Diet-Can-Help-the-Brain-Work-Better
Most of the doctors and dieticians are promoting a high carb diet for diabetics. For example, I am a 58kg female and the total amount of carb dieticians are suggesting to me based on my weight is 260g per day. This means that I should consume around 60g of carbs for breakfast, 80g for both lunch and dinner, and 20g of snacks in between. The total suggested calories to me are 1800kcal per day to maintain my weight and a minimum of 1300kcal, should I wish to lose a bit of weight. The reason why doctors and dieticians are suggesting this is that I suspect they think I would be a very active person and at the same time get all the nutrients that my body needs. Walking, jogging, playing tennis and so on. I agree that if you are a healthy and an energetic person or blessed with good metabolism, whether a diabetic or not, you may get away with eating this much of carbs. However, nowadays most people work all day and come home to eat and go to sleep and do the same again the next day. As a diabetic your metabolism is broken in a way so it cannot process carbs as it should. So, why healthcare policy and doctors are adamant that giving you this much of carbs on a daily basis is the correct path and suits everyone?
In my experience I have found it quite hard to feel energetic by eating many carbs. If anything, it seems to be making me more bloated and often gives me high sugar levels. It is hard to judge the insulin amount on high carb foods. Surely, having high sugar levels cannot be good for the body, although carbs might have some nutrients in them. For me, it is evident from diabetes statistics that this complex illness is not managed or understood very well. In fact, one person dies every 10 seconds from diabetic complications.[1]
Currently only 2% of donations go toward practical cure projects, which would allow people with diabetes to live a normal life with the disease.[2] Sufferers can often feel lonely, depressed and hopeless waiting for something to go seriously wrong with their bodies whether it is amputation, stroke or blindness, and this creates fear. Quality of life is deteriorating and some of these poor people are diagnosed at a very early age, leaving the responsibility for their care to the parents and schools. These people all need to master the insulin-to-carbs ratio and so on for each and every meal they eat, when even doctors with years of education on this illness do not know it all.
In my opinion eating too much carbs did not make me more energetic, nor did it give me good sugar level readings. In fact, the more I eat carbs, the more I crave for this type of food. In addition, it is very hard to find a good dietician, who could explain all the carbs calculations, ratios and so on. A lot of people, who have diabetes may not be even literate. In my opinion it is injustice to diabetic people with no proper education to enforce high carb diet and it causes unnecessary lifelong suffering and complications to their bodies.
In fact, before the discovery of insulin, the removal of high-glycemic carbohydrates such as sugar and flour from the diets of diabetics was found to be a successful method of controlling glycosuria.[3] It makes you wonder, if the reason for this high carb diet could be linked to the fact that there is a $264 billion dollar Diabetes Industry with more than 300 million diabetic customers in the world. The real winners on this formula seem to be the food and drug companies; give sick people more carbs and inject them with more insulin. Apparently, drug companies spend $16 billion annually to directly influence doctors. Most often these salespeople are the physician’s main source of new diabetes information.[4]
In this day and age, money and marketing are the driving forces behind many things, and diabetes seems to be no exception to these. Diabetes is a horrible illness, not because you have to check your sugar levels 4 or 5 times a day, not because you have to inject yourself 4 to 5 times a day, but because despite doing all of these you still feel sick and unwell and lonely; I do not think anyone understands this except people who suffer from it. In fact a lot of people have negative attitudes towards diabetes; they blame you for causing it by eating so much and so on. In fact, even with type 2 diabetes I do not think that it is their fault. I think it is a hormone/chemical imbalance in the body which, whether it is psychological, physiological or genetic, drives them to it. So, eating sugar or too much food are not the cause but symptoms. When you have good sugar levels and a healthy body, your body does not necessarily crave sugary stuff all day long. I think the blame culture on diabetes and diabetic people should be removed.
Having written all this, I am also not convinced that removing all carbs from your diet is the right solution, or for that matter telling diabetic people what they can or cannot eat. I think people should be able to eat as much as they want and when they want, from ethical and natural sources. Diabetic people, however, should be more aware that their body is carb intolerant, and should use substitute foods such as protein and natural fat, vegetables, and salad instead of rice, bread, potatoes, legumes, beans, or sweets where possible. However, these items should not be forbidden, but should be eaten combined with healthy meals and reduced over time until body finds its optimal balance. People should also be educated about food and its impact on blood sugar levels. For example, if you eat 100g vegetables (except beans & potato) this will be around 5-10g of carbs depending on the type of vegetable, and you may not need much insulin if any. In my opinion the ideal meal for diabetics is with plenty of vegetables and salad and a bit of protein, fish, nuts and if desired some fruit at the end as a dessert until they feel satisfied and full. I think it is possible to eat up to 120g carbs as the brain seems to like this type of energy/food. I feel that however, enforcing diabetic people to eat 260/300g carbs may not be the best option for them. In fact, the modern prescription of high carbohydrate, low fat diets and eating snacks between meals has coincided with an increase in obesity, diabetes, and increase in the incidence of many mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.[5] Our digestive metabolism is one of the key components of our well being and life.
People should be aware that carbs come from starch and sugar. Starch is found in bread, rice, potatoes, beans and so on. Sugar is found, for instance, in milk, yogurt and fruit. Fat and protein, such as butter or chicken, do not naturally contain carbs, unless some sugar has been added. When counting carbs, make sure you use the total carbs amount highlighted on the packaging and while cooking add the carb content of all the ingredients together to get the total. Based on the carb amount you should be able to adjust your insulin-to-carb ratio.
In conclusion, I believe that people should be able to eat what their body desires and when it desires, and food should be sourced from natural and ethical sources. The majority of food should come from vegetables and salad. Children should also learn at an early age, without parents pushing them to eat more, to make the correct decision. Parents should however give them healthy options, but let them choose and create their own things. They should provide children with healthy options. If not, I believe that we will end up with more diseases as especially younger generation is starting to think that food is fat. The attitude should change towards food and how we eat, what we eat and why we eat.
Hope that you found the article helpful and it gave you some healthy eating tips which can make your life more enjoyable.
The above writing is based on my experience with type 1 diabetes. Always consult your physician before making any changes to your diabetes management plan.
You can also follow our journey on Twitter
[1] http://www.reverse-diabetes-today.com/?hop=nanangkr
[2] http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/03/prweb11644127.htm
[3] http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/2/276.full
[4] http://www.reverse-diabetes-today.com/?hop=nanangkr
[5] http://www.sott.net/article/228186-Your-Brain-On-Ketones-How-a-High-fat-Diet-Can-Help-the-Brain-Work-Better
