how low is low carb?

There appears to be some confusion about what I eat. In my communications with Ally5555 I probably understated the amount of fat in my diet as I use butter and bacon fat for frying and I also snack on cheese and pepperoni sausage during the day. I do eat a fairly high fat diet and my total carbs are quite low. I do get a lot of fat from mayo which is made from canola and olive oil and is quite delicious. Perhaps the mayo over there is different. I take a multi-vitamin daily but no other supplements. As to whether I have deficiencies, I doubt it. I rarely get sick and when I do catch a virus it is quite mild. I ski with guys who are 20 years younger and none of them can catch me. I ski way too fast for my age and have spectacular crashes on occasion but have yet to break a bone. I lead an active life and do not suffer the aches and pains that others who are beyond 60 seem to endure. I can tell you for certain that I am healthier now than I was 10 years ago when I was a high-carb low-fat vegetarian. Like most other things, when you go very low carb, it is such a metabolic game-changer that you need to go back to square one on all your assumptions, and I think that includes RDA's as well.

Hi Jay

I did make an assumption that you fried food so used that in the analysis. So the other extras will add a little more fat but I think a lot of low carbers do struggle to get in extra fat as they are not using butter for bread etc.

I think the mayo is probably the same.

I highlighted these facts years ago as I found many of the low carbers diets were low in micronutrients and fibre . I think I was right to do that and maybe it has made people think about it.

I know from personal eperience and the literature that low carb is simply symptom treatment and can only help in the early stages. You see once you have had trans fatty acid poisoning of the beta cells for a long period it doesn't matter what you do. The blood glucose keep on rising even if you eat nothing, let alone carbs, for long periods of time. I remember not eating for six days, taking 150% of maximum medication and my bg being about 20 mmol/l after six food free days + meds. Why is this? You make your own blood sugar is the simple answer. Its nothing to do with an inability to produce insulin. Most type 2s produce more insulin than "normals"; the reason for high bg is they produce more glucagon which has the opposite effect to that of insulin vis a vis glycogen storage in the liver.

Still don't think. just believe. The doctors and the drug companies will thank you for it.

carefixer said:

Still don't think. just believe. The doctors and the drug companies will thank you for it.

Click to expand...

Yup yup.

Hi.
I used to miss meals sometimes for days and always had a high reading, it seemed the less I ate the higher the readings. So I took more meds, always thought that my high reading where due to what I ate.
I have gone from readings of 18 to 20 and am now regularaly getting readings below 4, five mins ago it was 2.9.
I am cutting my meds from 4 metformin and 4 Glicazide to just 2 metformin by cutting out bread, pasta, rice potatoes and any pastry.
I now have 3 spoons of porridge in morning, a piece of chicken, chunk of meat or similar with some salad for lunch and a piece of meat and some veg at night.
I aim for a very low carb diet and am now always watching the label on the packet.
However If I go out for a meal or on holiday, I don't watch my diet I eat what i want knowing I am going to be higher tomorrow or for a few days, is this wrong??
The one thing I would like to know is what is classed as low carb?
Another by product of low carb is I have lost a stone in weight, still fat but happier.

Bardon said:

I have gone from readings of 18 to 20 and am now regularaly getting readings below 4, five mins ago it was 2.9.

Click to expand...

2.9 mmol/l? :shock:

Jen&Khaleb said:

They must work out quite expensive pancakes using ground almonds. I looked at making a few improvements to food using alternatives but the cost turned me off. Australia is really expensive for food compared to other countries and I think the ground almond meal was about $7 for a little bag. I have a blender with a grinder attachment so might have to look at making my own if I can buy almonds cheaper.

Click to expand...

Hi Jenny, I buy ground almonds by the kilo from places like Harris Farm Markets at Bondi Junction when I am visiting Sydney for $14 per kilo and always store it in the fridge once opened. Not a lot dearer than grinding my own. The pikelets I make with riccotta cheese and dessicated coconut are stunning. More expensive than wheat flour yes, but my health is worth that. In Australia we are so lucky that we can buy lupin flour that has 11 gr carbs per 100g and is a beautiful butter yellow colour. I don't think that our quality fresh food is dear by world standards having done a world trip for almost 12 months in 2005-6.

LAsportstherapy -- as already mentioned by others, Atkins is definately NOT no carbs. The book written by his collegues called The Diabetes Revolution is most certainly for people with diabetes and this human is certainly not harmed by following that and more akin to Bernstein. No indcation that because I have diabetes I will deteriorate over time any faster than a non-diabetic

Ally5555 -- I have never calculated calories but think my 30g per day carb target would place me well below your recomended daily amount. I have no energy shortfall when doing random high "octane" activities like answering a fire call, 3 hours tennis, four hour shifts on a National crisis phone counselling service. Sailed through all my blood tests since starting this nearly three years ago. I'll be 60 in 5 months time.

After reading through all the posts and just about to eat a homemade chestnut and apple soup I think it might be the last time I shoudl have it?
My HBa1c is 6.6
Have also been told too much protein but not sure if that's in the blood or urine yet. Test to be done in January.