Just Diagnosed Pre Diabetic

Hi @oracle999 and welcome to the forum. First I’ll post the link to our useful info for newbies.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/

LCHF is an acronym for Low Carb High Fat or as I prefer Low Carb Healthy fat. I’ll tag in a couple of type 2s who can explain this better and provide useful links. @bulkbiker and @Jim Lahey

As for meters yes I highly recommend the use of one to see how your body responds to different meals.The finger prick is very tiny, you will get used to it.
Here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned. For a meter with cheap strips go for the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/ with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/


With more expensive strips is the Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free from Home Health which has the cheapest strips available. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go, just bear in mind it seems they are replacing it with the Navii, details below.

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


Home Health have recently bought out this one too, but I haven’t heard any reviews yet, links to strips and the meter:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/


https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/gluconavii-blood-sugar-meter-glucose-monitor-starter-kit/


Don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)

Lots of anecdotal evidence from this forum where LCHF has reduced cholesterol.

Also, doesn't have to mean eating lard by the spoonful. Its things like having full fat yogurt, cream with berries or in coffee, eating the bacon fat, having butter on veg etc.

And it's very effective both at reducing blood sugar and increasing weight loss.

oracle999 said:

Thank you for your reply. I guess it's everything in moderation (apart from carbs)

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Don't believe all you see and hear. High fats are not the danger

oracle999 said:

High fats cause clogging of the arteries according to most doctors, even a TV documentary presented by doctors and scientists.

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Clogged arteries can be full of fat. Does this mean the fat clogged the arteries.
Think of it this way you will always find Fire Fighters at the scene of a fire does this mean they started the fire.

That is the logic applied to clogged arteries you always find fat so it must be the fat that clogged them. It is partially true but the fuller truth is excess sugar in the blood stream causes micro damage to the artery walls and fat gets lodged there the more micro damage the more fat and eventually you get a blockage.

So to dispel your fears about a high fat diet, the less sugar the less micro damage = less fat blocking your arteries. Your body cant turn fat into sugar so Low Carb Healthy Fat is for many the best way forward.

oracle999 said:

Is high fat such a good diet given the science?

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The science is from the 1950's and has never been proven they have had 70 years to prove he was right. The guy who cam up with the idea fudged his facts to make the evidence fit his theory.

It's all a matter of public record there is no big secret or conspiracy behind it just a guy who though he was right and though he was doing good. Ironically his ideas are so ingrained in society we teach them to our children and even to our Doctors.

This is why it is so hard to convince joe public that fat is good for you.

It seems that if something is repeated often enough, it will be regarded as true, even if there is no evidence for it - or even if there is evidence to disprove it, it is not believed.
Many people find that their health improves eating things which are supposed to kill us - older people with high cholesterol remain stubbornly alive - there are some naughty folk around.

Thanks for the tag @Rachox

This is an extremely complex conversation, but in a nutshell, even coconut oil - which is ~90% saturated - melts at c.25c. No fat is going to solidify inside the body at 37c. What clogs the arteries is calcified plaques that form over damage to the endothelium (artery lining) in order to prevent scabs from breaking off and traveling around the body causing heat failure and strokes.

What causes the endothelial damage in the first place is somewhat contentious, but excessive polyunsaturated seed oils, chronically elevated circulating insulin (from excessive carbohydrate), and nicotine are considered prime candidates. The diet-heart hypothesis was hokum in 1980 and it's hokum now. It's been roundly debunked but, like a zombie, the myth refuses to die.

But none of this means people should start chugging back bricks of butter with gay abandon. Everyone is encouraged to do their own research before taking dietary advice from a stranger on the internet. Particularly if they are already receiving treatment for an existing condition.

oracle999 said:

High fats cause clogging of the arteries according to most doctors, even a TV documentary presented by doctors and scientists. Is high fat such a good diet given the science?

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Sorry but high fats do not "cause" clogging of the arteries..and even associational studies provide very little (no) evidence of this.
Saturated fats from meat are often now seen as neutral to slightly protective against heart disease.
Check out the PURE study.

Here's a thread I prepared earlier about some of the cholesterol myths that doctors still seem wedded too... might be something to do with the financial rewards that Practices get for recommending statins...

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/

oracle999 said:

I'm fully committed to starting a LCHF diet and have worked out a number of meals. My problem is breakfast. I hate cooking in the morning and I have a eggs in a lot of other meals. I'm thinking berries, nuts and cream but not sure I can stomach cream every day. Any quick to make breakfast suggestions would most welcome.

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Hi there, maybe have one of those other meals you have worked out, at breakfast? It doesn't have to be a 'traditional' breakfast, simply another meal. You don't even have to have breakfast at all of course. x

oracle999 said:

I'm fully committed to starting a LCHF diet and have worked out a number of meals. My problem is breakfast. I hate cooking in the morning and I have a eggs in a lot of other meals. I'm thinking berries, nuts and cream but not sure I can stomach cream every day. Any quick to make breakfast suggestions would most welcome.

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You could go for full fat greek yoghurt instead of cream some days? Bulletproof coffee? Just fasting? See it as any other meal... Sometimes I start the day with chicken liver. Breakfast doesn't have to be "breakfasty". You decide what you eat.

oracle999 said:

I'm fully committed to starting a LCHF diet and have worked out a number of meals. My problem is breakfast. I hate cooking in the morning and I have a eggs in a lot of other meals. I'm thinking berries, nuts and cream but not sure I can stomach cream every day. Any quick to make breakfast suggestions would most welcome.

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Nothing? skip breakfast entirely and extend your overnight fast for a few more hours?