Low carb diet and other health issues

As there isn't much fruit in a low carb diet that should not be a problem, and milk is often off the menu - at about 45 gm of carb per pint - could be a whole day's carbs.
Cholesterol often goes down on a low carb diet - mine did.
As long as you have good sources of protein and fats there should be no problem with nourishment - it would be a case of try it and see with the salad and veges.

Junie2 said:

Hi
I would like to try the low carb diet
However I have Ibs and can not tolerate most fruit and veg, also have problems with milk.
I have to watch my cholesterol
I am vegetarian
Can anyone advise please

Many thanks
Junie

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Can I ask.. if you are a vegetarian who can not tolerate fruit and veg what on earth do you eat?

Junie2 said:

Thanks
I have been to see a nhs dietitian, not very helpful.

My diet has been bad for some time now, because of my Ibs,
I only have toast in the morning and pasta and a sourdough roll at teatime.

I know dreadful diet but that is all I seem to tolerate.

Thanks again for your reply

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I'm assuming you are vegetarian for moral rather than health reasons.. because if not I'd add meat or at least eggs and fish back into your diet for health if nothing else.
That's a hugely carb based diet for someone with T2 diabetes and IBS...

bulkbiker said:

I'm assuming you are vegetarian for moral rather than health reasons.. because if not I'd add meat or at least eggs and fish back into your diet for health if nothing else.
That's a hugely carb based diet for someone with T2 diabetes and IBS...

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She's not diabetic.

dawnmc said:

She's not diabetic.

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Edited after my reply..

Antje77 said:

If you're not diabetic or pre diabetic you may last a long time on your diet, healthy or not. However, I don't think this forum is the best place to ask your questions if diabetes doesn't play a role in any way in you life.
There must be suitable forums for people with IBS who aren't diabetic. Still, reading up in the vegetarian section might give you ideas as to what to eat.
May I ask, just out of curiosity, do you eat toast without anything on it, pasta with nothing else and a roll with nothing without eating anything else all day? That would mean no fat and no protein at all!

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Coming from vegetarian background, I have some ideas maybe could help you out.
Avoid grains like wheat and lentils as they are heavy on stomach.
Rice and yogurt is good food for stomach. You try juicing bottlegourd and can also fry it. It really has soothing effect on stomach. No milk it aggravates mucus and stomach problem. In Dal you can try moong dal(unprocessed one, have green color) it's bit light. Fermented pickels like lemon pickle.

IBS could be stopping you becoming a type2 diabetic.
I say that because IBS comes with weight loss.
Some Type1's have coeliac disease which can be linked to IBS.

I wouldn't advise changing your diet if its stopping you from suffering from life threatening diseases. I believe only risk with IBS is weight loss due to the ability to absorb nutrients. If when you don't have a flare up you are getting enough nutrients and not dangerously losing weight then stick with what's working. Are you overweight so you feel at risk of diabetes?

@Junie2
Hello Junie and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

ickihun said:

IBS could be stopping you becoming a type2 diabetic.
I say that because IBS comes with weight loss.
Some Type1's have coeliac disease which can be linked to IBS.

I wouldn't advise changing your diet if its stopping you from suffering from life threatening diseases. I believe only risk with IBS is weight loss due to the ability to absorb nutrients. If when you don't have a flare up you are getting enough nutrients and not dangerously losing weight then stick with what's working. Are you overweight so you feel at risk of diabetes?

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So you’re saying not gaining weight, due to ibs, is preventing type 2? Is that correct? If so im astounded such a long standing member of this forum thinks it’s that simple. Weight gain is by far not the only cause of type 2 and for many is a symptom as much as a cause. What about all the slim type 2’s?

The type 1 comment’s relevance is lost on me in regards to how the current diet is preventing diabetes.

It’s a huge reach to assume her current diet is preventing life threatening diseases. If the risk of ibs is inability to absorb nutrients then weight loss is only one problem. Insufficient nutrients cause an entire raft of other potentially very serious problems far worse than being a bit thin. Lack of b12, iron,vitamin c and d, potassium, magnesium to name but a few.

And it’s clearly not working as all there is is toast bread and pasta and she has seen a dietician. People who feel their diet is working for them don’t generally see dieticians or seek out new diets or ask advice on a particular way of eating.