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Low Carb & Heart Problems

Z

Zas2809

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Insulin
I and my husband have very recently started on a low carb diet. He is a type 2 diabetic on insulin. His levels of insulin were getting way too high. So we have started the LC to get them down and after just 3 weeks his insulin has reduced by 2/3's so that is great. However I have some heart problems (had a blocked artery and very high colestorol) so I am afraid too eat too much fat. Therefore the LC may not work so well for me. (I have lost a stone). Are there any members that have similar illness and can tell me if I am right or not to keep the fat level as low as I can? I do plan on visiting the doctor but I haven't got an appointment as yet.
 
Zas2809 said:
Therefore the LC may not work so well for me. (I have lost a stone). Are there any members that have similar illness and can tell me if I am right or not to keep the fat level as low as I can?
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Depends on whether you think that its the fat that you eat that makes you fat or the carbs that you eat that make you fat. The tide is turning and fat , which has been vilified for the past 50 years, is making a comeback. Heart disease would seem to be more related to carb consumption than fat consumption or at least that's what the most recent studies are starting to show. You say you have lost a stone in weight and your husband has reduced his insulin by 2/3 but you are worried if this way of eating is good for you?
 
Good point and thankyou for answering. Thinking about it, it was most likely the carbs making me fat. I never really ate a lot of fat. I think it is a good way of eating for both of us as the early results have been great. And I am so chuffed that husbands insulin requirement has dropped dramatically and he too has lost over a stone in weight. It was just the worry about increasing fat content when i have already had a blocked artery. I never thought to consider what was actually making me fat.
 
There's lot of info out there. I'll see if I can dig out couple of studies for you tomorrow if I remember.. getting a bit senior sometimes.
 
bulkbiker said:
There's lot of info out there. I'll see if I can dig out couple of studies for you tomorrow if I remember.. getting a bit senior sometimes.
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Hahaha same here with the senior bit lol. Thankyou so much bulkbiker. Thats appreciated.
 
There are some low carb groups on Facebook if you want any help with the diet side - over the years there have been reports of reversing heart disease 'in spite of' the fat - also alleviation of PCOS and of liver diseases which were considered every bit as non reversible as type two diabetes. All down to the extra exercise, of course, according to the doctors.
 
Thankyou Resurgam. It didnt occur to me to look on Facebook groups for this kind of topic. I will do so now.
If your comment about reversing heart disease is accurate then that would be very good for me and people in the same situation. Even if it doesnt reverse it, and just doesnt get any worse that would be a plus
 
I understand your dilemma Zas. I have high cholesterol (low trigs and high HDL) so decided against statins having read the advice from people on this forum and researched elsewhere, etc. However, I do not have any heart issues so am different in that respect. I can understand why you would worry about a high fat diet as it goes against everything our GPs tell us. I do appreciate that there is another argument to this but I do still worry whether a high fat diet in people with no current heart issues may well be fine but is this true in those WITH current heart issues? Every person's physiology is different and does a lchf diet do the same for those without any additional heart disease as for those with? I am rambling but I think my point is, when you disregard the diabetes factor, (ie think of a 'normal' person), there are those that have or are susceptible to heart disease and those that are not, would we advise those with heart disease to eat more fat?
 
Not rambling. I fully understand what you are saying. I expect the best thing would be to talk to a doctor but then I expect all doctors will have different opinions on this matter. I also at the pre diabetes stage so it is indeed a dilemma.
 
Zas2809 said:
Not rambling. I fully understand what you are saying. I expect the best thing would be to talk to a doctor but then I expect all doctors will have different opinions on this matter. I also at the pre diabetes stage so it is indeed a dilemma.
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Also the trouble with doctors is that some are up to date on certain subjects that interest them whereas others seem to be stuck in the stuff they learnt while at university. It seems to be a lottery as to who you get to see and how up to date they are. Mine has been quite disappointing on most counts but another doctor from the same practise I met recently is a low carber herself and has seen significant benefits in herself and her family.
 
Yes that is my concern bulkbiker. I guess the people that would know more are the heart consultants but I am no longer assigned to one
 
Zas2809 said:
Not rambling. I fully understand what you are saying. I expect the best thing would be to talk to a doctor but then I expect all doctors will have different opinions on this matter. I also at the pre diabetes stage so it is indeed a dilemma.
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It would be unusual if your doctor advocated eating fat. It goes against the NHS guidelines, which most doctors follow. So don't be surprised if he is horrified at the thought of you eating butter, cream, cheese and so forth. You need to do your own research and decide for yourself.

By the way, you don't need to swallow down tons of fat on a low carb diet. You do need to avoid highly processed plant and seed oils when cooking and in any packaged foods you buy, and stick to real fats such as dairy, eggs, nuts, avocado, salmon etc. You only need to eat enough fat to satiate you, stop you being hungry, stop you grazing on snacks, and keep up your energy levels. There is no need to overdo it. When we cut carbs we lose an energy source, which has to be replaced. Just keep the fats enough to do this. Always read the nutrition labels on packaged foods, including the ingredients - and watch out for the plant/seed oils such as sunflower oil, corn oils etc. Up your omega 3 consumption and reduce omega 6.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-33675975

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2017/03/31/bjsports-2016-097285
 
Zas2809 said:
Yes that is my concern bulkbiker. I guess the people that would know more are the heart consultants but I am no longer assigned to one
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I think you will find that most heart consultants believe very strongly that heart disease is caused by fat and that statins are the only way forward. I really wish that wasn't true, but they seem firmly entrenched.
 
I have only changed my fat consumption to full fat rather than low fat versions of things. and use butter rather than spreads. Perhaps you could start with doing that, then see how your cholesterol goes?

My view is that, for those who have a heart condition, its better to go more slowly with the changes than for those who have healthy hearts.

How often do you have a full cholesterol test? When was your last one and what were the results breakdown? that would give you a starting point to compare.
 
Hi Lucylocker61. That is exactly what I have done. And changed my cooking oil to virgin Olive Oil. I have an annual blood test. After my last one the doctor called me as the cholesterol was so high, even though I am on the maximum of drugs to reduce this. So .... as I have not been asked to have another test since this (6 months ago) I am going to ask them to do another on the basis that they were concerned at the last one.

I am never actually given the reading, so I am going to ask for those too.
 
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