Type 2 Low carbohydrate diet can help over 50s to improve HbA1c, lipid profiles and blood pressure

juliekem said:

If I go ketogenic I get severe migraines so have to go higher yet if I were to cut out all the foods mentioned completely that is exactly what I would be doing (keto.) Please advise.

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Likely you are low on salt if you get headaches on keto.
Add it to food (I add it to coffee as well) once you have cut out processed foods then we can get low on sodium.

I'd heartily recommend keto but as always use your meter to see what foods spike your bloods and avoid them.
Zero carb foods eat of course are fine in abundance.

juliekem said:

This is a very interesting article, but it states that one should entirely give up bread, pasta , rice, potatoes and sweet stuff. It does not say what level of carbs low carb means, though. My GP has told me to stay under 130g of carb a day which means that I CAN eat a little of the banned items e.g. a slice of toast. I am very confused. If I go ketogenic I get severe migraines so have to go higher yet if I were to cut out all the foods mentioned completely that is exactly what I would be doing (keto.) Please advise.

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Hi, I am not type 2, but I always use the wording of 'reduced carbs'. Some do this, some take medication and some eat virtually no carbs. Maybe you could try cutting down on some of the foods and see how you go, ie use a smaller plate, drinking a glass of water before a meal.
Good luck and wishing you all the best.

Thanks for the tag @DCUKMod and hi @juliekem

As dcukmod says, my migraines, which were chronic and frequent (6-8 a month at diagnosis) have completely resolved on a ketogenic diet.

Initially they appeared to get worse, but looking back, I think that was keto flu. It was a big step for me to consider changing not just what I ate, but when I ate as I always believed that eating frequently and at specific times was key to keeping my migraines at bay. In my case that has proven not to be true, but appreciate it may not be the same for everyone.

I recently discussed this in a podcast, which you may be interested in listening to - the links are shared in this post.

I’m also tagging @JoKalsbeek @Robbity and @Bex72 as they may have some other thoughts.

Good luck - migraines suck!

juliekem said:

This is a very interesting article, but it states that one should entirely give up bread, pasta , rice, potatoes and sweet stuff. It does not say what level of carbs low carb means, though. My GP has told me to stay under 130g of carb a day which means that I CAN eat a little of the banned items e.g. a slice of toast. I am very confused. If I go ketogenic I get severe migraines so have to go higher yet if I were to cut out all the foods mentioned completely that is exactly what I would be doing (keto.) Please advise.

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The keto flu hit me a couple of times, as I lowered my carbs in stages. And every time I had horrific headaches for about two weeks, until I finally caved and just bought myself some electrolyte supplements. The headaches are from dehydration, which is temporary. Just something to get on the other side of. I currently adhere to the carnivore way of eating, so practically no carbs.... Though I prefer to think of extra dark chocolate as a meat product. Seriously, it's just meat, poultry, fish, some hard goat's cheese and eggs for me, and a modicum of chocolate. So I'm at less than 10 grams of carbs a day, sometimes less than 5 grams.

In the meantime, I still get migraines, but only the hormonal ones that have plagued me all my life... And those have become notably more manageable. It's not the chronic hell it used to be. *knocks on wood*. So yeah.... It's up to you. I can't eat 130 grams of carbs in a day without seeing double digits on my meter. My blood sugars currently hover between 4 and 5, which I am very comfortable with. So let your meter guide you, and make sure you have plenty of electrolytes in the house. (Salt, magnesium, potassium....).

Good luck!
Jo

I go with low carb being 50 to 100 grams of carbs total per day. The mainstream view is 130 grams, as by their calculation that's the amount required to run bodily functions and service the brain with glucose. Some of the authorities in diabetes outside of the mainstream say the upper limit is 100 grams. 100 grams was put forward by low carb representatives at the Dietary Guidelines Hearings 2020 in the States.

Getting optimal control of Type 2 for me required a little bravery and trusting in the process when I experienced hyperglycaemic episodes with extreme exercise, especially going into the 4's when being used to closer to 10. I didn't get headaches, got those with the blood sugars between 16 and 20. It is important to ensure sodium and potassium are balanced and possibly magnesium is not depleted. I use "Lo Salt" to taste and 95 - 100% dark chocolate for the magnesium.

I think it is all a question of dietary balance and a certain amount of Carbs is required to achieve that balance. I adopted a 'lower' carb diet a couple of years ago and back in February reduced my overall calorie intake by between a quarter and a third. Since then, I have lost 8kg (82 down to 74) and managed to reduce daily Levimir insulin from 22 > 16 and Novo Rapid from 20-25 down to 10-18 (depending upon food eaten and activity level). I still eat bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and enjoy occasional treats such as waffles and pancakes! I believe that the biggest contributing factor in diabetes is STRESS, so please do not worry too much about your diet, just be sensible about it.

JGLondon said:

certain amount of Carbs is required to achieve that balance

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I respectfully disagree. Some people choose to eat certain amounts of carbs, however none are needed for survival

Who is talking about survival? I just want a happy stress free life and if I want the occasional croissant I'll have one. My medical team don't disagree and all my 'stats' are in the acceptable range.

JGLondon said:

Who is talking about survival? I just want a happy stress free life and if I want the occasional croissant I'll have one. My medical team don't disagree and all my 'stats' are in the acceptable range.

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I guess everyone’s idea of stress free is different. I don’t have to inject insulin to cover what I eat.
I don’t have worry about blood sugar spikes and food cravings.
We all have different ways of managing.

I'm still trying to figure out why I'm still getting migraines on a very low carb diet. That said they are far less strong than those I had before which would have me lying in a dark room for hours. I'm trying to increase the salt.
This was a very interesting podcast on the subject which suggests causes can be as varied as hunger, stress, perfumes as well as foods. Also the trigger can be as much as 24 hours before the actual pain hits
https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=a...lNTFmMzgtMTFhNS00YjliLTliYTctM2Y0NzNkMTZiY2U1