This is an interesting thread. My own man-crush is on Dr Rangan Chatterjee, for his honest and compassionate attitude. I've been following his podcast for a few years, and have two of his books. It was a recent podcast episode which brought me here, indirectly. He spoke with Dr Gemma Newman about the benefits of a whole-food plant-based diet. Obviously, their conversation was aimed at the general population, not those with diabetes, but she also spoke with such compassion and kindness that I wanted to know more.
I have been following a whole-food ketogenic diet for my type 1 diabetes for three years now, with excellent results. (I have the members of this forum to thank in no small part for that, including
@Jim Lahey .) I have always believed, and still do, that the biggest gains in general terms have been from the whole-food aspect. In my case, the ketogenic aspect is what facilitates good blood glucose control, but when I talk about diet with other people, I emphasise that keto isn't necessary, and that the whole-food approach is more important. That's what I think, anyway.
So I looked at
Dr Newman's website, and
her book, and noted that she directs those with diabetes to the Mastering Diabetes plan. So I listened to Cyrus and Robbie talking to Rich Roll, who's another guy I respect. I listened with an open mind. I listened when they described how following a ketogenic diet causes insulin resistance. I also watched
this video, as this guy's story is very similar indeed to my own (similar age, similar age at diagnosis, followed keto for a similar amount of time, lives in the UK, loves spreadsheets...).
After that, my anxiety got the better of me: I convinced myself I was harming myself with keto, and that I should change immediately. Of course, thinking rationally, this is nonsense, but that's exactly what anxiety precludes: rational thought. So, I went back to all the research I'd done about cholesterol and heart disease and keto, including people like Volek & Phinney, Zoe Harcombe and Aseem Malhotra, as well as a couple of really good Facebook groups.
To the above list I can now add this thread, for which I (and my anxiety) am very grateful. I remain open-minded about their 80/10/10 macro scheme; I think it could well work. But the fact is, I enjoy animal foods too much. Don't get me wrong - I eat them only in moderation (I like to focus on sustainable seafood, organ meats and eggs), and I include plenty of plants in my diet too. But one thing that strikes me about Cyrus and Robbie and their adherents is that they seem to have missed eating high-carb things like tropical fruit. I don't. There was a time when the idea of not eating bananas, bread, or rice was shocking to me. But I genuinely have no craving for those things any more. Partly I suspect that comes from being keto-adapted over three years, and also partly from the notion that those things will actually do me harm.
So I might try the MD approach one day. But not for now.
Thanks again to those who contributed constructively to the above.
