so confused

[ukmartian]

I am so confused ...low carbs high fats is that the way to go yes or no ?...I am on a diet at the moment low fat and sugar, I have never been worried about carbs though although I have avoidied food if it said IE 25g carb of which 15g are sugars that 5g/10g threshold is always in my mind. But I have always been told LOW fats and sugar to lose wieght , high fats = high cholesterol and wieght gain hi sugar = hi bg I have always been told if I lose weight my diabetes will be easier to control which I know is true but I have now been told bread , potatoes pasta are all high carb foods , but they are on a good food diet sheet I have been given by my practise nurse I just dont know what is good or bad it seems there is so much conflicting advise even from the proffesionals which way should go. I do like my food but i am scared i will end up on a bland expensive or water diet .

 

[azure]

@ukmartian The answer lies in your blood test results Some people can eat small amounts of the carbs you've mentioned, some can't because their blood sugar goes too high.

The advice is to Eat a To Your Meter Test before a meal, then two hours after that meal (timed from the first bite). That will show you how your body copes with the carbs.

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Watch this video. It will explain how carbs, protein and fat effect the body.

Basically, carbohydrates spike blood sugars and then crash back again making us hungry again, so you eat more. This is a highly addictive cycle and is why people who eat a lot of carbs will never lose weight. The excess sugar gets stored as fat in the liver. So eating carbs makes you fat.

Eating fat does not raise blood sugar and makes you feel full. You will find that eating a low carb high fat diet will lower your blood sugars and also effortlessly help you reduce weight.

 

[Sean01]

I am so confused ...low carbs high fats is that the way to go yes or no ?...I am on a diet at the moment low fat and sugar, I have never been worried about carbs though although I have avoidied food if it said IE 25g carb of which 15g are sugars that 5g/10g threshold is always in my mind. But I have always been told LOW fats and sugar to lose wieght , high fats = high cholesterol and wieght gain hi sugar = hi bg I have always been told if I lose weight my diabetes will be easier to control which I know is true but I have now been told bread , potatoes pasta are all high carb foods , but they are on a good food diet sheet I have been given by my practise nurse I just dont know what is good or bad it seems there is so much conflicting advise even from the proffesionals which way should go. I do like my food but i am scared i will end up on a bland expensive or water diet .

People are different - trial and error - do what works for you - but consider this:

The glycemic index and glycemic laod are very important in managing you blood glucose levels. Fats and protein do not have a GI because they do not affect your blood glucose levels. Carbs potatoes, bread, rice, pasta - all have relatively high GI. Fruit - mostly high GI. Everything is relative - the lower the GI the better. If there is no GI - better still. Protein for muscle mass. Reduce bodyfat because it is not the engine that drives you. Imagine trying to get efficiency from a car if it was overloaded with unnecessary luggage.) Fuel your body with fats. Eat too much of anything and you will store calories as fat but eat the right kind of fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil etc) and you will have energy and get lean - but exercise is a substantial part of the equation

I have a high fat and high protein diet. I avoid carbs as much as possible. and yes, loosing weight will make it easier to manage your blood sugar and if you have more muscle mass, that will help too. Exercise daily - even a brisk walk for 20 mins a day - trust me - it works, but try it for yourself.

and as for the bland diet - ( science alert!!). The flavour molecules are in the fat. This is why processed low fat food has to be pumped with chemicals - to put some artificial taste back into it. Where does the flavour come from in a roast rib of beef or a pan of sizzling bacon. Clotted cream - packed with flavour etc etc.

Good luck

 

[Resurgam]

Unfortunately medical people have been giving out advice for a long time and getting it wrong for many people - look at how Dr Atkins was ridiculed and vilified despite his experience with tens of thousands of people doing low carb and seeing their health improve - in some cases dramatically. He was a cardiologist, the weight loss, though that was often dramatic as well, was simply a side effect.
I do Atkins despite advice from my doctor and the diabetes education team, and they were totally confounded by my results. Normal blood glucose levels after eating and reduced cholesterol - what could they say to me?

 

[Wheat From The Chaff]

I am so confused ...low carbs high fats is that the way to go yes or no ?...I am on a diet at the moment low fat and sugar, I have never been worried about carbs though although I have avoidied food if it said IE 25g carb of which 15g are sugars that 5g/10g threshold is always in my mind. But I have always been told LOW fats and sugar to lose wieght , high fats = high cholesterol and wieght gain hi sugar = hi bg I have always been told if I lose weight my diabetes will be easier to control which I know is true but I have now been told bread , potatoes pasta are all high carb foods , but they are on a good food diet sheet I have been given by my practise nurse I just dont know what is good or bad it seems there is so much conflicting advise even from the proffesionals which way should go. I do like my food but i am scared i will end up on a bland expensive or water diet .

Hi ukmartian... thank you for posting this. It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one who is confused!

From what I've seen so far there seems to be two camps - one saying high fat low carb, the other saying the opposite. One thing they both have in common though is that we need to eat more natural, nutrient dense foods if we're to provide our body with the type of fuel it needs to operate well and give it the possibility to heal. Whether we say carbs or fat is the problem it's interesting to know that a banana and mars bars have around the same amount of carbs and an avocado and chocolate muffin the same amount of fat. When looked at like this the real enemy is quite clear!
So to help in distinguishing what food might be best it seems the more nutritious, unprocessed and closer to the way nature made it the better. As I've been able to become more sensitive in seeing how certain foods affect me I've come see that bread rarely does me any good. One only need look at the ingredients list and its easy to see why this might be the case. So for me I'm aiming to cut it out by not having it in the house although I'll still dip some pitta bread in hummus if the opportunity arises elsewhere!

Personally I feel more comfortable with high carb, low fat. I've also heard information that although high fat, low carb can help us in the short to mid term, the long term effects increase chances of other health issues. I'd recommend looking into this further though. I suppose it's also a case of whether we want to just treat the symptoms of diabetes (just managing sugar levels) or uproot the underlying cause of why the glucose isn't coming out of the blood and into the muscles. From my online research over the past several months many of the worlds leading doctors say this is caused by saturated fat which then causes insulin resistance.
This talk has more info on that as well as the high fat or high carb argument -

I also wanted to share that I've come across accounts that juice fasting can be an effective way to detoxify the body which in turn can get sugar levels back in to the normal range. I enjoyed this documentary which follows 8 people over 4 weeks and how they're health and illnesses changed. Maybe take a look and see what you think -

I wish you all the best on your quest for better health!