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What's the difference?

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What's the difference between this website Diabetes.co.uk and Diabetes UK?
 
This website - diabetes.co.uk - is run by a private company, Diabetes Digital Media. Diabetes UK is a registered charity.

Personally I prefer this site and forum because I find the approach and advice far more relevant for managing type 2 diabetes - frankly I’m pretty evangelical about a low carb way of eating and find the Diabetes UK advice too close to official dietary guidelines, which in my view are harmful to type 2s. That’s a personal opinion.

Diabetes UK has some additional services such as a helpline for questions about living with diabetes. Having never used it I can’t comment.
 
Goonergal said:
Personally I prefer this site and forum because I find the approach and advice far more relevant for managing type 2 diabetes - frankly I’m pretty evangelical about a low carb way of eating and find the Diabetes UK advice too close to official dietary guidelines, which in my view are harmful to type 2s. That’s a personal opinion.
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I wonder when you last read the Diabetes UK forum.
It is not as evangelical as this forum but it does have many people with type 2 who support a low carb diet.
The difference may be that the Diabetes UK forum is more open to other ways to manage our condition - it is stated at the top of every page rather than a separate rules of the forum thread.
 
In Response said:
I wonder when you last read the Diabetes UK forum.
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Very recently (this week). I have a username (not the same as on here) on there and check in fairly regularly, but am not a regular contributor for the reasons outlined above.

I was referring to the websites overall and to the official positions of diabetes.co.uk (which has a low carb programme) and Diabetes Uk, which still promotes the official guidance.

Both websites have forums with members giving their personal opinions. It’s all a matter of personal choice.
 
The difference for me personally is that this site and Forum has given me guidance and support to enable me to put my T2D diabetes into remission, as acknowledged by two specialist doctors, But I have lapsed out of choice, and now run at prediabetic levels. I used to be on the other site forum, and had I stayed there I would most certainly be on insulin therapy, overweight, and not in such a happy place as I am now.
 
zand said:
Yes red is a small private company, blue is a charity funded by several large companies. Blue gave me a booklet with info that would have made my T2 worse, red has helped me reverse my T2.
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If you Google Diabetes Uk sponsors, then you will see why they support the Eatwell diet, and expunge the LC and Keto diets. They are funded by major supermarkets, cereal suppliers, and diabetes medication manufacturers (mainly insulin suppliers it would seem)
 
Diabetes UK has an introductory page for T2 diets. They suggest a bowl of wholegrain cereal with milk for brekkie, and chickpea curry with brown rice for dinner. They also suggest the following, which I will quote in its entirety.

Yes, whole fruit is good for everyone and if you have diabetes, it’s no different. You shouldn’t avoid them because they’re sugary. Fruits do contain sugar, but it’s natural sugar. The sugar in whole fruit is different to the added sugar in things like chocolate, biscuits and cakes or other free sugar found in fruit juices and smoothies.

I don't think it's evangelical to find that to be poor advice. There may be decent discussions in their forums etc, but 'natural sugar is good for you, unlike refined sugar' is unscientific nonsense. You'd be better off taking cues from the Daily Mail...
 
Goonergal said:
This website - diabetes.co.uk - is run by a private company, Diabetes Digital Media. Diabetes UK is a registered charity.

Personally I prefer this site and forum because I find the approach and advice far more relevant for managing type 2 diabetes - frankly I’m pretty evangelical about a low carb way of eating and find the Diabetes UK advice too close to official dietary guidelines, which in my view are harmful to type 2s. That’s a personal opinion.

Diabetes UK has some additional services such as a helpline for questions about living with diabetes. Having never used it I can’t comment.
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I agree with the slight nuance that DuK have now admitted that a low carb diet can be a safe and effective way to manage type 2 diabetes though with caveats! The problem for me is that they don't shout loudly enough about it and are conflicted by their ties to big food plus a 'not invented here' focus with their research baby being around the 800kcal Newcastle Diet and its off shoots.
FYI here's the latest rather weak position statement:
https://diabetes-resources-producti...with-diabetes-position-statement-may-2021.pdf
As a volunteer I am personally at the end of my tether with them but that's another story!
 
They'd do well to employ someone with a better grasp of English grammar, too.

Once there are commercial pressures, we can no longer rely on any "facts". It's annoying, but it's life. Knowledge is power.
 
It is telling that the NHS has approved the LC diet programme offered by DCUK (This site) as being a valid tool for use in treating diabetes. DUK is reluctant to discuss this since it challenges their Newcastle and ultra low calorie diet plans. The ADA in the US is more open and supports both. but funnily enough still advises the SAD diet equivalent of Eatwell.
https://www.diabetesfoodhub.org/articles/ask-the-experts-what-is-the-ada-diet.html

Wonder if this is relevant
https://www.dietdoctor.com/breaking...ceo-manages-her-diabetes-with-a-low-carb-diet
 
Perhaps I was unlucky or being too sensitive I don’t know but I posted on their forum years ago about starting insulin and being scared etc, I got replied to by a person that basically told me to stop being pathetic, no one corrected him, I felt so stupid, that was the last time I loaded the website.
 
I think we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Diabetes UK is a charity not for profit so do struggle with sponsorship.
That said, they do more than just propose a single diet. They fund a lot of research, they lobby government (they got the rules for driving license changed and made Libre more widely available, they made schools responsible for equality for children with diabetes), they provide a help line, they provide advocacy service for those who are discriminated against, they provide weekend events for families with children with diabetes, …
I do not agree with all they suggest but they do not exist just for me and they recognise we are all different.
 
I used to post on their forum but made the cardinal mistake of relating my success story using LCHF. My post was deleted, and I was banned. I have not been back since.
 
Well I'm in Australia and briefly used the Australian diabetic website. Frankly if I had stayed there my life would be much worse.

I didn't want low carb to be the answer for me. I love carbs BUT low carb has worked for me and continues to work. I've recently had a doctor wonder if I was wrongly diagnosed given my current levels on no medication. I've taken myself off metformin and still my levels are in the middle of normal.

I'm also very evangelical about low carb. I honestly believe it is the best thing for my diabetic condition (it also solved my asthma). I did low calorie for decades without the same result.

Having said that- anything that helps you is okay in my book. Anything that makes it harder is not okay.
 
I think one important difference between the sites is that on this site, we seem to advocate Eating to Meter as being of major importance, whereas when I was on the other Forum, I was discoursged from testing except for the annual HbA1c. We also tend to advise more on the importance of keeping a food log.

Both sites offer dietary support and cover most variants. The other site tends to be prescriptive with formal meal plans, whereas here we encourage people to find out what works for them. Yes, we do have a bias towards low carb and keto, and the success and testimonials thread demonstrates anecdotally why we do that - it seems to work well for many especially T2D who happen to be the majority of the diabetic population.

The other difference I noted while I was using the other site, is that there is little discussion on where some diets are potentially weak, and may be counter productive considering their interaction with some medications. EG Metformin and B12, Statins and grapefruit. gluten and lactose intolerances. The other site seemed to do more recipe exchanging in the main forum, wheras here there are specific subthreads.

I can see why a prescriptive approach is useful for some, especially since the carbs and calories have all been totted up, but that only works if you follow to the letter what is prescribed in terms of portion sizes and weights. Where a diet plan states that pudding is melon without stating portion size or ripeness could be misleading
 
Oldvatr said:
I used to post on their forum but made the cardinal mistake of relating my success story using LCHF. My post was deleted, and I was banned. I have not been back since.
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I went winner due to err um ..winning against an implacable foe ..

how very dare you try to avoid the slippery slope of 'complications':hilarious::banghead:

How distressing that they deleted such a post.
Hole A* in the words of Yoda

Personal experience here, was it was
more Type one centric, ..no bad thing.if your T1

LCHF wasn't really encouraged I felt at my time of engagement .

So I left , found a better place here and stayed

It seems counter intuitive, when one is a diabetic NATIONAL charity,

that T2D's might find it lacking over a private companies endeavours.

But I certainly was for me..

Like many above, I too think I would have slid further along the prescribed path dictated by SAD.

I do dislike the term evangelical
It just sound so dismissive of science or simply thinking

But when it comes to me & my health,
and I find a place and a way to restrict, limit or slow that illness... evangelical becomes a badge of honour I'm happy to wear

And sponsorship by the drinks industry just left me with a feeling the priority wasn't me & unfortunate facts would be ignored as dictated.

A position I'm happy with
I won't be returning to the other site too speedily.
Good luck to those who prefer it.

And best wishes to it, if it IS changing course
But I won't be on that ship.
 
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I think I posted or in my blog, I said, that I had a brief enquiry into RH on their forum!

It was a waste of time,!

"This site is for diabetes"!

So I looked elsewhere and found what I had been looking for!


If you look towards charity, it means, that society has forgotten you!
 
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