[jenbaz1979]

HELLO Again hear i am with another question or two first of all im starting to wonder if there is any way I’m ever going to get my readings down i know I’ve only been doing it for a week but there so high and am eating hardly anything with crabs in this brings me on to my next question, my not very helpful doctor gave me one leaflet as i left the surgery and its called first steps in eating health for people with diabetes , and it says i need to eat STARCHY FOODS AT EVERY MEAL then gose on to give an example and says BREADS,POTATOES, PASTA ,RICE, is this not the case as there is lots of advise against ...

[foxl]

Originally Posted by jenbaz1979

HELLO Again hear i am with another question or two first of all im starting to wonder if there is any way I’m ever going to get my readings down i know I’ve only been doing it for a week but there so high and am eating hardly anything with crabs in this brings me on to my next question, my not very helpful doctor gave me one leaflet as i left the surgery and its called first steps in eating health for people with diabetes , and it says i need to eat STARCHY FOODS AT EVERY MEAL then gose on to give an example and says BREADS,POTATOES, PASTA ,RICE, is this not the case as there is lots of advise against ...

Those of us who have reduced our carbs a lot believe the ADA is behind the times in their advice. I was told by an Endo to eat a low-fat diet, too.

The only way I brought my blood glucose down was by eliminating starches.

[Dan Gato]

Jen, When I went to the diabetes classes the dietician said to eat about 160g of carbs a day & I did it, until I read here at the Forums & Dr. Bernstein book of the benefits of low carbs.

They also gave us cookies at the classes. That's how much they know about carbs.

Whatever you eat, test, & you'll know how foods affect you.

[Mothernature]

It sounds like your dr is not very helpful. I agree with reducing the carbs. My morning numbers were always high. I reduced my daily carb intake from 130 to 100. My morning number is now in range and dropped 25 pts.

Vitamin D is a supplement to consider (especially if you were prescribed Metformin). Vitamin D has many great benefits for diabetics: deals with insulin resistance, cancer prevention, helps with immunity, blood pressure, and osteoporosis.

[sable_032592]

i agree with low-carbing it, but no-carbing it isn't for everyone, so make sure you've done your homework before you head into anything like this... in a lot of cases, cutting carbs out completely can cause diabetic complications... i ended up in a diabetic coma (dka)... i had gone high protein and no carb... but i was also not checking my sugar levels all that often...

[keeranx]

Complex carbohydrates (the breads and pastas for example that your pamphlet mentioned) are your best bet. They don't spike blood sugars like simple carbohydrates (hard candies, sodas etc...) Low carb dieting is not healthy whether you're diabetic or not..the body is deprived of necessary energy and resorts to burning off stored fat and ketones develop as a result (your sugars are also likely to be high often if you seriously limit your carb intake). You need carbs for energy and even for burning fat and maintaining a normal metabolism (low carb dieting lowers your metabolism because your cells are starved of the energy they need from carbs). Maybe you should try out a new doctor! It seems like he's left you to figure it out yourself :/

[Subby]

Originally Posted by jenbaz1979

HELLO Again hear i am with another question or two first of all im starting to wonder if there is any way I’m ever going to get my readings down i know I’ve only been doing it for a week but there so high and am eating hardly anything with crabs in this brings me on to my next question, my not very helpful doctor gave me one leaflet as i left the surgery and its called first steps in eating health for people with diabetes , and it says i need to eat STARCHY FOODS AT EVERY MEAL then gose on to give an example and says BREADS,POTATOES, PASTA ,RICE, is this not the case as there is lots of advise against ...

Jen, it's good to get specific to get to the bottom of these things. Saying "eating hardly anything" could mean a lot of things. And, it would be good to know what else is being done to control your BG.

So, what kind of carbs are you eating? What type, How many grams (or serving sizes), you can give an example of your diet for a day if you like.

What are your BG doing? I know you are testing, but are you testing multiple times a day in order to determine the effectiveness and fine tuning your approaches to controlling your diabetes (diet, meds, exercise, etc). Without the BG tests and reflection each time on what works and what doesn't (again diet, meds, exercise etc) you are like a mechanic in a dark garage with no torch (flashlight): ie, utterly ineffective.

Are you taking meds? What is going on with them?

Have you increased your activity level, are you getting regular exercise?

These may seem like hassling or invasive or rhetorical questions, they're not meant that way nor are they pointed or exhaustive, I'm just inviting you to get more comprehensive and detailed with what's going on, be like a mechanic in a well lit garage with great tools clearly diagnosing your problems - and this forum is like having mates on a conference call as you work . The more info you gather both for yourself, and to share with other where you see fit, the faster and better you can find the ways to bring those BGs down.

[yannah]

it took my body alot longer than a week to come down, even no carbing. I started to trends downward, but it was slow.
(my ac's are in the signature)

I cannot still eat potaotes and pasta ect.

and yes, I got this advice, as you did, I got it in th hospital.
I think the assumption may be that people have to eat these things, I have no clue. but I cannot eat those things. and we don't need them.

my endo and my doctor are both just fine with the low carbing.
my pcp infact thinks its great. I have lost a ton of wieght also.

I really think you need to give low carbig a chance. but I know it is hard with them medical advice being what it is. there is tons of research to the contrary of the normal medical advice that is out there.

good luck.

[genie86333]

You've been doing your research. That's good. One other form of research is seeing what following your doctor's advice does...it's not something I'd advise doing because it rarely works, but if you want to know for sure if the doctor's right or what you've learned, that's the only way to go.

No matter what you do, your numbers will take a while to come down. If you're on oral meds (like Metformin) they can take over a month to take effect. In the meantime, test, test, test & do what your meter says gives the best results.

Keeranx, the advice you gave her is not true for everyone. It *may* be true for you, however, pasta spikes me worse than candy or other simple sugars. Some people can't handle *any* types of carbs without a spike. And as long as I eat *something* regularly I don't see spikes from lack of carbs, although I do *if* I miss a meal because then I go too low & cause a glucose dump. That's why the best advice you'll see around here is to TEST for yourself & to see how your body works best. To advise anything else is dangerous.

[9903card]

One thing that really prevented me from spiking was eating starches high in fiber. All the grocery stores near me (in Louisville, Ky) sell double fiber bread. It's great, my BS rarely rises more than 30-40 points after I eat. I've also found it helpfull to eat protein with most meals. Don't forget to subtract the grams of fiber from the grams of carbs when entering carbs into your pump, (or calculating your bolus via syringe)

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by keeranx

Complex carbohydrates (the breads and pastas for example that your pamphlet mentioned) are your best bet. They don't spike blood sugars like simple carbohydrates (hard candies, sodas etc...)

Complex carbs do spike your BGs. Meters don't lie. Whole wheat bread and pasta are nearly as bad as white for me.

Low carb dieting is not healthy whether you're diabetic or not..the body is deprived of necessary energy and resorts to burning off stored fat and ketones develop as a result (your sugars are also likely to be high often if you seriously limit your carb intake).

We as a race evolved on a low carb high fat diet. It is the most natural diet for us. Only when high refined carb diets are added to peoples living on their natural diets do obesity, CHD, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases appear. Not increase but appear! High carb diets are unhealthy. The resulting elevated level of insulin is the primary culprit. It is the food and fat storage hormone. THE hormone responsible for fat storage.

You are right in thinking that a low carb diet will burn off fat, and that's the whole point, isn't it?

You need carbs for energy and even for burning fat and maintaining a normal metabolism (low carb dieting lowers your metabolism because your cells are starved of the energy they need from carbs).

Fat and protein only provide energy when it's convenient? "Don't eat fat because it contains too much energy and will be stored as fat!" in reality, Some of both protein and fat will be converted to carbs. Regular and ongoing glucogenesis, the reason we take basal insulins equalling roughly 50% of our daily total dose, is a significant generator of our daily carb needs.

About Fat

Find a low carber with no energy. I dare you! Find a study (not a heart or diabetes association) that says low carbing lowers metabolism or is bad for you in any way.

Actually the only diet that causes decreased metabolism is a semi-starvation diet, that is the typical weight watchers food reduction type of diet. Long term weight reduction is extremely difficult for these dieters. Zeroing In On Health – The Blog! Semi-Starvation Diets

[yannah]

I have more energy than ever.

[keeranx]

Originally Posted by xMenace

Complex carbs do spike your BGs. Meters don't lie. Whole wheat bread and pasta are nearly as bad as white for me.



We as a race evolved on a low carb high fat diet. It is the most natural diet for us. Only when high refined carb diets are added to peoples living on their natural diets do obesity, CHD, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases appear. Not increase but appear! High carb diets are unhealthy. The resulting elevated level of insulin is the primary culprit. It is the food and fat storage hormone. THE hormone responsible for fat storage.

You are right in thinking that a low carb diet will burn off fat, and that's the whole point, isn't it?



Fat and protein only provide energy when it's convenient? "Don't eat fat because it contains too much energy and will be stored as fat!" in reality, Some of both protein and fat will be converted to carbs. Regular and ongoing glucogenesis, the reason we take basal insulins equalling roughly 50% of our daily total dose, is a significant generator of our daily carb needs.

About Fat

Find a low carber with no energy. I dare you! Find a study (not a heart or diabetes association) that says low carbing lowers metabolism or is bad for you in any way.

Actually the only diet that causes decreased metabolism is a semi-starvation diet, that is the typical weight watchers food reduction type of diet. Long term weight reduction is extremely difficult for these dieters. Zeroing In On Health – The Blog! Semi-Starvation Diets

Actually you're right on the complex carbs also spiking sugars as well (I'm taking a sports nutrition class so I'm still in the process of learning lol)...some complex carbs like potatoes can spike your sugars worse than sucrose...I learned this today..

but as far as the low carb dieting thing...nothing against "lower carb dieting" but I'm talking about dieters who take it to an extreme. A LOT of dieters and some diabetics reduce their carb intake to less than 45% of total calories (recommended is 45-65% I believe) which can cause the body to resort to looking for other sources of fuel and can cause withering away muscles for energy ALONG with fat (when this type of dieting becomes severe). Carbohydrates are necessary for anaerobic glycolysis which is needed for high intensity exercising too...so if you do a lot of running or sprinting its important that your carbohydrate intake be adequate. I do a lot of running so a very low carbohydrate diet for me would probably cause me to tire more quickly.

Hope I was helpful! I hope I wasn't preachy though >.< lol

[Mike Opteris]

Keeranx,
"Carbohydrates are necessary for anaerobic glycolysis which is needed for high intensity exercising too...so if you do a lot of running or sprinting its important that your carbohydrate intake be adequate. I do a lot of running so a very low carbohydrate diet for me would probably cause me to tire more quickly."

I see that you are into SPORTS nutrition. A typical athlete will burn far more calories during workouts, competition etc. than your typical Joe and Jane Diabetic. That's why sports nutritionists recommend the higher carb diet. However, you need to check out Loren Cordain's web site. He's a sports nutritionist that advocates a low carb diet for athletes and is very successful.
Best wishes,
Mike

[butterbuns]

Complex carbohydrates (a.k.a. starches) such as whole grain bread, pasta, oatmeal and brown rice, broccoli, kidney beans and chick peas take the longest to digest and can help regulate bs levels.