Why is a high carb diet most recommended for diabetics?

[G-Mom]

Thanks to borntolose, who sparked this question for me with this link: http://www.joslin.org/education/libr...oodsugar.shtml

I saw this statement there:

Carbohydrate is the one nutrient that has the biggest impact on blood glucose.

Sooo....if carbs have this effect, then why do doctors recommend a high carb diet for diabetics when a low carb diet seems like it would be better for your condition?

Low carb used to be the number 1 recommended diet for diabetics several decades ago, what happened?

[illinitailgater]

Heck, they might STILL be recommending high-carb diets to diabetics! I had gestational diabetes during both my pregnancies (kids are 9 and 7). I even had to give myself insulin shots with one pregnancy. And, when I went to see the doctor-ordered dietician, she put me on a high-carb diet. I had huge readings after following her breakfast menu of bananas and other fruits, milk and grains. I learned on my own that while I was allowed pizza, I shouldn't have it because I would spike unbelievably after even just one slice. I started Atkins about a year and a half after my last child was born, and I learned exactly how I should have handled my diabetic pregnancies!

[canuck]

Well I will give you my opinion and will get blown outta the water by some and tarred and feathered and others who like me have lived this will nod their head in agreement.


G-Mom it is all political...totally motivated by greed.....from our leaders down....sad to say.

About 80 yr ago diabetics were on a strict diet, they even invented insulin then and it worked better, it is partly due too:
-following world war II as our countries became more affluent, men came back from war land was given out, faming prospered the wheat boards became popular, rich and powerful.

In their attempts to earn more money they lined the pockets of politicians and thus our Cdn Food guide and the USA Pyramid came to tell us to eat tons of grains, very little protein. Italy and France didn’t do this, for example….they don’t have a raging obesity and diabetic problem like we do!!!

In fact the metabolic center told me in 1994 I should have protein only to the size of a deck of cards per day.....but told me I should have 300 to 500 gr of carbs per day.

To do this I had to inject four to five insulin a day, take two diabetic drugs, a cholesterol drug for my out of control cholesterols and some blood pressure drugs for my sky high blood presure.Oh ya forgot to say I had migraines and took $1000 a yr of imitrex.

I got bigger and bigger and bigger, sicker and sicker and sicker, and had trouble breathing and used steroid puffers to breathe.

I paid $700 a month not counting the insulin to feel this way; someone was making a ton of money off my illness.

Doctor after doctor told me, low fat, low fat, lots of grains, cereals, have puffed wheat and banana in the morning, I did, I shot up about 30 units of fasting acting insulin to do soooo.....my AIC with tons of insulin finally went from 13 to about 7.8.

I accidentally discovered Atkins and in 32 hr had to stop insulin and in 4 weeks all my meds and am drug free and have an A1C of 5.8.

I feel wonderful, my docs are blown away and I asked why they remain negligent in telling diabetics to eat hi carbs as carbs kill them and they told me it is not yet politically correct to tell diabetics to eat low cab.GO FIGURE!!!

Now some of them tell their patients of my success and two yr ago I ran groups for some of their patients but they still hang onto the old philosophy....the wheat baord, the rice board, the pasta companies, the drug companies...... they rule the roost....
LOW CARB ROCKS AND THANKS TO ATKINS being ahead of his time and being brave enough to continue to face the wrath of the world and push his ideas I am alive and in the best form, I have been in all my adult life. I will live low carb until the day I die and now I wont die young but should live to be an old lady!!!!

Tell your politicians about low carb, tell your friends about this site who are diabetic, I blab about it every day, I am like a reborn again and now and then hear back...recall you told me....well I told my sister and she is now off her insulin and lost 40 lbs....thanks....
:wave

[G-Mom]

Holy Lord, Canuck, your story gave me goosebumps! No wonder you appear in Dr. A's diabetes book. Thank you so much for that story. It saddens me terribly that doctors just won't open their eyes. It isn't fair to the those who are suffering.

BUT, it doesn't surprise me one bit. I have always known that WE must be responsible for our health, our doctors won't hold our hands like they did decades ago. They just don't care anymore, we are cattle. At least that is how my hubby and I have felt. Hurry, hurry so we can get the next patient in here to make more money. I even experienced this rudeness during my first pregnancy. Two weeks before my due date, I brought a short list of questions in to my OB/GYN and after the first one, she literally took my list from my hands and set it down on the counter. With a big smile, of course, but I was totally livid. She proved her disconcern when I was in labor with my second child (she came in once to see me in the morning, then called the nurse at 5pm to tell me she was off work now to do personal stuff--she said she assumed I would have delivered by then). I had two doctors I had never met before deliver my baby. I was so hopping mad that I never went back to her for my 6 week check-up. AND to prove that docs don't care anymore, she never sent me a card when I never scheduled it. Horrible.

We just can't count on doctors anymore to find ways to make us better permanently. We have to educate ourselves. Some people just think docs know what's best, but that is not always the case.

I am very interested in Atkins and Diabetes because I feel I was pre-diabetic before Atkins, because I suffered from several bouts of hypoglycemia.

Do you believe in a "diabetic hump?" I had that hump under my neck on my back, and I heard this happens to people who are about to or have diabetes.

Anyway, thanks so much for your story.

[borntolose]

:wave There is an answer in Dr. Richard Bernsteine's book Diabetes Solution, The complete guide to achieving Normal Blood Sugars. Dr. B's solution is 6-12-12 carbs. Dr. B will tell you that conventional medicine almost killed him with the high carbs. Dr. B is a type 1 diabetic. http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/
BJ

[borntolose]

:thumbsdo: Note: A diabetic is a doctor's meal ticket.
BJ Webb

[canuck]

Born you are so right, I couldn’t finish my post…. sorry I had to run cook brekkie for my B&B guests and couldn’t finish my long rant, yes of course Bernstein saw thru this as he had the disease and so he went right back to what Banting and Best used to do and went low carb, he is the oldest living type I diabetic around and is even more strict with his carbs than Atkins.

I am always amazed that he isnt attacked by the media like Atkins was, wonder what the diff was there.

YOU KNOW I NeVER HeARD OF THIS HUMP, WHAT IS IT CALLED.???

Yes gestational diabetes and hypoglycemia are precursors to diabetes so best to get weight under control and even when at goal stay lower in carbs and you will not wear out your pancreas.goodonya girl, your pics are awesome, you must be soooooo proud!!!!

Do you get the newsletter we talk about here, it has lots of work in it lately about hypoglycemia.

Have you ever had a 2 hr glucose tolerance test done,????


Meal ticket, good one born, you are right on, they treat us like we are dumb and lazy and overate sugar and there is nothing we can do but swallow pills. Do you know how many people have come to this board and don’t even have a blood monitor as their doc tells them to see them once a month for a test……… how the **** can you manage diabetes without taking blood every few hours and testing it until you are registering non diabetic.

Doc don’t live in our bodies 24/7 and it pains me when someone new comes here and has given all their power to some doc and thinks they are getting good care.

We live in our bodies and we know how to care for ourselves once we get the information we need.

Of my goodness, I could rant here all day but the toilets and beds are calling me...darn!!!!
:wave

[borntolose]

urplequ: They could have killed us. We trusted them and they could have killed us. :confused
BJ Webb

[G-Mom]

YOU KNOW I NeVER HeARD OF THIS HUMP, WHAT IS IT CALLED.???

Someone on here said something about it and it made think, since I had it. Basically, it is a hump right below the back of the neck at the bottom and at the top of the back.

Yes gestational diabetes and hypoglycemia are precursors to diabetes so best to get weight under control and even when at goal stay lower in carbs and you will not wear out your pancreas.goodonya girl, your pics are awesome, you must be soooooo proud!!!!

Well, even now, I feel a thousand times better eating very low carbs, so I always assumed I would keep the carbs low, so that's good. And thank you, hon, for the compliment. Work in progress!

Born, I don't understand the 6-12-12 carbs. I knew there would be other docs out there who are smart enough to see that low carb eases diabetes symptoms, I wish they would try harder to persuade their peers.

[4myself4mykids]

After being on Atkins for 3 mos, my Hgb A1C went from 9 to 6.1, and that was with only 20-25U of insulin a day compared to almost 200U/day. When I talked to my diabetes Dr. I asked her why she didnt suggest a low carb diet instead of constantly sending me to ADA diet classes that push more and more carbs, more and more insulin, etc. and she said its "not approved treatment, so she's unable to tell patients about it, but if they bring it up and ask she can let them try on their own." Talk about ticked off!!! I had struggled to conform to their diet for 8 yrs, following it closely and constantly had weight gain, more meds, more insulin, etc. Really bothered me that they made me hurt my body by making me feel like I was doing something wrong when I was following their diet. I'm not perfect now, by any means, but I'm aware and working on regaining my health that they stole from me by shoving their diet and meds at me! Also, 3 of the 5 meds I was taking cause weight gain, yet they were wanting me to lose weight---where does that make sense???? I'm really frustrated with the medical profession and have been since the appointment at the end of Nov. She told me not to go "too low carb, and make sure you eat at least 3 fruits a day". Same old, same old.....I've called most of the Drs on my insurance plan, and none of them seem to approve of low carb, so I'm just sticking with her, but begrudgingly. In my frustration, death of my mom and extra stuff at work, I've not been following my WOE 100%, but I'm back on the bandwagon again as of last week and trying my hardest to have the success I know is possible!!!! Just my rant!!

[G-Mom]

Hi Julia, isn't it frustrating?! Low carb has been scientifically proven to control insulin. I think that possibly docs just don't think that their weak-willed patients can possibly stick with such a "strict" plan as Atkins, so they don't recommend it. They just haven't looked into the program, AND they must not realize that every carb (even their precious whole grains) turns into simple sugars in the intestinal tract. The worst offender being the potato, which is the equivalent of a 1/4 cup of sugar in your system. Not good for any diabetic!

[goin2Bgood]

YOU KNOW I NeVER HeARD OF THIS HUMP, WHAT IS IT CALLED.???

I've heard it called a buffalo hump. You can google that for more information. I have it somewhat but it seems to be less as I lose weight.

[IrishIrish]

I had tried and failed at most diets out there over my life and during the last five years, having been diagnosed with diabetes and requiring insulin, I began reading a lot more. Several people here on this board suggested The Diabetic Solution by Dr. Berstein. I've included a link, below. You can actually read the book online.

http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/readit.shtml

The science made a lot of sense and happily it aligns itself well with the program Dr. Atkins envisioned for us. Personally, I want to lose weight, but I wanted to control my diabetes as much if not more. I'm happy to report that I'm managing both goals. What was most surprising is that my HmgA1C showed a remarkable trend during the first six months and my latest was 5.1 with reduced insulin and oral medication.

[RunAwayMichelle]

After 5 years of dietician approved high carb, low fat, low protein, diabetic diets I as on more meds, gaining weight annually, and felt terrible.

After 5 weeks of Atkins I was on fewer meds, felt great, and was loosing weight.

Now I have been on Atkins for 7 months and I will never go off it, yes I might cheat but I will never abandon this WOE! I believe it has saved my life.

By the way I have a small hump on my upper back just below my neck. This is the first I have heard that it is related to diabetes. go figure.

[Jen111]

This was a verrrry interesting thread. Thanks! I passed it on to a friend who has diabetes. A lot of the questions I have been asking for a while, you folks raised. I wrote my first 2 diabetic-style cookbooks, when I also didn't have a clue. Today I try and talk every diabetic I come across out of their high-carb diet, and sadly I mostly fail, as they trust their doctors and dietitians.