First thing: I love the NHS. It's a great establishment, and the people working the front lines are legends.
Thing is the information from up high is out of date. And doctors and nurses are not allowed to make changes to this information. Not even if it is bad, and current research shows this old information to be bad, A quote from the the NHS Live Well article "The truth about carbs" "The best way to manage diabetes is by taking prescribed medications and by maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes plenty of physical activity and a balanced diet that is low in saturated fat, salt and sugar and rich in fruit and vegetables, without completely cutting out any particular food groups." But is this the best way to manage it? To keep your Blood Sugar nice an level you need the meds. But surely this is only a temporary solution (except of Type 1 diabetics of course). So why can't Type 2 Diabetes be managed by diet alone? Starches, sugars and grains up your blood sugar and thus you need the meds. Cut out the carbs, and your blood sugar doesn't spike, making management incredibly easy. Most T2D have reversed their condition, or hugely reduced the amount of meds they need to take, by cutting the carbs from their diets. Why would the NHS say to diabetics that they need to consume carbs? Here's what they say:
Ok, thoughout this you can see that fibre is getting a big shout as to why you should be eating carby foods. Yes, getting your fibre is a good thing. So many people say "you'll cut out your fibre if you cut out your grains and cereal". Er, no. Just think of all the amazing vegetables that are super high in fibre, like avocado, broccoli or cauliflower. You do not need grains and starchy food.
What can we take from the NHS advice. Eat carbs, starches and grains because they give you energy and they contain fibre. Awesome. Fat gives you a more stable energy, keeps you fuller for longer so you don't actually need to eat as much. Vegetables give you fibre and all the other nutrients you could possibly need. Carbs give you... nothing that can be got elsewhere. Not only is the NHS still giving out this out dated and bad advice, but the charity Diabetes UK is doing the same!! They say eat a "Healthy Balanced Diet" and change white bread to brown bread! What the?! Have a sandwich and that's over 100g of carbs right there. Get that dose of insulin ready. Now, I'm not a loon an I sure as hell am going to have an ice-cream on a hot day, but you won't catch me eating bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, sugar or cereals. It's impossible to not have a single carb, but to get about around 300 grams of carbs a day (I'm 45, 6'2") is madness. I personally am aiming for less that 30g carbs a day, to maintain my keto-adaption. But reducing this amount by 2/3 isn't too difficult. Getting into a good low carb diet would be around 50g a day.
Eat well, dudes.
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Andrew CoyleI've been a Type 2 Diabetic for over 11 years, and now Insulin Dependant. I'm finally learning that the advice I've been given around nutrition and med management is wrong. Archives
September 2017
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