Confused about low carb for Type 1 - can someone explain?

[DeeM]

Hi. As a newbie I have found it so helpful to browse the forum, but I am a bit confused about how to make sure I am taking note of what’s relevant to me as someone with Type 1 (possibly LADA)…

In particular, I have picked up the general sense that it will be better for me to cut out sugar and refined carbs (including when doing the Learning Zone modules) - but I have also seen comments saying that ‘low carb’ should not be recommended to T1s as this could be dangerous.

Please could someone explain this to me?

Instinctively it makes sense to me that if I want to control my weight (which is back into a healthy range following the sudden weight loss I experienced before being diagnosed) and be healthy then a fairly low carb approach is the way to go? This would mean using less insulin overall. So why would this be dangerous?

 

[Inka]

The diet recommended for Type 1s is the same healthy diet recommended for everyone. Type 1 is not diet-related, it’s an auto-immune condition. Most Type 1s eat reasonable amounts of carbs. It’s actually easier, in my experience, to control your blood sugar by balancing your insulin/carbs rather than severely restricting carbs. If somebody ate too few carbs, they’d have to start counting the glucose-raising effect of protein, which is less predictable and can raise blood sugar some hours later, leading to more than one bolus injection to try to control this.

If a person doesn’t understand how to adjust their insulin appropriately and/ or is on fixed doses, eating too few carbs can risk severe hypos. In addition, very low carb has been suggested to make it harder to control blood sugar during illness as it causes a form of insulin resistance and makes people more prone to diabetic keto-acidosis some studies have shown.

What insulins do you take and when? Are you carb-counting and adjusting your own bolus/meal insulin?

 

[helli]

You can eat a low carb diet if you want. Some people with Type 1 do.
I understand the logic - if you take less insulin, the scope for error is less.

However, as @Inka said, the treatment for Type 1 is not diet. There is no need to eat differently to someone who does not have diabetes. It is a good idea to eat a healthy diet as it is for everyone else.
And just as Inka mentioned, a low carb diet can be more complex to calculate your insulin dose for because you have to include insulin for protein which can vary for each type of protein. I do not eat meat but found the insulin to protein ratio is different for me for nuts, eggs, cheese, salmon, prawns, ... I decided it wasn't worth the effort and I would rather eat a "normal" diet.

Is a low carb diet "safe" for someone with Type 1 diabetes? It can be if you know how to calculate your insulin dose. If you are on a fixed insulin dose, it can easily lead to hypos which there is a strong resistance to advise it to someone who is newly diagnosed and still learning the ropes.

I apologise if this sounds condescending (it is not meant to be) - well done on focusing on the Type 1/LADA advice. Sometimes it is lost amongst the type 2 trees as we are in the minority. They are two very different conditions with the same symptoms.

 

[DeeM]

The diet recommended for Type 1s is the same healthy diet recommended for everyone. Type 1 is not diet-related, it’s an auto-immune condition. Most Type 1s eat reasonable amounts of carbs. It’s actually easier, in my experience, to control your blood sugar by balancing your insulin/carbs rather than severely restricting carbs. If somebody ate too few carbs, they’d have to start counting the glucose-raising effect of protein, which is less predictable and can raise blood sugar some hours later, leading to more than one bolus injection to try to control this.

If a person doesn’t understand how to adjust their insulin appropriately and/ or is on fixed doses, eating too few carbs can risk severe hypos. In addition, very low carb has been suggested to make it harder to control blood sugar during illness as it causes a form of insulin resistance and makes people more prone to diabetic keto-acidosis some studies have shown.

What insulins do you take and when? Are you carb-counting and adjusting your own bolus/meal insulin?

Thanks so much for your speedy replies!

I have only very recently been diagnosed as Type 1 (ie. just over a week ago), and so far I am just on the basal insulin dose while monitoring and recording my BG patterns. I am due to return to see the diabetes nurse again this week to get further info about starting on the bolus doses. In the meantime I am trying to learn as much as I can to help me take a positive approach for managing this condition and staying as healthy as possible.

So I recognise that I wouldn’t actually be ‘treating’ the condition through what I choose to eat (like T2s can), but I am already fairly aware about healthy eating and of GL as one factor which helps with feeling satisfied/satiated as opposed to the craving cycles that come with eating sugary food or refined carbs. This has worked well for me in the past as an approach to healthy eating and staying within a healthy weight range, so I was naturally thinking this might be something to focus on a bit more for an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

It is really helpful to hear that going very low carb causes other issues with insulin calculations - thanks. I feel like I understand the distinction a bit better now.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Thanks so much for your speedy replies!

I have only very recently been diagnosed as Type 1 (ie. just over a week ago), and so far I am just on the basal insulin dose while monitoring and recording my BG patterns. I am due to return to see the diabetes nurse again this week to get further info about starting on the bolus doses. In the meantime I am trying to learn as much as I can to help me take a positive approach for managing this condition and staying as healthy as possible.

So I recognise that I wouldn’t actually be ‘treating’ the condition through what I choose to eat (like T2s can), but I am already fairly aware about healthy eating and of GL as one factor which helps with feeling satisfied/satiated as opposed to the craving cycles that come with eating sugary food or refined carbs. This has worked well for me in the past as an approach to healthy eating and staying within a healthy weight range, so I was naturally thinking this might be something to focus on a bit more for an ongoing healthy lifestyle.

It is really helpful to hear that going very low carb causes other issues with insulin calculations - thanks. I feel like I understand the distinction a bit better now.

In his excellent book "Think Like A Pancreas", the author Gary Scheiner comments about the additional complexity in managing D of going low carb and the protein and fat conversions that then occur regardless; he reminds the reader that one's brain only uses glucose and that glucose can only come from metabolism of carbs, or proteins and fats when carbs aren't available. But he also states that if a meal has typically 30 gm carbs, or more of course, then one's body doesn't resort to converting proteins. 30 gms is sufficient.

I found the book very useful; it is deliberately pitched at insulin dependent diabetics and he speaks from experience as a T1. Although he is in the USA, the edition I have (2016 or 17) provides conversions to European units of measurement, everywhere.

 

[DeeM]

In his excellent book "Think Like A Pancreas", the author Gary Scheiner comments about the additional complexity in managing D of going low carb and the protein and fat conversions that then occur regardless; he reminds the reader that one's brain only uses glucose and that glucose can only come from metabolism of carbs, or proteins and fats when carbs aren't available. But he also states that if a meal has typically 30 gm carbs, or more of course, then one's body doesn't resort to converting proteins. 30 gms is sufficient.

I found the book very useful; it is deliberately pitched at insulin dependent diabetics and he speaks from experience as a T1. Although he is in the USA, the edition I have (2016 or 17) provides conversions to European units of measurement, everywhere.

Brilliant! Thank you so much . I have downloaded it already and will get reading.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi. As a newbie I have found it so helpful to browse the forum, but I am a bit confused about how to make sure I am taking note of what’s relevant to me as someone with Type 1 (possibly LADA)…

In particular, I have picked up the general sense that it will be better for me to cut out sugar and refined carbs (including when doing the Learning Zone modules) - but I have also seen comments saying that ‘low carb’ should not be recommended to T1s as this could be dangerous.

Please could someone explain this to me?

Instinctively it makes sense to me that if I want to control my weight (which is back into a healthy range following the sudden weight loss I experienced before being diagnosed) and be healthy then a fairly low carb approach is the way to go? This would mean using less insulin overall. So why would this be dangerous?

I was going to reply but others have filled you in but I didn't know how to get rid of this.