Diet advice

[leechilvers82]

Hi all, seen a personal trainer who was interested in my diabetes history, he has suggested something too me that I'd like your opinions on!

He has questioned what use carbs are in our diets?? He has said they are an added food group introduced in last few hundred years and didn't exist years ago and it's only last 200 years its been in the human diet having previously lived off fats and protein.

So he posed the question, if you re eating carbs to increase you bs, why take insulin to reduce it again? Is it possible to sustain a balanced diet through eating carbs first thing in the morning I.e porridge, and then again before and after exercise?

 

[LeeLee]

Only eating carbs for the last 200 years? A bit longer than that, methinks... loaves and fishes?

 

[leechilvers82]

Fair point but historically (I.e per historic) would have lived off nuts/berries/meat

 

[Twitchy]

Oh dear, he needs to revise his history & his nutricion knowledge! Grains were cultivated millenia ago & even since before that carbs have been consumed in fruit, potatoes etc... I suspect he means heavily refined carbs (white breads, biscuits etc) but carbs are in all sorts of things (what about milk too?). That said there is a train of thought that low carb diets can be helpful in controllingsugar levels but I suspect as in everything else balance is key and totally excluding any one food group is probably not a good idea forvmost people... 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

The paleo diet follows that line of thinking, and I've read in various places that *strictly speaking* the theoretical requirement for carbs in the diet is pretty much nil. But culturally and socially this is not the case, and to my mind there is not really enough long-term research data on extremely low carb diets for my liking unless (as is the case for some people) there are other circumstances/factors that make VLCHF (very low carb/high fat) a good option.

Moderate-low carb seems to strike a better more sustainable balance to me - though I know several low-carb advocates who I greatly respect

 

[mcdonagh47]

Hi all, seen a personal trainer who was interested in my diabetes history, he has suggested something too me that I'd like your opinions on!

He has questioned what use carbs are in our diets?? He has said they are an added food group introduced in last few hundred years and didn't exist years ago and it's only last 200 years its been in the human diet having previously lived off fats and protein.

Utter bunkum !
The cultivation of grain about 8000 years ago was a major breakthrough in human history. Previous to that women had to breast feed infants for years at a time and that restricted how many children they could have.
When cultivated grains came into the diet women weaned children early and went on to have more children. A development which fuelled human population growth and led to our expansion and domination, certainly of Europe and the Middle East. Porridge played a critical role in the ascent of Man ( according to some historians !)
And you have only to consider the potato, a major store of nutrients, introduced to the European diet about 1600 but before that a staple among Amerindian peoples.

 

[DeusXM]

Your trainer is sorta right but also sorta wrong too. Carbs have been part of the human diet for at least 10,000 years and there is evidence to suggest that grains have been eaten for some time before this. And as has been pointed out, carbs (or more precisely, a non-spoiling energy dense secure food supply) is the reason we've stopped living in caves.

However, your instructor is right when he hints that you don't actually need carbs. There is nothing in carbohydrates that you can't get from a diet rich in quality meat and plenty of veg. His question about carbs and insulin is a fair one in the context of bolus injections, but it's worth pointing out that insulin has a role beyond carb management and is an essential hormone - hence the basal dose. Don't eat carbs because you think you have to. Eat carbs because you want to. I like crusty bread. I like gnocchi. I like noodles. Are these the best dietary choices? No, but if I can adapt my lifestyle to minimise the effect they have on my health.

You can throw this back at your trainer by comparing it to sex! Ask your trainer if he enjoys having sex. The answer's probably yes! Then point out it's not essential for his health, it's not essential for life and he could catch a disease or end up with an unplanned baby. He'll probably tell you he uses contraception to prevent this. Point out that it's the same principle with you using insulin to allow you to safely eat carbs - abstinence doesn't have to be the only option if you've got the right tools!

 

[trophywench]

Mmmmmm, Ok bread yes, but not wheaten bread - they used spelt I believe? and millet flour and other such subtle delicacies, sago amongst them ..... of course with mega fibre, stands to reason if you haven't got a donkey to power your grindstone you'll land up with fairly long lasting carb release bread LOL

Ever tried pumpernickel? Defo an acquired taste and don't do it if you have jaw ache, you'll certainly have it after .....

Well personally I don't eat carbs to feed my insulin, haven't had to do that since 1985 when I binned the porcine Lente. And precisely why we festoon ourselves with garlic and hold up a cross when anyone mentions 'mixed' insulins in these enlightened times. (though they do have a place in CERTAIN circs, just not for T1s normally)

Think yer man needs to update his education bout insulin, doesn't he?

Whole point about DAFNE is the theory if you don't eat carb, you don't need to inject. Trouble is with that and what he seems not to have taken on board, is that if you eat no carb at all, the body will (eventually if not immediately) produce the glucose it needs from either protein or fat. And if it's more than your body needs for normal use - then it will stay floating round your blood stream. And the only way I'm gonna eliminate it before it harms me - is inject insulin .......

Think yer man needs to update his education bout that an all ......

How is he on exercise? LOL

 

[Caroline]

Perhaps it is refined carbs that are the problem? More and more food is refined these days so it is easier to digest.