Dietician advice... pasta

[grufflybear]

for some weeks now I have been keeping my BG levels pretty low (2 hr after meals) and I had my first appt with my dietician on Monday. I have been avoiding pasta, potatoes and eating lentils pulses and a little wholegrain bread. SO over all have been feeling ok and getting good results and eating around 100 - 120 gms of lowish GI carbs per day. However dietician said yes all looks good but wanted me to eat more starchy carbs with each meal... well I put this off but today had pasta for lunch.... and guess what I got my worst BG level afterwards..... I just don't see that I needed to eat the pasta, I have replaced ordinary potato with sweet potato and was doing fine. Is this part of a conflict between the usual dietary advice and tougher low carb regimes, I don't want to just ignore the advice of an "expert" but I am feeling well on the diet I am working out from reading here etc... and feel that keeping my BG down is paramount, especially as I am eating enough fibre and other types of carb anyway.

 

[Robster65]

Hi gruffly. Rambling's not a problem on here. We can read fast

I would suggest that maybe the dietician is dishing out old advice, but there may some other reason to do with the meds that requires more starchy carbs.

I can't think of any other reason why you need to eat something that causes your BGs to spike.

Personally, I love pasta, but I can inject insulin as and when I want. You have to find foods that match your body's insulin profile, which is going to be limited at best. Which is precisely what you've been doing successfully so far. 🙂

See what others think, especially other type 2s.

Rob

 

[Northerner]

It's difficult, but some dieticians, like in any walk of life, are better than others. It sounds to me that you are being given 'standard' advice, but as we all know diabetes doesn't really fit a standard model and is different for everyone. From what you say, you have worked out what works well for you, you are happy with it, so why not stick with it? Did the dietician offer you any sound and logical reasons why you should eat more carbs? Your intake does not sound excessively low and is giving you good results. 🙂

 

[FM001]

Just continue as you are considering your diet looks fine, the extra carbs advice isn't necessary at all as 120g of carbohydrate is enough to provide most peoples energy needs.

 

[Mark T]

100 - 120g of Carb per day is roughly where I am right now.

It sound like the standard, and in my view bad, advice that has been given to many on these forums.

I believe it's driven from the viewpoint that less carb means more fat, and all fat is bad (I'd argue that only saturated fats are bad). Therefore eat less fat and more carb.

 

[grufflybear]

I think the dietician was surprised to have a patient who had taken such a detailed interest in his diet already, I would be concerned if I was feeling tired or something but no, she didn't really have an explanation other than the recommended intake was higher, possibly as you say to avoid replacing carb with fat... but I am not doing that. So for the moment I will stick with my plan and keep testing and experimenting within the foods I have found work and which I am enjoying. I am not taking any medication at the moment and my review with GP is coming up in September so I am working towards controlling with diet and exercise...

 

[lizabetic]

My dietician told me to add in pulses/lentils to slow the spike in pasta and also to buy mixed grain types!