Hello! High carb here!!

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Kayte

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Hi there. I'm Kay and I'm a newly diagnosed T2 diabetic. Mine was caused by pancreatitis so I've had to take very high doses of insulin for weeks to get any stability. I'm vegan so it's hard to decrease my carbs as this is a major food group for me.
Fast forward to me watching What the Health on Netflix and having a few consultations with a nutritionist. She made me a meal plan and within a week my blood sugar was stable enough to come off insulin. My Libre has recorded me being in range for 98% of the day and night! I'm beyond happy!!! I eat around 350g carbs a day and very little fat, and it works!!! I'll sace telling you the reasons why as it's a long story, just watch the documentary! I'd love to know what people think!
 
I'm type 3c caused by pancreatitis, hi pancy diabetes friend!
That's a lot of carbs. I personally can't do that, but if it works for you then that's great.
 
Hello there thanks for your reply. It's a shame that you feel that you can't do that, we are all indoctrinated into thinking that it's carbohydrates that causes Diabetes which is nothing further from the truth. I have at least 350 g a day, and my blood sugars are great at the moment! I was told by one consultant that I was a type 3c because of my pancreatitis but I didn't write it on here because I didn't think people knew! I've had great trouble with the medical professions recognising it so I've just given up and say I've got T2. Saves a lot of arguments!
 
Kayte said:
Hello there thanks for your reply. It's a shame that you feel that you can't do that, we are all indoctrinated into thinking that it's carbohydrates that causes Diabetes which is nothing further from the truth. I have at least 350 g a day, and my blood sugars are great at the moment! I was told by one consultant that I was a type 3c because of my pancreatitis but I didn't write it on here because I didn't think people knew! I've had great trouble with the medical professions recognising it so I've just given up and say I've got T2. Saves a lot of arguments!
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Here is the one place people will know don't worry 🙂 out in the real world I just say I'm type 1 because I have to take insulin.
Its not indoctrination for me, its lived experience. From becoming diabetic in 2019 to about August time last year I was eating regularly, a balanced diet but couldn't get my HBA1C down (if you don't know that's your average blood sugar for the last 3 months), but then when I cut carbs down, to 2 or 3 days a week, its now in the non diabetic range.
We have a clear cause of our diabetes, as in for us its the pancreatitis, but generally eating lots of carbs is bad for diabetics, it doesn't cause it, but it really makes your body work hard to control the blood sugar. The casue for type 1 isn't known as far as I'm aware and for type 2 it can be reversed by going low carb and increasing your exercise.

Also and this took me a while to discover so you may not know it yet, but each type 3C pancreas is different, so there could be 100,000+ different ways your pancreas works compared to mine and to each other 3C persons pancreas. For instance you might produce insulin naturally and I could produce none, you could produce glucose naturally and I could produce non, or it could be a case of producing some and some, or any gradient in between.
I suspect, and its still early so don't bank on it staying this way, that if you're high carb eating and your blood sugar is healthy, that your pancreas produces insulin naturally.
Keep an eye on it.
Good luck.
 
Hi 🙂 Yes @Kayte a very low fat plant-based diet is one option to improve Type 2 and to increase insulin sensitivity for Type 1s too. If you look at the Forks Over Knives website, you’ll see lots of success stories. There’s also Mastering Diabetes. Cyrus Khambatta eats loads of carbs yet takes a relatively tiny amount of insulin (he’s Type 1) because he has incredible insulin sensitivity. The figures are something like 600g carbs per day and a total daily dose of insulin of 26 units.
 
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s'nic said:
Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on bringing your blood sugars down.
For anyone interested in a synopsis of the program I found it on wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Health
Click to expand...

Google and you can watch it for free 🙂 It’s very interesting. It also covers heart disease.

The Forks Over Knives documentary is free to watch here:

www.forksoverknives.com

The FOK film

Learn more about Forks Over Knives in our free documentary. Watch our film to discover the transformative potential of a plant-based lifestyle.
www.forksoverknives.com www.forksoverknives.com

.
 
sean123 said:
Here is the one place people will know don't worry 🙂 out in the real world I just say I'm type 1 because I have to take insulin.
Its not indoctrination for me, its lived experience. From becoming diabetic in 2019 to about August time last year I was eating regularly, a balanced diet but couldn't get my HBA1C down (if you don't know that's your average blood sugar for the last 3 months), but then when I cut carbs down, to 2 or 3 days a week, its now in the non diabetic range.
We have a clear cause of our diabetes, as in for us its the pancreatitis, but generally eating lots of carbs is bad for diabetics, it doesn't cause it, but it really makes your body work hard to control the blood sugar. The casue for type 1 isn't known as far as I'm aware and for type 2 it can be reversed by going low carb and increasing your exercise.

Also and this took me a while to discover so you may not know it yet, but each type 3C pancreas is different, so there could be 100,000+ different ways your pancreas works compared to mine and to each other 3C persons pancreas. For instance you might produce insulin naturally and I could produce none, you could produce glucose naturally and I could produce non, or it could be a case of producing some and some, or any gradient in between.
I suspect, and its still early so don't bank on it staying this way, that if you're high carb eating and your blood sugar is healthy, that your pancreas produces insulin naturally.
Keep an eye on it.
Good luck.
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Yes, my insulin sensitivity is markedly increased because there's no fat to block things up. It's worth looking at the theory behind it. I employed a nutritionist for my diet plan as my blood sugars were so high and it scared me! Now I'm in range 99% of the day and it's only week 2! Ditched the insulin and alls well.
 
Kayte said:
Yes, my insulin sensitivity is markedly increased because there's no fat to block things up. It's worth looking at the theory behind it. I employed a nutritionist for my diet plan as my blood sugars were so high and it scared me! Now I'm in range 99% of the day and it's only week 2! Ditched the insulin and alls well.
Click to expand...
Purely as a matter of interest, what is your personal range? Many folks have their own ranges they work to.
 
That's all very well but if I eat more than 100g of carbs a day, I just pile on the weight which I absolutely do not wish to do - I am only just over 5ft 1 in and already chubby (which is a euphimism to say the least) enough thanks. I can still get in size 14 clothes mainly but still have a couple of size 10 outfits that are far too loved to divest my wardrobe of ! oh and my bra size 34Bs have had to be replaced with 36Bs. On the loosest hooks & eyes.
 
I had 40 years of pressure to eat a high carb low fat diet - it categorically did not work for me - the only time I felt well was when I defied the medical profession and ate low carb and oh how vicious they got about that.
At diagnosis I was almost spherical I was so overweight.
My digestion works really well, though - extracts every bit of nutrition from what I eat.
 
Glad you’ve found a method that works for you @Kayte

There are lots of options, and lots of meal plans and resources for different styles of diabetes management freely available, so we wouldn’t usually recommend people seeking a private nutritionist appointment (partly because nutritionists can be very varied, and don’t have to be qualified in the same way as a dietician).

But great that you’ve found something that works for you. 🙂
 
@Kayte I am glad you have found something that works for you, but like @Drummer @trophywench, eating 350g carbs/day for me would not be a good idea. I am quite confident that my average BG would be in double figures and resultant HbA1c uncomfortably high. The idea that consuming more carbohydrate, a primary source of blood glucose, will bring glucose levels down rather defies logic and I prefer logic to flashy TV presentations.

As is often said on the forum, if what you do works for you then fine but you need to recognise that it might not work for everybody. My own view is that the simple universal answer to diabetes will not be found on netflix, youtube or with some alliterative goddess because there is no simple universal answer.... unless of course your main objective is to get clicks to sell advertising.
 
Kayte said:
A brilliant documentary!!
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Hello, I saw the documentary a number of years back. I struggled with some of the scientific points they were conveying. Also the intriguing appearance of “Steve-O” giving his advice. I honestly started thinking it was a Charlie Brooker spoof?
I’m curious, if you were adapted to a vegan diet. How did the documentary change your insulin use ro non dependant?
 
Docb said:
@Kayte I am glad you have found something that works for you, but like @Drummer @trophywench, eating 350g carbs/day for me would not be a good idea. I am quite confident that my average BG would be in double figures and resultant HbA1c uncomfortably high. The idea that consuming more carbohydrate, a primary source of blood glucose, will bring glucose levels down rather defies logic and I prefer logic to flashy TV presentations.
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I'm struggling getting my head around that, too. I'm not even sure I was eating 350g of carbs a day even before my diagnosis.
 
I am pretty sure I would not want to eat so many carbs, especially without fat. What is the point of being able to eat lots of bread without butter or a baked potato without a good knob of butter or mashed potato without butter and cream. I would simply rather not have them if I couldn't have fat with them.
I would much rather eat low carb with normal or higher fat, for food enjoyment, than high carb with low fat..... and protein with low fat is equally unappealing to me. Thankfully LCHF (Low Carb Higher Fat) works well for me.

Really pleased it has worked for you though and great that you have come to the forum and described your experience with it, so that people who don't like fat or need to avoid it, can be inspired to give it a go.
 
Kayte said:
Hi there. I'm Kay and I'm a newly diagnosed T2 diabetic. Mine was caused by pancreatitis so I've had to take very high doses of insulin for weeks to get any stability. I'm vegan so it's hard to decrease my carbs as this is a major food group for me.
Fast forward to me watching What the Health on Netflix and having a few consultations with a nutritionist. She made me a meal plan and within a week my blood sugar was stable enough to come off insulin. My Libre has recorded me being in range for 98% of the day and night! I'm beyond happy!!! I eat around 350g carbs a day and very little fat, and it works!!! I'll sace telling you the reasons why as it's a long story, just watch the documentary! I'd love to know what people think!
Click to expand...
If your pancreatitis is/was caused by your gall bladder/gall stones as is common, have you considered that your new low fat diet may have stopped aggravating your gall bladder which has allowed your pancreatitis to settle down and the pancreas resume normal insulin production. If this is the case then your diet may not work for all diabetics or even all Type 3c diabetics.

Can I ask, do you take Creon or other digestive enzyme supplement? Just wondering if some of the 350g carbs are simply not being digested because you are not producing enough digestive enzymes to break them down and hence there would be no problem with putting on weight as the glucose from some of it is not being released. The pancreas produces digestive enzymes as well as insulin and people who have permanent damage due to pancreatitis or other disease/surgery etc often need to take Creon or other PERT (Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy) to enable them to digest the carbs and protein and fat they eat.
It may be that you are able to produce these enzymes still as well as insulin but that you are active enough to burn those carbs off or you haven't yet had time to show signs of putting weight on or you are just replacing the weight you lost due to pancreatitis..... you have my sincerest sympathies as regards that as my mother had 3 acute bouts which very nearly killed her and she said the pain was unspeakable.

Anyway, just saying that your amazing results (many congratulations on them by the way) may not be reproducible for others in a different situation or with a different cause for their diabetes. There are a lot of factors at play with diabetes and it can be very individual.
 
Docb said:
@Kayte I am glad you have found something that works for you, but like @Drummer @trophywench, eating 350g carbs/day for me would not be a good idea. I am quite confident that my average BG would be in double figures and resultant HbA1c uncomfortably high. The idea that consuming more carbohydrate, a primary source of blood glucose, will bring glucose levels down rather defies logic and I prefer logic to flashy TV presentations.

As is often said on the forum, if what you do works for you then fine but you need to recognise that it might not work for everybody. My own view is that the simple universal answer to diabetes will not be found on netflix, youtube or with some alliterative goddess because there is no simple universal answer.... unless of course your main objective is to get clicks to sell advertising.
Click to expand...

As with everything, I’m sure it depends on the individual @Docb The principle of it is not only higher carb but also very low fat. That’s the key. I tried a very low fat plant-based diet and had to reduce my insulin even though I was eating more carbs and even though my insulin sensitivity was good before. It worked. It’s also supposed to be good for heart health.

There are lots of testimonials from Type 2s online (and Type 1s). It’s a good option for some people. I believe the American Diabetes Association list it as one of their recommended diets.
 
Thanks for that @Inka. I wonder what the mechanism is and whether that would help distinguish between those for whom it is a useful approach and for those whom it is not.
 
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