To Low Carb or Not to Low Carb??

[Willerby12]

Question: with type two diabetes - should I be eating as few carbs as possible. Conflicting statements are really confusing me now. Is it true that some low GI foods increase Tryglycerides & if they do, is that really very bad? I've just bought some Agave Nectar and now I dont know if I should use it. Also, bought some Truvia sugar as I seem to be unable to take Splenda or Sweetners (makes my tummy funny!) and I don't know if this is good for me either. HELP!!! 🙂

 

[Mark T]

The answer is generally - do what is right for you. Although a blood glucose meter is your friend here since it will give you an idea of how many carbs you can eat to get good control. Reading something like Alan S's Test, Review, Adjust advice is very good.

But, why all the sugar substitutes? Why not just drop sweeteners completely? Your palette does adjust. And yes, some sugar substitutes are, ahem, laxatives.

For a Type 2, it's assumed that the main issue is insulin resistance and this can be caused by excess fat cells (especially around the liver and pancreas). Since fat cells are triglycerides then that might be where they get the idea of them being bad....

But I think the Low GI bit is a red herring, since High GI food will also be turned into triglycerides. All excess carbohydrates that your body doesn't need for energy will most likely be turned into triglycerides as I recall (someone might come along and correct me).