CLARIFYING THE PURPOSE OF THE GROUP. N Kasparek

Personally I think for the most part people are supportive. But occasionally people are going to misread a question or comment. It's difficult when it's only a written word. Honestly there is going to be a strong reaction which is negative when people post that they ate foods which should be avoided by a diabetic and state "I ate X and it didn't affect my bs". This is not helping those who are new and struggling with the diagnosis and finding their way through the information that is available. This group is supportive, but we don't enable poor choices or bad information being posted on this group. I, for one, was encouraged to research my disease, my meds, nutrition, exercise. I was given the tools too start my journey, to become well informed, and make my own decisions based upon good scientific evidence. While anecdotal information may provide some temporary help to some, it's not based upon fact, which is what we need. So when people say my bs is 400 and I age a whole pizza and someone says drink pickle juice it's not going to help in the long run, they need information how to change their thoughts about food and how to go about a life change.

Geo Zaun...good info for newbies

Ok folks, here is a question that is asked every day.....I eat this many carbs every day, is that to many carbs. The answer to that is simple, if your meter tells you that that is to much then that's to much. This is a low carb group, that means less than 100grams of carbs a day. Some of us can manage with that, but others can't. I can only manage around 20grams of total carbs a day. This figure depends on the individual and how far along their resistance is. This is somethin...g each and every individual has to figure out themself. You dare not forget that if you cut the carbs from your diet, you need to increase your fats. For every 2 grams of carbs you cut you need to increase your fats by 1 gram or a bit more because 1 gram of carbs=4 calories and 1 gram of fat=9 calories. You can not increase your proteins because if you do that, then your body will just convert the proteins to carbs and then your sugars will go up even though you cut your carbs. So understanding this you now know where LCHF comes from. Always always eat to your meter, your meter is your guide if your numbers don't come down then you need to cut more carbs and eat more fats. The amount of total energy you need to eat is determined by how many calories your body needs to function properly. My body needs around 2400 calories, so I eat about 100grams of proteins which=400 calories and 20 grams of carbs which is 80 calories. That is a total of 480 calories and my body needs 2400.......Well that means if fats are 9 calories per gram then I eat at least 200 grams of fats a day. This is what my meter tells me, this is what I must do in order to keep my numbers within the normal ranges and stay off of the meds

Geo Zaun

What is Diabetic Support? To me it means "Diabetic Assistance". If you are looking for "Diabetic Enablement" then this group is probably not the right group for you and you should ask your doctor or medical professional on where to turn. We will however try to assist you to get better blood sugar numbers and control over your diabetes. Please read the forum rules and abide by them as it will prevent a host of future problems. Thank you in advance.

EATING IN MODERATION

Sheila Gales, we do not support eating in moderation in this group. Continuing to eat in moderation will only cause more damage to your pancreas and your beta cells will finally be non existant. You may choose to eat however you want but please stop telling our new members to eat anything they want. As a diabetic there are foods that you must avoid especially grains, rice, pasta and potatoes. Continuing to eat these in moderation will cause your diabetes to be a progressive disease. Even though the ADA guidelines teach you to eat in moderation, they will tell you by doing so that your diabetes is a progressive disease. When you eat LCHF you can stop any more damage being done, and will help you to live a much longer healthier life. Most of us here that follow LCHF, have reduced our meds or even come off of them. Keep eating in moderation, and the only thing that will happen is further progression of your disease, and more meds being added over time. The only person being hurt by eating in moderation is yourself.

PAT SMITH COMMENTS

Type 2 diabetes is complicated and we would so like it to be simple. Can I eat this? What can I do to reduce my fasting bs -preferably by tomorrow?
We may all be sick of hearing about insulin resistance but it is the driving factor in your diabetes. Geo, Rhonda, Charlee and others are trying so hard to help us make good decisions about what we eat and we are "resisting". And this likely because we are so focused on bs impact of carbs. Unfortunately there is more to the story than carbs.
Insulin resistance does not exist without insulin. Insulin resistance is not the enemy. Insulin resistance is the body's natural mechanism for maintaining balance between glucose in the blood and insulin. TOO MUCH insulin resistance is the enemy. Diabetics have too much insulin resistance because we have too much insulin demand. That demand comes from about 4 different factors.
Both carbohydrates and protein require insulin to metabolize. Carbs directly impact blood sugar but protein does not. None the less both use up your your insulin supply. Diabetics have an insulin shortfall. So you can indirectly see the effect of (particularly) meat protein on your bs but it won't make immediate sense. All you can see is you ate some carb and your bs went up. Your insulin shortfall kicked in. The deeper we go in the diabetes hole, the greater this problem becomes.
Inflammation anywhere in the body cause immune system activity. Glucose is the fuel for that activity and the liver delivers that fuel. Insulin resistance is an immediate response to all that glucose. The more inflammatory conditions a diabetic has (and we usually have a lot) like infections, autoimmune diseases, food intolerances, allergies, - long list - the more insulin resistance. Even excess body fat is inflammatory.
Medications to treat those inflammations also cause insulin resistance. All the way from statins, antibiotics, steroids (a real biggee) bp Meds, to simple little over the counter Meds for allergies, etc, fillers in supplements, the list goes on. This can even include diabetes medications. So both the inflammations AND the the medication increase insulin resistance.
This all nets to a pile of glucose and a steadily decreasing insulin supply. You are caught in this cycle. And we tend to ignore all the inflammatory stuff and just focus on carbs - one particular carb at a time - and can't figure out why this isn't working.
Truly the carbs become more and more important the deeper you go into insufficient insulin. At some point insulin resistance will be extreme, even without much insulin. So in order not to die you have to inject insulin. And then resistance increases again.
It is tempting to believe that you can fix the problem buy eliminating all food using insulin. This is called starvation and not recommended. Illness causes inflammation and your body requires energy to keep you alive. Your body is going to find the glucose it needs to fuel immune response to inflammation or feed your cells. If necessary your liver will convert your own muscles to glucose.
It is tempting to decide against (as an example ) all beef, dairy, and salmon as they need more insulin to metabolize. Each also provides, however, highly valuable nutrients to the body. So balance is the answer. And managing bs one meal at a time through carb control. Don't be so quick to medicate.. Keep your immune system strong by consuming plenty of fiber required to feed the good bacteria in your intestines. Don't kill your good bacteria by continuous use of antibiotics -especially if those antibiotics are "just in case" and not actually responding to a bad bacteria infection.
Those LCHF success stories on our website are people who have managed their condition thoughtfully. People who actually understand what's going on with their condition. Every question posed on this Facebook page can be answered with yes, no, or an explanation. Look for the explanations.

COMMENT FROM DIABETIC EDUCATOR RHONDA L. RICHARDSON STRANGE

• . If you read a few medical journals or attend seminars on Diabetes, you will understand this is the perfect way of eating . High triglycerides you are seeing in patients are coming from 2 sources, one is carbohydrates, the second is trans fats. Neither are consumed when eating LCHF diet. Increasing healthy dietary fats, while elliminating carbohydrates, is very healthy! Once you go low carb enough, you have to replace the calories lost. You can't add proteins, because; too much protein converts to glycogen and burns like carbohydrates. Of the 3 nutrients only fats and proteins are essential and of those, the only one that has no affect on blood sugars are fats. The 80's and 90's and low fat diets are over with. They should never have been promoted. They did nothing but sky rocket numbers of people with Diabetes and heart disease, because the low fat diets had NO research behind them and were mostly a way to promote cheaper foods like breads, grains and pasta for the US Dept of Ag, for those on lower incomes and for manufacturers who wanted to add HFCS to foods. Over and over we see publications with new research, explaining how they had it wrong. Dietary fats are not bad! If you read material written by well known physicians, who specialize in Diabetes, you know, they also promote this way of eating. Teaching Diabetics, I have seen nothing bad from increasing fats, just the opposite. I work with patients who have lower blood sugars, better labs, and just better overall health from following this WOE. I have done this diet myself for 5 years and my health is better than anytime in my life. I got off of all medications. The physicians I work with follow this way of eating! Things are changing with the research. It can be accessed on the net, as well as other sources. As an R N, I also know the term brittle diabetes is almost non existing, as it was long ago determined in most of those cases, the diabetics were not adhering to a very strict dietary regiment. Eating this way will prevent ulcers and amputations of the feet and more, as those who get much lower blood sugars by following a LCHF Diet are changing their lives. All the inflammation and other symptoms reduce, as the blood sugars go down! I have seen the improvements in patients I work with! As an R N, I will always keep updated to benefit the patients I work with and stay informed by all the information available to me!

  
  

POST ABOUT THE GROUP from Jacky Gregore

•  This group does encourage lchf way of life to manage their diabetes more effectively. Many members have been able to get off meds and keep their numbers in the normal or pre-diabetes range through diet and exercise. The approach is one that is supported by many more recent in Europe and US studies. The regular medication that is encouraged by MD's appears to be designed to help a person continue in a damaging life style and manage symptoms. The diet set out by many diabetes educators supports very high carb intake that is what the body can no longer tolerate. So if it seems the group is pro-lchf, it is because it is. The medication my doctor origianlly put me on has a 27% increase in heart failure for people taking it. Why would I want to trade one bad thing for another? It costs over $400 a month, but the rep was glad to give me samples. I quit taking it, lost weight, lowered by bs to normal range and my A1C to 6 in 3 months using the lchf diet. So I will stick to this - I will be considered in remission in another few months of this lifestyle change. Works for me. What you choose for you is up to you, but encouraging you to check out an approach than has worked for a whole lot of us is not meant to be insulting, it is meant to show you an alternative.