Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Melitta on March 31, 2012 at 9:54am

For me, I find Dr. Bernstein to be too rigid, too narrow minded, and too old-fashioned. But I do think that it is a good starting point, to figure out what works best for your body. You can probably get some good ideas from the TuD low carb groups. Unlike many of the low carbers here on TuD, very low carb just doesn't work for me, but moderately low carb is absolutely the way to go. Too low carb for me means terrible headaches, and being crazed with hunger all the time. Not pretty. So I eat fruit especially to fuel my workouts and vigorous yoga practices, and I eat some of the higher carb veggies. Finding out what works best for you is the way to go!

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on March 31, 2012 at 11:49am

I've followed Bernstein for years.  I'm not as strict as he recommends (6-12-12), but I do follow a verycab low carb diet.  I recommend his book "Diabetes Solution" rather than the diet book.

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Permalink Reply by Type2Tommy on March 31, 2012 at 12:44pm

Thanks!
Yeah, I love fruit too much to be too rigid about it. So I am definitely going to read the book and then tailor it to my own low carb plan.

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Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on March 31, 2012 at 12:30pm

There are many around here who say reading Bernstein's book changed their lives, me among them. Although there are some who follow 6-12-12 very strictly, there are just as many who are not as strict. I think there are two things which all followers have in common.

First whether you are T1 or T2, your body has problems metabolizing carbs. So some form of carb restriction is beneficial. For T1's lowering the carb intake makes it easier to estimate the carb load in a meal and thus calculate the correct dose of insulin thus avoiding highs and lows, the so called "Law of Small Numbers". For T2's it enables one to match the carb load in a meal with ones body's ability to successfully metabolize it.

The second takeaway is that the source of carbs matters, all carbs are not created equal. Grains, sugar, fruit legumes etc. cause problems with control in both groups and both benefit from eliminating these sources from their diet.

I eat between 30 and 50 g/day, and eliminating the aforementioned problematic carbs is the important thing. When your main source of carbs are things like broccoli it's hard to rack up mega carb totals in a day. Since they hit my bloodstream at a slower pace it helps my pancreas keep up.

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Permalink Reply by timmy on April 8, 2012 at 8:55pm

how does your body 'have problems metabolizing carbs'...can i have some sort of source for this?

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on April 9, 2012 at 4:33am

We are all here because we have problems metabolizing carbs. We have diabetes. We can compensate with treatments like insulin, but we still have problems.

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Permalink Reply by BadMoonT2 on April 9, 2012 at 5:30am

A T1 cannot metabolize carbs, at all, without an external source of insulin, clearly a defect in carbohydrate metabolism.

Many T2's, like me, still make some insulin but it does not work correctly. This is called insulin resistance. Insulin is needed to enable the carbohydrate molecules to pass through the cell wall to the interior or the cell where it can be used for energy. In an insulin resistant individual this process does not work correctly and glucose builds up in the blood stream.

Another function of insulin is to turn excess carbs into fat for later use by the body for energy. In an insulin resistant individual this function works fine and the excess glucose is stored as fat, hence the tendency of many T2's to put on weight. In addition the body tries to rid itself of this glucose by dumping it via the kidneys.

Although carb restriction is a controversial approach to treating diabetes, the basic outlines of the defects in both a T1's and a T2's metabolism is not in doubt. I learned about T2 metabolism at the bloodsugar101 website Here's another detailed explanation of how insulin works in a normal individual as well as in a T2.

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Permalink Reply by timmy on April 9, 2012 at 8:16pm

i thought you meant everyone cant metabolize carbs, not just diabetics...makes sense then :)

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Permalink Reply by jrtpup on March 31, 2012 at 2:43pm

I also eat low carb, around 30 a day. It works for me, I'm not hungry, and I eat great food.

I totally agree with bsc- get "Diabetes Solution". I think if you're serious about it, his plan is probably a good place to start then tweak to what works for you.

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Permalink Reply by MKSSS on April 8, 2012 at 5:51pm

I read the diabetes solution recently and was totally on board with it...until I got to the point where the man said he hadn't had a piece of fruit in over 40 years. What, what?! And then I read I would have to cut out things I love like tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and onions! I love those things! Not consuming them would send me spiraling into a deep dark depression. Also, I am not knowledgeable enough about insulin to follow his insulin plan, so I try and stick to what my endo tells me to do (I'm a rule follower at heart). I guess for me I do feel like the science behind what he says is solid, but there is no way on this green earth that I am going to go completely carb free. Especially if it means eliminating things I love to eat that are good for you. My own personal goal is to not give myself more than 4-6 units of fast acting insulin a day. And I'm reserving the 5-6 units for holidays and special occasions. That being said I will say fruit can send my sugar through the roof! I've cut out a lot of fruit-citrus, grapes, bananas, melons, berries for the most part. I've replaced my morning bagel with an egg casserole (I make it once a week and microwave a piece each morning) and dinner I try to do only meat and veggie (or salad). I'm not great at pounding the gym, but I do try to keep moving all day long and try and go walking regularly. It's such a balancing act I feel like and right now it doesn't feel too hard to keep up and do the healthy things. Transitioning to type 1 hasn't been that hard for me yet, but I do worry it will all come crashing down around my ears one of these days. I keep meaning to read 'Think Like a Pancreas.' It seems like many people recommend it.

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Permalink Reply by acidrock23 on April 8, 2012 at 6:35pm

If you were taking 4-5U/ day and doing ok and could take 6-7U/ day and do ok and eat fruit, I don't think that would be a bad thing? I have seen spikes from fruit too but they aren't as long or hard to get rid of as bready carbs for me.

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Permalink Reply by Gerri on April 8, 2012 at 11:22pm

MKSS,

I've been following Dr. B's guidelines for over 3.5 years. I eat tomatoes, onions & balsamic vinegar & figure it into my total daily carbs. Dr. Bernstein mentions that a slice of tomato is ok, but I often eat more than that. Berries are the only fruit that don't send me soaring.

Granted, his recommendations are very low carb, but it's not carb free.

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