Why Won’t We Tell Diabetics the Truth? I’m appalled constantly at the misinformation we nutrition experts are telling folks with diabetes. It’s all over the place. The “everything in moderation” mantra, and how we need to eat less meat, less fat, and more whole grains, is a pervasive theme drilled into young dietitians, and spread to the public through our dietary guidelines. This information is making people sick. Last week, the following ad popped up in my Facebook newsfeed several times for “1. Foods That Are Great For Diabetics“. Now, I don’t think that kale is BAD, but this list is like telling alcoholics to drink a little more orange juice or sprinkle some chia seeds into their martini and omitting the fact that they need to stop drinking booze. They forgot to mention that 7 dates equals 1. None of these top 1. Why aren’t we instead telling them to avoid excess carbohydrates, because the last time I checked, you can actually reduce blood sugar by. It's likely you'll lose weight on the Birmingham Cardiac Diet, says "U.S. News & World Report," though it's also likely you'll regain. For this post, I decided to switch gears and look at the recommendations for carbohydrate intake to see where they came from and if it matches what we’re telling people to eat. How Many Carbs Do We Really Need? The short answer: ZERO. The macronutrient recommendations are based on this book published by the Institutes of Medicine. I reviewed the recommendations for protein intake in this post. The evidence is even worse when looking at the carbohydrate recommendations. Here’s a direct quote: “The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed. However, the amount of dietary carbohydrate that provides for optimal health in humans is unknown. This diet has been around for years. It used to be that you were supposed to follow it for so many days then a couple of days break etc. Losing 14lbs in a week is not. There are traditional populations that ingested a high fat, high protein diet containing only a minimal amount of carbohydrate for extended periods of time (Masai), and in some cases for a lifetime after infancy (Alaska and Greenland Natives, Inuits, and Pampas indigenous people) There was no apparent effect on health or longevity. Caucasians eating an essentially carbohydrate- free diet, resembling that of Greenland natives for a year tolerated the diet quite well. However, a detailed modern comparison with populations ingesting the majority of food energy as carbohydrate has never been done.” . They arrived at the number 1. Meaning, ketosis is NO BIG DEAL. In fact, it’s actually a good thing and is not the same as diabetic ketoacidosis that type 1 diabetics and insulin dependent type 2 diabetics can get.)? It also happens to say that the maximal intake of added sugars be limited to providing no more than 2. That’s 1. 25 grams of carbs from sugar on a 2,0. To give some perspective, one 1. This means they’re saying for someone eating 2,0. Cokes a day, (plus other carbs) as long as you eat less meat, less fat, and of course, more whole grains. Is that really what we should be telling people? According to the Institutes of Medicine, “Published reports disagree about whether a direct link exists between the trend toward increased intakes of sugar and increased rates of obesity. There is no clear and consistent association between increased intake of added sugars and BMI. Therefore, the above data cannot be used to set a UL (upper limit) for either added or total sugars.” WHAT?!?
I’m not kidding, this is exactly what it says. The authors also go on to say there’s no risk of diabetes from consuming increased amounts of sugars, and they cite. I looked up the paper, and the authors did say that the more sucrose someone ate, the lower the risk of diabetes, but they also said that glucose and fructose intakes were positively associated with diabetes risk. Last time I checked glucose + fructose = sucrose. How does this make sense? Is this really the research we’re relying on to form public nutrition guidelines? Of course there’s actually tons of evidence that increased carbohydrate increases type 2 diabetes, and that reducing sugar and carb intake reduces blood sugar. Pubmed lights up with evidence showing a low- carbohydrate diet is therapeutic in type- 2 diabetes. So, How Many Carbs are We Telling Diabetics to Eat? Answer: TOO MUCHIf type 2 diabetes is a result of uncontrolled blood sugars, you would think that we should be telling folks to reduce their intake of sugar. Actually, the Clinical Practice Guidelines and Recommendations from the American College of Physicians lists “Oral Pharmacologic Treatment” as the official treatment, not diet counseling. With depression, for example, other non- pharmacologic methods like therapy and exercise are listed. When a type 2 diabetic does meet with a dietitian. For the average adult eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a day (recommended) this equals a daily recommended intake of between 1. The most popular way to educate diabetics is “carbohydrate counting.” In this method, one carb serving equals 1. One serving of carbs could be 4oz fruit, 1 slice of bread, 1/3 cup of rice (that is a VERY small amount of rice), 2 cookies, or a 2 inch square of brownie. No difference between a cookie and a piece of fruit or some rice. It’s advised that protein and fat be consumed with meals, but no guidance is given on quantities or quality, or why this is critical to include. This is directly from the American Nutrition and Dietetic Association. In fact, before I started eating a lower carb diet, I actually was in metabolic syndrome. I’ve never been overweight, ate a mostly vegetarian, low fat diet full of whole grains like lentils, tofu, slathered in canola oil. I was doing everything right. At the time, if I went more than about 2 hours between eating I would start sweating, have tunnel vision, and was incredibly irritable. The word is “hangry.” I lived this way for over 3. When I do a nutrition talk, I always start by describing how I used to feel, and every time, more than half the room nods their heads signifying they too feel this way. Yet, we continue to tell people to eat this way. We’re Completely Failing Diabetics. We nutrition experts are miserably failing at preventing and treating folks with diabetes. According to the CDC, 1. Americans have diabetes, costing us $2. I’ve seen the incredible damage diabetes can do to people and it’s pretty ugly. It’s listed as the 7th leading cause of death, but because people don’t really die of “diabetes” but rather die of complications due to diabetes, like kidney failure and cardiovascular disease, the number is likely much higher. The rate is only increasing, especially in countries newly adopting our “heart- healthy” standard American diet. All over the world, people are giving up their healthy traditional diets and are drinking soda instead of water, using canola oil instead of traditional fats, and eating more refined junk foods – oh and it’s not only unhealthy but more expensive to eat this way too. Why can’t we tell folks who have diabetes the truth: that eating an “everything in moderation,” high carb, low fat and low protein diet will increase your chances of a completely preventable disease (in the case of type 2) that can lead to a very uncomfortable death? I wish I could still reference the Facebook post from back in October 2. American Diabetes Association posted on their facebook page before they removed it. All I have is their response: The American Diabetes Association lists beans. Beans are one of the highest carbohydrate “protein choices” you can make. Should we really be telling them that beans, dates, oats and barley are superfoods, giving the impression that a few magical additions to their diet will fix them? As a dietitian with some sense, when I see a patient with blood sugar issues, I recommend a low- carb diet, adding. In this literature review, researchers looked at 1. The inability of current recommendations to control the epidemic of diabetes, the specific failure of the prevailing low- fat diets to improve obesity, cardiovascular risk, or general health and the persistent reports of some serious side effects of commonly prescribed diabetic medications, in combination with the continued success of low- carbohydrate diets in the treatment of diabetes and metabolic syndrome without significant side effects, point to the need for a reappraisal of dietary guidelines. The benefits of carbohydrate restriction in diabetes are immediate and well documented.”Why Won’t We Tell Diabetics the Truth? Answer: The real truth is that sugar, junk food and insulin sells. Brownies sell magazines and gets clicks on Facebook. Scrambled eggs, plain roasted chicken, or saut. There’s a ton of bias against low carb diets, and a lot of financial interests pushing pharmaceutical intervention instead of a dietary change, and the. They deserve the truth.“I use the . We know it is bad to smoke, so we tell patients not to smoke. Why don’t we do the same thing with sugar and processed starches? She's the author The Homegrown Paleo Cookbook and produces the Sustainable Dish Podcast. She conducts one- on- one nutrition consults via Skype and at her office in Concord, MA. She also speaks internationally about health and sustainability issues in the food system. The 3 day cardiac diet: friend or foe! The 3 day cardiac diet exposed! The 3 day cardiac diet is not a healthy diet. The 3. day cardiac diet is an Atkins copy cat. The rigid diet of the 3 day cardiac diet. The extra work that is place on the liver causes strain and. As soon. as the “diet” ends, the body goes back into balance and regains all. The sad truth is people. Return from 3 day cardaic diet to Heart healthy diet. Return from 3 day cardiac diet to Heart Disease and Prevention Home page. Diet news, articles and information: TV. Natural. News. com is. 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