Diet
If you are a regular reader of our site, you would already know that we highly endorse the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet for reversing diabetes, losing weight and improving your overall health and well-being. The reason why a low carb diet for diabetes comes highly recommended by doctors and nutritionists alike is the fact that carbohydrates are the main culprit behind elevated blood sugar levels. Once you eat fewer carbs, it automatically becomes much easier for the body to attain stable blood sugar levels.
Carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars during digestion. These sugars enter the blood stream and elevate blood sugar levels. As a diabetic, your body either doesn’t produce insulin at all, or doesn’t produce enough insulin to minimize this blood sugar spike before it causes irreplaceable damage to internal organs. This is the reason why your body’s dependence on insulin goes down when you eat lesser carbs.
A UK study tried to understand the short-term effects of severe dietary carbohydrate-restriction advice in type 2 diabetes. It found that restricting carbohydrate intake is an effective method to lose weight as well as improve HDL ratios. This was a randomized controlled trial studying 102 patients over a course of 3 months, and the results were published in the Diabetic Medicine in September 2005.
Another research group from Duke University Medical Center studying the effect of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-glycemic index diet on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients, found that 95.2% patients had managed to reduce or eliminate their glucose-lowering medication within 6 months of being on a LCHF diet.
A low carb diet works very well in lowering blood sugar and insulin levels. It’s also a very effective way to treat and possibly even reverse type 2 diabetes.
So why does the low carb high fat diet for diabetes work so well?
The most important rule – eat only when you’re hungry, and until you’re satisfied. It’s really that simple.
Here is a piece of good news for you — eating a LCHF diet as a lifestyle option is easier than most of us imagine it to be. In the beginning, eating a low carb high fat diet for diabetes will require careful planning – be it while shopping for groceries, browsing for LCHF recipes or making time to cook your meals from scratch.
Trust us when we say this – eating a LCHF diet is neither difficult nor overtly expensive in this high-carb world we live in. Some easy examples are: Eggs with chicken ham for breakfast, quinoa and chickpea salad with broccoli soup for lunch, and cauliflower mash with chicken patties for dinner.
If you are looking for inspiration, try out these LCHF recipes from our recipe section.
Treat this diet and nutrition guide as a starting point to plan your meals. Talk to a certified nutritionist to chart out a low carb diet for diabetes that fits best with your lifestyle and specific goals.
Short-term effects of severe dietary carbohydrate-restriction advice in Type 2 diabetes—a randomized controlled trial – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1464-5491.2005.01760.x/abstract
The effect of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-glycemic index diet on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/
Comparison of a Low-Fat Diet to a Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Weight Loss, Body Composition, and Risk Factors for Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in Free-Living, Overweight Men and Women – https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-lookup/doi/10.1210/jc.2003-031606
The effects of a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and a low-fat diet on mood, hunger, and other self-reported symptoms – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17228046