9) CONTROLLING BLOOD SUGAR WITH DIET
b) Individualized Reactions
There is a second parameter to this control of carbohydrates. Depending on the way the liver and pancreas functions different persons' bodies will respond differently to the total amount of carbohydrates consumed per day. Some people find their optimum before meals (pre-prandial) blood sugar to be 130 to 180 with 200 to 250 grams of low glycemic index carbohydrate per day and only 95 to 115 with 50 to 80 grams of low glycemic index carbohydrate per day, so they shoot for a lower level. Doctors give medications to patients with diabetes that interfer with the adsorption of carbohydrates in the body. So it just makes common sense that lower carbohydrate diets are better for an individual with diabetes. If carbohydrates are bad for blood sugar control and fats are bad for weight control and heart disease, then the only thing left is protein. Furthermore, the "blend" will change with time if the person with diabetes is seriously losing weight and/or building muscle mass, muscle cells being capable of utilizing blood sugar much better than fat cells.
Everyone who is overweight should try different food regimes for two to four months, and then chose what suits them best, remembering that weight control is actually more important than blood sugar control for type 2 diabetics not taking insulin. Of course controlling both weight and blood sugar is far better than just controlling weight. One individual with diabetes tried Oprah's low glycemic index diet for four months and was successful in losing weight (40 pounds!), but their blood sugar and blood lipids were still bad. So they switched to a moderately low carbohydrate diet for four months and brought the blood sugar and lipids under control but lost much less weight (only 10 pounds). Then they tried an ultra low carbohydrate diet, avoiding ketosis, and had great blood sugar control and blood lipids but couldn't lose any weight (proteins such as red meat can have a lot of fat with them). So they went back to a diet where they ate more carbohydrates: beans, bran cereal, and oatmeal on a regular basis in order to lose weight at a rate of about a pound a week while avoiding red meat. The American Diabetes Association recommends just this type of individualized "trial and error" approach.
It is difficult to tell the "blend" each person with diabetes will respond best to. This is why it is so important for each person with diabetes to keep good records (keep a daily diary!) and to watch their blood sugar levels, their daily weight and their level of ketones. An individual with type 2 diabetes might take their blood sugar seven times a day for two days, upon waking, one hour after breakfast, before lunch, one hour after lunch, before dinner, one hour after dinner and at bedtime after they have been on any given diet for two days. They should put the readings into a diary and change their diet accordingly.
Current Chapter: 9) CONTROLLING BLOOD SUGAR WITH DIET
a) Blood Sugar Control
b) Individualized Reactions
c) What a Diary Tells a Person with Diabetes
d) Protein Poisoning by Fruit Sugar
e) What are "Acceptable Fruits
f) Other Sugars
g) Best Mix of Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats
h) Low Carbohydrate Diets
i) Fitting the Diet to the Individual
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