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My wife is a Type-1 diabetic and I'm fairly confident that there's no such thing as a "zero carb" diet. She's had several endocrinologists tell her that she nee
by mcone 9y ago
My wife is a Type-1 diabetic and I'm fairly confident that there's no such thing as a "zero carb" diet. She's had several endocrinologists tell her that she needs to eat carbohydrates. This is definitely something we need to survive! More importantly, there are naturally occurring carbohydrates in most unprocessed foods (greens, vegetables, beans, etc). Obviously "refined carbohydrates" are different — that's the sugary stuff you find in pop but also stuff like pasta and white rice. Basically the goal should be to avoid overly processed foods, not all carbohydrates.
- 147 9y agoI was diagnosed type 2 diabetic and went on keto with almost no carbs for 5 months and am now borderline not diabetic / pre diabetic.
- inerte 9y ago"Almost" no carbs is very different than OP's triple assertion of "you're mistaken", "not required" and "zero".
- nf05papsjfVbc 9y agoIt's really really tough to achieve or maintain 0 carbs in a day's food intake. This is one of the reasons why you'll not come across many who have done it. On a keto diet, one can attain < 20g carbs per day with some struggle but to cut it out entirely is really hard without missing some other essential nutrients - because at least some carbs tag along with other things.
- xiaoma 9y agoIt's not really. Most traditional religions have fasting practices and pretty much all our ancestors did it from time to time. A 7 day fast here and there is completely natural and not that hard after the first 30-50 hours.
- travmatt 9y agoYour point is irrelevant - the post you replied to asserted that it's tough to create a diet with no carbs, to which your suggestion is to not eat at all. Not eating is not a sustainable diet.
- xiaoma 9y agoIt is a sure-fire way to get into keto if that's your goal. Also there are some significant advantages to intermittent fasting vs continuous calorie restriction: https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-vs-caloric-reduction https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-vs-caloric-r...
- 147 9y agoYou're right. But even in terms of unrefined carbs like certain sugary fruits I couldn't have without it affecting my blood sugar levels.
- iamt2 9y agoCongratulations on your hard work! Head on over and join fellow Type 2's at the Diabetes Daily site. They were the community whose discussions gave me the tools to bring my HbA1c to 5.7 for 2.5 years running. Without any medication (I was on Metformin and statins when initially diagnosed). If you refuse to consign yourself to the fate that most MD's in the US describe for their diabetic patients (mine told me, "there's nothing you can do to improve it, other than some exercise, take the medicine, annual check ups, and then hope there aren't complications as you age"...I got another general practitioner), then self-support groups like this are the only way to go to find what works for you, IMHO. The Reddit group is also helpful when starting out, but I found them not as hardcore about control as I wanted, which I found in some members of the DD group.
- 147 9y agoYup, I was originally on metformin before keto. When I was first diagnosed I went to a dietician and I told her I could try cutting out carbs and she gave me the Food Pyramid and told me to cut out fat and reduce intake of sugar. Did that for a year then discovered keto in January of this year and it paid off for my first a1c check.
- beagle3 9y agoWhat undesirable medical condition occurs as a result of zero carbs? I've never heard of one.
- mrkstu 9y agoI (painfully) found out I was pre-disposed to gout only after going on a high protein diet. That said, if you're careful to avoid too many high purine meats, you can avoid that side effect.
- jshevek 9y agoThere is a large number of ways that one can turn an exclusionary diet into an unhealthy diet - by what you choose to include. This doesn't make the exclusion unhealthy, or the excluded food necessary. Most ULC dieters I know are LCHF, while restricting their protein intake carefully. ULC is not high protein.
- brazzledazzle 9y agoThere's no "zero" carb diet but being in ketosis means you don't need carbohydrates. But a ketogenic diet is not something I'd recommend a diabetic do without consulting a doctor and regular blood work.
- dubhrosa 9y agoWhy, what are the risks?
- brazzledazzle 9y agoI don't know but with an existing illness that could cause serious issues on its own I'm careful to even seem like I'm making a suggestion.
- WindyCityBrew 9y agoSure there is: https://www.reddit.com/r/zerocarb/ https://www.reddit.com/r/zerocarb/ That said, eating only animal products makes keto look tame in comparison.
- Ixiaus 9y agoThere is no essential carbohydrate, the body can derive any glucose it needs from essential fats and proteins. That said, I'm keto and find it difficult to stay under 30 grams of carbohydrates per-day simply because carbs are in so many foods. I've, a few times, gone "strict" keto i.e 10g< of total carbs per day which includes indigestible fiber and I (anecdata coming at you) felt great.
- sn9 9y agoSurely that should be "anecadatum"?
- Ixiaus 9y agoHehe, I like that, I'll use it.
- calvano915 9y agoI'm also practicing keto for 2 months with nothing but success in all aspects. N=1 as well, but check out FB and Reddit keto groups for N=100s
- abtinf 9y agoTheir advice is wrong and deadly. https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Bernsteins-Diabetes-Solution-Achieving/dp/0316182699 https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Bernsteins-Diabetes-Solution-Achie...
- JadeNB 9y ago> Their advice is wrong and deadly. Are you saying that "She's had several endocrinologists tell her that she needs to eat carbohydrates" is wrong and deadly? (There seems to be no other advice in mcone's post https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14812819 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14812819 to which you are responding.) If so, are you adducing the book you link as your evidence? Without knowing anything about that book or its author, I think that it's fair to say that any one persons's conclusions should be treated with profound scepticism. That's not the same as saying that they're wrong, but it does mean that calling contrary advice "wrong and deadly" seems very much to be excessively certain.
- iamt2 9y ago> Without knowing anything about that book or its author... He is a well-known proponent of cutting carbs for all diabetics, even Type 1's, see his Wikipedia entry for an intro [1]. He's been open about his own Type 1, and: "As of 2006, Bernstein had an HDL cholesterol of 118, LDL of 53, Triglycerides of 45, and average blood sugar of 83 mg/dl.[3] By 2008, at 74 years of age, Bernstein had surpassed the life expectancy of type 1 diabetics." I wouldn't go as far as to say any carbohydrates is "wrong and deadly". However, OP you're responding to is correct: there is a metabolic pathway [2] that generates the necessary carbohydrates from fats and proteins in your diet if you don't eat enough. There are challenges with the ketogenic diet if not carefully followed, and it doesn't work for everyone [3]. 0.14% of the diabetic population have qualified for a diagnosis of complete remission [4]. There is no cure, but some Type 2's can manage without medication and still diagnostically show no sign of Type 2 via blood glucose and HbA1c tests; those that maintain it for over a couple of years qualify as complete remission. I've found more of these people or diabetics approaching that level of control at the Diabetes Daily site than any other location on the Net [5]. Overwhelmingly, carb restriction is the first go-to they recommend all newly-diagnosed who want to join this small club try as among the first treatment protocols. Even many Type 1's report benefiting from not requiring nearly as much insulin after restricting carbs. It's worth investigating, if only to rule it out if it doesn't happen to work for your wife. Good luck with your wife's Type 1. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Bernstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_K._Bernstein [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluconeogenesis [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet [4] http://www.diabetes.org/research-and-practice/patient-access-to-research/type-2-diabetes-remission.html http://www.diabetes.org/research-and-practice/patient-access... [5] https://www.diabetesdaily.com/ https://www.diabetesdaily.com/