4 ms·

> It remains unclear if a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet is a possible treatment strategy for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) N=1 personal non-random u

> It remains unclear if a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diet is a possible treatment strategy for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) N=1 personal non-random uncontrolled experiment: 4+ years of drug-free diabetes control to below pre-diabetic levels via an LCHF diet, regularly measured with continuous glucose monitoring. I suspect that the success rate among self-selected followers is higher than among the randomly assigned.

hollerith 4y ago
What food or foods have been your main source of fat while on this LCHF diet?
- hirundo 4y ago
  Beef, butter, eggs.
- anonymousab 4y ago
  I'm not OP, but I also adhered to an LCHF diet for ~8 months a few years ago. I found that, early on, maintaining a consistently high ratio of fats was hard, but over time, it simply became a natural aspect of things like e.g. eating normal/non-extra-lean beef. For the first while I found that using coconut oil or olive oil was a trivial way of adding just pure fat to my daily numbers. Both of them are relatively cheap (though high cal) and can be added to any heated drink like coffee or tea with minimal impact on for flavor. Over time, this just became unnecessary, but it was helpful early on as it was trivial to prep a small container with n grams of oil every morning. There are also nutrient bars that are explicitly higher on fat and protein and lower on carbs for this very purpose, e.g. 'good fats' bars. Unlike what others report, while I felt generally good and had energy for day to day things, I simply could not ever work up enough energy for more rigorous cardio or weightlifting, compared to when I'm on a normal/carb-rich diet.
readthenotes1 4y ago
I have also met adults who control their diabetes with hclf (high complex carbs, 0 to no simple carbs) I believe that the common denominator is nearly zero sugar.
- hollerith 4y ago
  A carrot, a cabbage, a bell pepper or a butternut squash will contain a significant amount of carbs, all of which is in the form of simple sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose mainly) so they avoid those foods?
  - kmonsen 4y ago
    They come with fibers to offset it
- hirundo 4y ago
  Agree, and I succeeded with that too, but for a shorter period. As a raw vegan my blood sugar was low, but I developed brain fog and intense cravings after about six months. I believe that path is sustainable for people with lower protein requirements and a healthier digestive system than mine.
  - sph 4y ago
    > As a raw vegan my blood sugar was low Interestingly, as a pre-diabetic zero carber my blood sugar is excellent in as little as a week. Not meaning to make fun of your diet, just observing that what you ingest != what's in your blood stream, we are very complex chemical machines. In this case a moderately high carb diet like yours results in low sugar, while a diet with <5g of carbs a day results in healthy sugar levels. (The reason is insulin. Remove dietary carbs, you generate less insulin, so blood sugar flatlines, with gluconeogenesis to maintain the minimal levels to function, while the rest of the energy is provided by fatty acids)
coreyp_1 4y ago
How did you get the continuous glucose monitoring? I have only found it available through a prescription. (I'm in the US.) In OTC A1C tests, I reduced mine from 10.6 to 7.6 to 6.0 over the course of 6 months with keto. I wanted to get a continuous glucose monitor so that I could discover if any foods were unwittingly sabotaging my efforts, but I can't find any that I can buy without a formal diagnosis and prescription. I haven't gone to a doctor yet b/c I don't have a primary care physician and, to be blunt, it's expensive, even with insurance!
- ntonozzi 4y ago
  You can get a CGM from Levels Health (https://www.levelshealth.com/ https://www.levelshealth.com/) but it will cost you and I don't think it will be covered by insurance.
  - kmonsen 4y ago
    There is also push health, supersapiens and nutrisense.
    - hirundo 4y ago
      I only looked into nutrisense. They rejected my application because ... I have diabetes. I supposed made necessary by regulations. That's a difficult business model for a company selling blood sugar control. Hopefully they've found their way around it. I worked around it by just getting a prescription, which was easy and cheap, and comes with a consult from a live doctor.
      - kmonsen 4y ago
        I actually used nutrisense, the issue is that it is overpriced since all they really do is give you the sensors. Also I had some discomfort with the sensors. There is a new Abbott sensor that looks really promising but there are no news about it so maybe it is vaporware.
      - kmonsen 4y ago
mountain_peak 4y ago
N=2 10+ years of ultra low carb diet, but not quite as high fat as the study (obviously a greater percentage of protein). My BMI has been ~18 and I've been a runner my whole life, but (like my father), had neuropathy and 'fuzzy' vision in my 30s, and eventually found out that I was glucose-intolerant with large 'spikes' in my glucose levels after meals with carbs. Two weeks after cutting out carbs, vision fuzziness went away, and pins-and-needles subsided (although I still can't tolerate heat or cold in my feet). Never looked back. Never went on any drugs, running is slower, but can last much longer. Don't really feel hungry - just eat to my activity level and snacks. Eating is simple - if it has more than 2g of carbs per serving, then I don't eat it. Only supplements required are chlorides: sodium - that's easy, potassium - from NoSalt, and magnesium - an occasional capsule.

hollerith 4y ago

What food or foods have been your main source of fat while on this LCHF diet?

hirundo 4y ago
Beef, butter, eggs.
anonymousab 4y ago
I'm not OP, but I also adhered to an LCHF diet for ~8 months a few years ago. I found that, early on, maintaining a consistently high ratio of fats was hard, but over time, it simply became a natural aspect of things like e.g. eating normal/non-extra-lean beef. For the first while I found that using coconut oil or olive oil was a trivial way of adding just pure fat to my daily numbers. Both of them are relatively cheap (though high cal) and can be added to any heated drink like coffee or tea with minimal impact on for flavor. Over time, this just became unnecessary, but it was helpful early on as it was trivial to prep a small container with n grams of oil every morning. There are also nutrient bars that are explicitly higher on fat and protein and lower on carbs for this very purpose, e.g. 'good fats' bars. Unlike what others report, while I felt generally good and had energy for day to day things, I simply could not ever work up enough energy for more rigorous cardio or weightlifting, compared to when I'm on a normal/carb-rich diet.

readthenotes1 4y ago

I have also met adults who control their diabetes with hclf (high complex carbs, 0 to no simple carbs) I believe that the common denominator is nearly zero sugar.

hollerith 4y ago
A carrot, a cabbage, a bell pepper or a butternut squash will contain a significant amount of carbs, all of which is in the form of simple sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose mainly) so they avoid those foods?
- kmonsen 4y ago
  They come with fibers to offset it
hirundo 4y ago
Agree, and I succeeded with that too, but for a shorter period. As a raw vegan my blood sugar was low, but I developed brain fog and intense cravings after about six months. I believe that path is sustainable for people with lower protein requirements and a healthier digestive system than mine.
- sph 4y ago
  > As a raw vegan my blood sugar was low Interestingly, as a pre-diabetic zero carber my blood sugar is excellent in as little as a week. Not meaning to make fun of your diet, just observing that what you ingest != what's in your blood stream, we are very complex chemical machines. In this case a moderately high carb diet like yours results in low sugar, while a diet with <5g of carbs a day results in healthy sugar levels. (The reason is insulin. Remove dietary carbs, you generate less insulin, so blood sugar flatlines, with gluconeogenesis to maintain the minimal levels to function, while the rest of the energy is provided by fatty acids)

coreyp_1 4y ago

How did you get the continuous glucose monitoring? I have only found it available through a prescription. (I'm in the US.) In OTC A1C tests, I reduced mine from 10.6 to 7.6 to 6.0 over the course of 6 months with keto. I wanted to get a continuous glucose monitor so that I could discover if any foods were unwittingly sabotaging my efforts, but I can't find any that I can buy without a formal diagnosis and prescription. I haven't gone to a doctor yet b/c I don't have a primary care physician and, to be blunt, it's expensive, even with insurance!

ntonozzi 4y ago
You can get a CGM from Levels Health (https://www.levelshealth.com/ https://www.levelshealth.com/) but it will cost you and I don't think it will be covered by insurance.
- kmonsen 4y ago
  There is also push health, supersapiens and nutrisense.
  - hirundo 4y ago
    I only looked into nutrisense. They rejected my application because ... I have diabetes. I supposed made necessary by regulations. That's a difficult business model for a company selling blood sugar control. Hopefully they've found their way around it. I worked around it by just getting a prescription, which was easy and cheap, and comes with a consult from a live doctor.
    - kmonsen 4y ago
      I actually used nutrisense, the issue is that it is overpriced since all they really do is give you the sensors. Also I had some discomfort with the sensors. There is a new Abbott sensor that looks really promising but there are no news about it so maybe it is vaporware.
    - kmonsen 4y ago

mountain_peak 4y ago

N=2 10+ years of ultra low carb diet, but not quite as high fat as the study (obviously a greater percentage of protein). My BMI has been ~18 and I've been a runner my whole life, but (like my father), had neuropathy and 'fuzzy' vision in my 30s, and eventually found out that I was glucose-intolerant with large 'spikes' in my glucose levels after meals with carbs. Two weeks after cutting out carbs, vision fuzziness went away, and pins-and-needles subsided (although I still can't tolerate heat or cold in my feet). Never looked back. Never went on any drugs, running is slower, but can last much longer. Don't really feel hungry - just eat to my activity level and snacks. Eating is simple - if it has more than 2g of carbs per serving, then I don't eat it. Only supplements required are chlorides: sodium - that's easy, potassium - from NoSalt, and magnesium - an occasional capsule.