How To Eat A Low-Carb Diet With Diabetes

What’s up everyone! It’s been awhile but I'm so glad to be back. Like we mentioned in my last blog post, I’m going to start breaking down different diets. So what better way than to start with breaking down our traditional LOW CARB diet. 

Like always I must preface that bodies and journeys with diabetes are individual. This blog post is not meant to replace what you and your medical team have decided is best for you. This is merely more information for you to arm yourself with to aid in your understanding of diet and diabetes. 

Lastly—as I dive into these different diets, I want you to keep in mind that the reason diets work is due to calorie restriction. While all diets advertise different health benefits, when it comes down to it, they are about restricting certain food groups which is just limiting calorie intake and increasing exercise which combined together results in weight loss. Loss of weight will decrease insulin resistance and facilitate better blood sugars, giving us the illusion that a certain diet is “curing” us. While different groups put fancy spins on their diets, please keep in mind they are just rebranding what we have promoted for the last three decades which is just simply calorie reduction for weight loss—we want less calories coming in and more calories going out or being worked off. So that being said it’s extremely important to not gauge a diet’s success based only on weight loss. You want to monitor your sugars, your energy levels, your mood, and your waist circumference or the way your clothes fit. These can be signs that a diet is working for us rather than the number we see on the scale.

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The low carb, “diabetic,” or Atkins diet all fall under the same umbrella—limit carbs and supplement with high fat and protein food sources.  The truth is, there is no true diabetic diet—I’m sure you’ve heard so many stories about different diets that have “cured” diabetes. While that isn’t exactly true, that doesn’t mean that different diets don’t work for different people because they certainly do—our technology just isn’t there yet to customize diet plans based on people’s genetics. In general we are trending away from using the term “diabetic diet” because we want people to have healthy balanced meals rather than extremely restrictive diets.

The American Diabetes Association defines low carb as 26-45% of total calorie intake coming from carbohydrates. So if your average calorie intake is 2000 per day, then you should be eating no more than 900 calories from carbs and since every 4 grams of carbohydrate equals 1 calorie, that means a max of 225 grams of carbs per day. Break that down further and that means 75 grams of carbs per meal. HOLY MOLY THAT IS A LOT, but also keep in mind so is 2,000 calories. When we talk about weight loss or different eating styles for different body types and genders, 2,000 is the upper limit of what we should be consuming so do not go to your medical team and tell them the type 1 nutritionist on instagram said you could eat 75 g of carbs at each meal. 

Here’s what  I like:

• Eating less carbs is not always a bad thing. It can aid in lower glucose levels and weight loss. 

• Most diets tend to promote eating LESS carbs that are heavily processed or contain a high amount of ADDED sugars and choosing high fiber products that are MINIMALLY processed.

• It does aid in controlling sugars for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. 

Here’s what I don't like:

• Everyone thinks ALL carbs are bad

• Mainstream media has manipulated this diet for the everyday person and it's not always necessary.

• Tend to promote high amounts of fat and protein, which for diabetics can be unhealthy if the proper choices aren’t making it onto our plates. 

Why does low carb work for diabetes? Well it works because carbs turn into glucose. Our body, especially our brain, runs on glucose—this is its main fuel source. As we know, as diabetics we lack the ability to get the glucose OUT of the blood and INTO the cells that need it. By limiting carbs, we limit the amount of glucose coming in and therefore help control blood sugars. But the truth is, when eating low carb you are treating a symptom not necessarily the disease. WIth type 1 of course we aren’t going to control sugars just with diet alone, but with type 2, it’s possible. 

When I hear people say they cut out carbs and that “cured” their diabetes, it actually isn’t true. In pre and type 2, diabetes is due to insulin resistance—meaning the cells in our bodies are resistant to the effects of insulin. A symptom of insulin resistance is high blood sugar so by eating low carb you are controlling the symptoms not treating the disease. Unfortunately mainstream media has not caught onto this and has manipulated this information so that the public now thinks ALL carbs are bad. 

The truth is, not all carbs are created equal! There is such a thing as good and not so good carbs. Good carbs are called complex carbs because they are minimally processed. They tend to include their natural fiber which promotes satiety, or feeling full. This helps in two regards: 1. Your blood sugar won’t keep rising because you won’t keep eating. 2. Aids in weight loss because you feel full so you eat less. Don’t get me wrong you’re not going to eat 1 g of fiber one day and never have an appetite again, but it is a huge help for our sugars when we incorporate it into our meals on a regular basis. Not to mention all the other great benefits fiber has for us—check out my previous blog post for the rundown on fiber.

To make it easier, here is a list of good and not so good carbs:

Good Carbs (Complex Carbs)

• Whole grain bread/bagels 

• Whole grain pasta

• Brown rice

• Whole wheat tortillas 

• Oatmeal

Not so good Carbs (Refined Carbs)

1. White bread

2. White pasta

3. White rice

4. Cookies, candy, cakes, muffins 

5. Cereal 

Refined carbs tend to have a lot of added sugar in them, and since they are processed they also digest a lot faster. If they digest faster, this means they raise blood sugars faster. Now remember if our sugars are high then we feel hungry, because the body isn’t getting the sugar where it needs it, it assumes that it is starving. To compensate it triggers your brain to tell your stomach that you are HUNGRY..when in fact you really aren’t. And this is why refined carbs get the reputation they have. 

The other component of low carb diets is a compensatory increase in fat and or protein. Now while there are healthy fat and plant based protein options out there, they don’t always make it onto our plate. Instead we eat slices of bacon, cheese sticks and sweet sugary yogurts. What’s the problem? I thought protein was good for diabetics to help our sugars?? While that isn’t false, more studies are showing that plant based proteins are a more healthful option. 

It is important to keep in mind that with diabetes it is like we have already had a heart attack. This is because of the constant stress and damage that is done to our teeny tiny blood vessels on a regular basis. As controlled as we may be, this is just the nature of our disease, so to sacrifice carbs in exchange for high fat products is not a good idea AT ALL. It is all about balance and of course with any diet paying due diligence to the amount of vegetables you are eating. 

So what does it all mean?

1. Follow your carbohydrate meal plan your MD/CDE/RD has created for you. They have selected a specific number of grams because it works for YOU! 

   1. But also feel free to experiment and decide what works best for your body! 

2. Anytime eating carbs, balance with a plant based protein like peanut butter, plant based yogurt or handful of nuts. 

3. Don’t forget to include low carb veggies at every meal and snack. These will help control your sugars and benefit your body in many ways. 

4. If you are struggling to understand any of this or how to start incorporating it into your life right away, start slow. 

   1. Limit carbs slowly, swap one regular meal for a low carb meal and see how you feel. Don’t feel pressured to stick with something because you’ve tried it once.. You can try whatever you want!

Let us know what you guys think and what diets you’re looking forward to hearing about! Best of luck to everyone. See you next month! 

-Taylor Gann, Nutritionist and Type 1 Diabetic