
A low-carb diet can help people with diabetes better manage their blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates or carbs raise blood glucose more than other foods, meaning the body must produce more insulin to digest them. Reducing carb intake can help stabilize blood glucose. It may also counteract some other effects of diabetes, such as weight gain and heart disease. Despite this, low-carb diets also carry some risks, including vitamin and mineral deficiencies. For some people, low-carb diets are challenging to stick to over time. In this article, learn more about a low-carb diet for people with diabetes. People should remember to speak to a doctor before making significant dietary changes, especially ones that affect diabetes management. There is no longer any expert-recommended standard carb intake for people with diabetes. Working with a doctor or dietitian can help people set specific carb targets.
The vast majority of people who adopt a low carb or ketogenic diet experience stunning improvements in blood glucose control and insulin levels. However, individual variability being what it is, a small percentage of patients see a rise in fasting blood glucose after some length of time on a very low carb diet. Considering that elevated fasting glucose is part of the diagnostic criteria for both type 2 diabetes T2D and metabolic syndrome, is this seemingly paradoxical rise a reason for concern? There are many reasons why FBG might be elevated, and many ways to assess metabolic health and glucoregulation beyond just this one measurement. The dawn phenomenon will be well known to any physician who treats patients with diabetes or insulin resistance IR. Blood glucose naturally rises in response to surges of cortisol and other energy-mobilizing hormones in the early hours of the morning. This happens in everyone, not just those with diabetes or IR, but for healthy people with good insulin sensitivity, by the time they wake up, glucose has come back to a normal level. This can happen even when these individuals follow a low carb diet. Glucoregulation as a whole, however, will typically be vastly improved even if the first morning glucose reading is still higher than normal. Another reason for higher than expected fasting glucose is something called physiological insulin resistance.
Fish oil. Designs for Health has been dedicated to being the most trusted source for superior quality, science-based nutritional products for nearly three decades. And as you can see from the chart below showing daily distance walked for the day period, the average is roughly similar with a few outlier days. Load more. Limiting fruit and whole-grains can also be problematic if a person is not getting enough fiber. For comparison, I deliberately kept my basal insulin and food bolus settings consistent between the two phases. But have no fear. In this article, learn more about a low-carb diet for people with diabetes.
