Why low carb works for diabetes management. There are many reasons, here are the big 3. When I discovered these… it all made sense.
- ketosis
- gluconeogensis
- lipolysis
Low Carb works for diabetes management and weight loss. In fact, very low carb or ketogenic diets work to treat a wide range of diseases … not ‘just’ diabetes. With the expanding attention to low carb dietary therapies for disease, there is absolutely no excuse for the Medical Industry and the American Diabetes Association’s denial of the benefits.
My meal plan consists mainly of real foods, like those pictures above. Fatty meats are what I mostly eat, with the occasional leafy green vegetables or their relatives like cauliflower and broccoli.
Low Carb For Diabetes
There are many people who have been “low carb” for years and even decades, none more prominent than Type 1 Diabetic Dr. Richard Bernstein.
Additionally, I’ve been living a ‘low carb paleo’ lifestyle for over a year now…and I thrive! Low carb paleo = low carb, ‘real food’ … no bread, cakes, cookies, pasta… basically just meats, vegetables, nuts and berries. Here’s a link to the my meal plan, “A meal plan you can ‘live’ with.”.
Update: I’ve now been eating this way for 11 years! …. so I know it works. :)
Still some ask and need to know how it works before believing it. Honestly, if we all took more interest into what we ate, we’d be better off. Blindly eating and drinking foods that large corporations “recommend” and large government agencies “push” is why we are in the trouble we are in today.
I certainly understand and applaud the “thirst” for information. If YOU need to know ‘how’ Low Carb works. Below are three main reasons but certainly not the only reasons why. Once I discovered these… it all made perfect sense.
Why Low Carb Works
If your medical industry professional attempts to persuade you NOT to try a low carb meal plan, send them this post or learn the information below and explain it to them. :)
Lipolysis
One of THE main reasons low carb works is Lipolysis, it is the breakdown of stored fats in the body. Pretty cool!
The body will “breakdown” stored body fat for energy. FAT is the preferred energy source for your body. A by-product of Lipolysis is Ketones. Every medical industry professional knows about Lipolysis, or should. Here is a wikipedia article if you want a deeper understanding, but in short… your body will break down and use fat for energy.
Your body also uses glucose for fuel and we’ll discuss this as well.
Ketones
The second reason Low Carb works is … ketones. Ketones are used as a FUEL. Ketones are created when the body breaks down or “burns” fat. An elevated state of ketones in the blood stream is called, Ketosis.
Ketones are fuel for your body…it’s why I say that I am “Ketone Powered! ”
Many ignorant medical industry professionals will tell diabetics that ketones are harmful … they are wrong. They confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis… in their ignorance. Sadly, their ignorance convinces many diabetics not to follow a low carb meal plan. Ketoacidosis occurs with very high blood sugar levels and a lack of sufficient insulin.
Here is an excellent post by a PhD explaining the difference between ketosis (a good thing) and ketoacidosis (a bad thing).
Gluconeogenesis
I saved the best for last!
When I learned about this, I knew for sure that all the “propaganda” from the Medical Industry concerning carbohydrate requirements was a lie… a BOLD FACE LIE.
Gluconeogenesis is the MAIN reason we do not require carbs to survive, nor thrive!
It’s also a main reason low carb works for diabetes management!!
Gluconeogenesis is…
” … a metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates…”
” Gluconeogenesis is a ubiquitous process, present in plants, animals, fungi, and other microorganisms. In animals, gluconeogenesis takes place mainly in the liver and, to a smaller extent, in the cortex of kidneys. ”
… did YOU get this?
GLUCONEOGENESIS results in the production of blood glucose.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO EAT CARBS. We are designed to produce ALL the glucose our bodies need.
Therefore DIABETICS do not need to eat the high carb diets promoted by the American Diabetes Association, which requires diabetics to take more and more drugs and insulin.
Low Carb Paleo Works
We do not require dietary carbohydrates to survive nor thrive! The three main reasons, low carb paleo works for diabetes above, show you why.
I and many others are living proof.
A highly processed, low fat, high carb, grain based diet, is an epic FAILURE!
Human health has been spiraling downward over the last 100+ years and especially the last 40 years with the major push by governments and health agencies to promote a very low fat, very high carb, grain based meal plan.
Low Carb works!
Now that you know ‘why’ low carb works, its up to you.
You continue to eat the foods that fuel your sickness and disease or …
You can begin to fuel the healing of your body. The choice is up to you.
Get with a MEAL PLAN you can “live with”… Go LOW CARB!!!
Lower Your Blood Sugar Naturally
If your blood sugars are elevated and you cannot achieve truly normal blood sugars with diet alone…
READ MY BOOK! How to Reduce Blood Sugars.
Well said!
I find it funny (still) that people think the way I eat is unhealthy. Hmmm…it must certainly be better to fill yourself full of processed, chemicals, and ingredients that we can't pronounce, much less know what it is. Sure thing! You keep eating your crap, and I'll stick with my meats and veggies.
I must grudgingly agree with you… lol! :) My obese and drug ladened dad still shakes his head in disbelief when I refuse bread, pasta, cake or cookies. It is SO SAD how we are brainwashed and addicted to the evil foods… foods that cause much disease and ailments. :(
Another AWESOME post my Brother!! Three of the BEST reasons for a Primal/Paleo lifestyle!!!
Exactly right Tiffany!! Some of my friends think I'm the weird one for eating good fresh veggies and delicious Grass fed meats and fresh caught fish. They ask all the time “Now that your blood sugar is normal, can't you eat “normally” again”…. I have to laugh. Even if somehow my diabetes were cured TOMORROW, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm primal for LIFE! Literally.
As a true “Diabetes Warrior” yourself Brian, your comments are greatly appreciated. I love the “Primal for LIFE!” … well said and center of the cup. :)
Tiffany, thanks for the comment. I too still get those looks and “shakes of the head” when I refuse bread, grains, cakes or cookies…. IF they only knew what we know…. it may make a difference. Sadly, for many, the addiction is too strong. :(
Hello Everyone:
I am just now beginning to understand this diabetes fight (I have been fighting it for 15 years now-whew!) and I was about to give up and do the gastric surgery this summer, but I felt like everyone thinks they know what is best and so I am trying to absorb all of these “lies” from doctors, drugs, etc… Now, my only question is since so many of the drugs taken (yes- I take a boat load too!) actually cause or prevent me from lossing weight, at what point do you stop all of it?? How to do you start?? Which meds are worth forgoing and which ones should you keep until you lose enough weight that you don’t need them anymore?? My doctor is extremely unhappy with me decision to stop Actos it just affects everything!
I am not diabetic, I have a healthy diet but know (instinctively :) after many years of weight gain, constipation etc..) that carbs / all sugars, and I have a nasty relationship. If we could all, more or less, adopt the carb-free, or at the least the lowest carb possible scenario, the world would indeed be a healthier place.. Not good for big food/pharma but they need to be stopped from killing us slowly.
I applaud you Steve Cooksey for raising awareness for us all and for those all who ‘try’ the things that helped your body regain its balance.
Good luck with your legal situation – may honesty prevail and your blog continue to educate us all.
Hi Steve, I did not know about Gluconeogenesis – Thanks for the info! I also want to add what I had discovered on my own which Dr. Atkins didn’t address in his book (or I just missed). The reason why Low Carb works is because it also entails High Fat.
Some dietetic experts on TV are trying to co-opt the Low Carb lifestyle by making it more palatable to mainstream scientific minds. “Yes, you can eat a lower-carb, LOW-FAT diet– but not all that fat that Atkins promotes.” What they’re promoting is DANGEROUS!
If anyone tries to do that, they can get protein poisoning, aka “rabbit starvation.” That name comes from people who during lean times try to survive on just rabbit (low-fat meat) in the absence of available fats and carbs. Doing that leads to protein poisoning, ensuring their speedier demise if they had just fasted instead.
BOTTOM LINE: If you’re going to consume a low carb & high protein diet, you MUST eat LOTS OF FAT! The Eskimos/Inuit did it during winter months for thousands of years & possessed great health (you have to be healthy to survive those brutal winters!). Please point this out – warn people of many “experts” attempting to whitewash low carbing in order to fit their low-fat dietary paradigm!
Oh, one more thing: I think it’s crazy that the NC Board of Dieticians cited you for breaking the law – that there’s actually a law on the books in North Carolina forbidding someone without a license from dispensing nutritional counsel.
Oh, heck – then all our unlicensed grandmothers should go to jail for making us eat chicken noodle soup to get over a cold! Jack LaLanne – the forefather of gyms, juicing and anti-sugar guru – would have been locked up before being able to go on TV and ADVISE housewives in the 1950s what to eat and how to exercise! Weight Watchers would never have been founded because Jean Nidetch was just a lowly housewife, not a licensed professional! Forget Jenny Craig!!
Was Richard Simmons licensed when he started advising people how to lose weight? What about Jane Fonda? What about Paul Braggs, who promoted Apple Cider Vinegar to cure so many ailments? If this NC law was in place back then, none of these people would have been able to help millions of people. You know what? If this NC law was an international law, then the whole Okinawa island in Japan would be indicted if they shared dietary advice with others.
Your court case sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland – Essentially, this NC law dares to trump our 1st Amendment Right to Free Speech – and hence the exchange of ideas and information.
What about Jared promoting Subway sandwiches as the key to weight loss- are his Subway TV commercials illegal under NC law since he’s not a licensed medical professional? What about that website “3 Fat Chicks” or “Hungry Girl”? Are residents of North Carolina forbidden to access these resources because they are not run by licensed professionals?
Steve, if you decided to move to a state without this silly law and a NC resident accessed your website from a NC public computer (ex: NC public library), would you be breaking the law by disseminating contraband information across state lines??
This is just crazy! It’s like calling up a friend in California who lost a lot of weight to ask for advice. Would that person be charged with breaking a law by providing this illegal information to the NC resident caller? This situation is laughable!
I hope justice prevails so that generations of trailblazers like yourself will continue to help millions of people. Since some policy makers understand things better when spelled out in green and white– this petty law is stifling capitalist innovation and entrepreneurship, the very essence of American values, the engine of American economic growth as a first-world nation. Uphold this myopic state law at your own peril..