I have had prediabetes (fasting BG >100) for about 6 years. I have stopped progressing to type 2 diabetes by eating low carb. I see your carb suggestions are high. What say?
Low carbohydrate diets are a perfectly reasonable way to reduce energy intake, which can also occur via reducing dietary fat, though in general both shouldbe reduced to produce sustained weight loss.
Unfortunately, low carbohydrate diets are not uniform in either their % of total daily energy intake or grams of carbohydrate per day, thus making them somewhat hard to study. That said, here’s the current lay of the land:
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In very tightly-controlled settings, e.g. metabolic wards, low carbohydrate diets (ketogenic or more traditional “low carb” diets < 130g/day) do not produce more weight loss than low fat diets. They also tend to lose less body fat and, perhaps, lose more lean body mass than the low fat comparators.
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Based on the 4 latest systematic reviews and meta analyses, low carbohydrate diets seem to show an improvement in weight loss and a1C levels in diabetics in the short term (3-6 months) but not long term (>12 months). This is somewhat complicated and we have two podcasts coming out on that.
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We don’t have any carbohydrate recommendations, but acknowledge that there are many dietary patterns that can be health promoting.
-Jordan
Look forward to your podcasts on this issue. Your response mostly focused on weight loss. My question was on high carb affects my glucose level because I believe I have some trouble regulating it when eating higher carbs. Are you saying that carb consumption has no effect on A1C?
And I have seen your carb recommendations. They are 1:1 with your protein recommendation which in my case could be upwards of 200g per day.
I have been reading and listening to your stuff for the last couple weeks and I am willing to give your nutrition advice a try but it differs vastly to what I have heard in the past.
I am in the second week of your beginners program and really like it even though I would say I am an intermediate.
No, it didn’t. It’s focused on diabetes outcomes. That said, weight loss is one of the most important lifestyle interventions in type 2 diabetes.
I’m saying that there are many different types of diets that would work for a person with (or without) diabetes, e.g. low, moderate, or high carb.
No, they’re not. We don’t make “carb recommendations” outside of specific case examples, as we don’t have a preferred dietary pattern.
To be very clear, there are many different types of diets that will work. I don’t think reducing carbohydrates in and of itself is the uniquely beneficial unless someone prefers this and it helps them adhere to a calorie restricted diet. That said, it is a perfectly acceptable choice as well.