Diabetes, diet and and blood pressure

[Ianc2]

A friend of my wife was informed by her doctor she had high blood sugar levels which were border line diabetic, has high blood pressure and was obese. Her doctor put her on a restricted Keto diet which stripped out most carbs (potatoes, bread , cakes, biscuits) and root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips. Lots of salads, meat, etc.. Basically no restriction on fats within reason.

The weight has been steadily coming off. Her blood sugar is dropping steadily. The big surprise was the way in which her blood pressure has dropped to normal levels, something she did not expect as she is still overweight.

My blood pressure has always been border line high at about 140/150 over 80/90. All my other measurements are where they should be and I am not overweight.

I am now beginning to wonder...

[Bicyclist]

The evidence is now building in favour of low carb diets for type 2 diabetes and heart health including blood pressure. Since the introduction of so called low fat diets, obesity levels in the population have rocketed.

If you search for Dr David Unwin on YouTube, (a northern GP) he gives lots of evidence supporting low carb diets and you can of course make up your own mind.

[Milkfairy Heart Star]

Can I suggest that everyone reads this post from Helen BHF admin?

healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...

[Heythrop51]

Four months ago I was overweight and has elevated BP and cholesterol, and was pre-diabetic. After going through various HU forums I homed in on this one as Type II diabetes often leads to heart disease. Since then I have followed a carb counting Mediterranean style diet. All my numbers are improving. I have a raft of blood tests Monday week and a review with the practice DSN the following week. Once I have seen her I will report on my progress.

[COYW]

Nutrition is particular to the person. If a person is significantly overweight then nutrition advice for that person will be very different to me for example since I’m 70kg and 6’ 1” and an ageing athlete 😀. I too have highish blood sugar and high cholesterol but if I restrict carbs too much I’ll not be able to cycle, run or climb mountains. So I look at a lot of advice and make my own mind up. I end up looking at everything I eat and balancing according to my levels of activity. I’ve ended up being 80% plant based, low saturated fat and varying carb intake but always know what I’m eating. I’m sounding very self congratulatory here 😀 sooty about that . It is very hard sometimes and I drink too much beer. I’m human.