LCHF could be a boon for Diabetes if practised scientifically, but beginners may face a challenge if he is a vegetarian !

[namaha]

As a T2, You feel great with LCHF diet - thanks to this forum, you keep getting tips from the veterans to overcome the initial hurdles. It is a science - now getting recognised all over as a solution for obesity and diabetes. Once you undetstand the science and practice LCHF, you don't feel like eating any carbs.

Coming to my story, my BP was always subnormal with 110/70 and my BMI is 19 with 53 Kg body weight. But with LCHF , my BP increased to 130/85 , though scientifically My BP is not supposed to increase. First, thinking that I am eating a lot of processed and salted cheese- Amul and it is the sodium salt which is causing my BP to rise , I stopped eating salted cheese. In stead I started eating cottage cheese. My BP came down a bit, but again it started rising. I used to have headache when my BP was going up. Though it was never an alraming situation , but still i started worrying since I used to enjoy with a BP of 110/70 for decades. I started analysing why it should happen now ? Additionally, i get tired with muscle cramps and sleeplessness.

Did not give up- after all it is a science. Did a lot of studies and found out the root cause and implemented and got the relief.

With LCHF, your insulin level comes down. under this situation , your kidney excretes sodium at a faster rate. Your sodium level gets depleted very soon.

And potassium levels in LCHF diet is also low since vegetarian on LCHF diet avoids all starchy vegetables, beans , Fruits which are rich in potassium. (Where as the non vegetarians get their enough dose of potassium from fish and meat)

With reduced intake of potassium by the LCHF eaters, low potassium stores in the body get used up to preserve whatever little sodium left in the body. This is called electrolyte imbalance .

The RDI for Potassium is 4700 mg/day and the RDI for sodium is 2300mg/day, but LCHF eaters should take at least 4000 mg Na per day due to fast excretion of sodium by kidney.

Potassium helps heart muscle to contract and if you go low on potassium , just imagine what could happen? getting tired , fatigue, muscle cramps, elevated BP !

Vegetarians LCHF Practitioners - Are you sure you are taking these recommended dosage of sodium and potassium- very critical electrolytes of the body???

One full Avocado contains 900 mg of potassium. One Guava 1 cup 500 mg of K. One kiwi fruit contains 500 mg K. All can be taken by LCHF vegetarians. Take enough spinach , mushroom, and other vegetables as raw salad like cucumber and Tomatoes , though a lot of K is lost in cooking. Take the recommended RDI of Na - nothing less nothing more.

K is available as a supplement as potassium citrate, but talk to your doctor before you take any supplement. In stead of supplement take enough vegetables and fruits as mentioned above.

The others eatables which are rich in potassium are not suitable for LCHF/diabetes are banana, orange, Mango, pomegranate, Potatoes, sweet potatoes etc.

dietdoctor.com/low-carb/ket...

[Luckysugar]

Thanks namaha for sharing your story. I am T2 and my BP is always on low side. I usually eat vegetarian meal at lunchtime (no breakfast) but I eat animal proteins at dinner. With LCHF or any diet, we need to be aware of salt content especially if we eat certain food often like hard cheese. Cottage cheese would be better as you mentioned. Myself, I prefer strained yoghurt (hung curd) in which I eat them in my first meal every day with other foods like raw veggies, olives, nuts and seeds with load of extra virgin olive oil. To increase daily potassium intake I suggest eating a variety of nuts and seeds, avocado, broccoli, kale, spinach or dandelion greens ect. Try to cook very briefly the veggies as we lose more potassium when cooking too long. Full cream milk or yoghurt also have good amount of K. Eggs are excellent food source for all diets as well.