Low carb science

I do have a scientific background and I am very picky about what I quote. I found this blog very useful - written by a medical doctor who has many diabetic patients.

diabeticmediterraneandiet.com/

I can't remember finding anything in it I would have disputed strongly. Have a read around it - the blogroll at the righthand side is probably also pretty reliable - Steve chose it!

hi Brizzleben,

You know what I'm going to say - and it's not scientific, just common sense - too fast a reduction. So when you feel okay again, take it more slowly this time around. Your GCA is going to be with you for some time yet - mine lasted 5.5years - and although you may be luckier with being male, it's usually around 4 years!

Most talk about low carbs is to stop you putting on extra weight with the Pred, but really I would say stick to a healthy diet, cutting down on refined carbs.

I remember my hubby's dietician (he was diabetic) saying - there's no such thing as a "diabetic diet" or any other so-called illness diet - there's just a good diet and a bad diet! Full stop.

As you say, most are aimed at selling something, so best to look at NHS or BHF site - one that's not got a vested interest in sales.

As I said on an post recently, portion control is the main thing - we are all liable to eat more than we actually need.

My experience was that when I started pred, only 15 mg, my blood sugar soared to pre-diabetic levels. I promptly eliminated nearly all grain based foods and sugar from my diet. Also heeded my dietitian daughter's advice to always have a source of protein whenever I did eat carbs. Blood sugar went down to a reasonable level, but did not return to what my doctor called "normal normal normal" until my pred dose was in low single digits. I'd say the low carb diet certainly has worked for me.

I did read something in the past few weeks about dementia and diabetes but my brain can't recall it and I deleted my search history first thing this morning. I suspect it was a lean science bit in a newspaper but I lurk around diabetes UK website so it could have been there. If it comes to mind I will message you.

This is the journal article that was referred to in what I was reading. Unfortunately you have to pay unless you have a subscription.

I always try to track down who the authors and if they work at a medical or university based research project (which may be funded or done with a charity or national organisation)* I prefer peer refereed journals that send research articles to others in the research field to examine the theory behind the research, the methods used, ethical issues, the conclusions and recommendations. Usually such journals are accessible on subscription as an individual or your local library might offer institutional access. Sometimes the articles may be quite dense in terms of vocabulary so you have to be patient with yourself.

*Organisations that are not trying to sell something or would offer skewed analysis. For example, cigarette companies funded research but only published results that said smoking was safe. Often big pharma funds research on new drugs or supplements. You just have to be aware- which your questions show you are.

jdcjournal.com/article/S105...

Thank you all for your replies. My interest has been sparked by a close family member of around my age having been discovered to have brain changes indicating a dementia condition.

That relative has done what we might all do and dove into the internet and therein found literature which basically argues that, in some people, long term elevated insulin levels caused by love of cake and biscuits can create conditions where parts of the become 'starved of energy'.

It uses the phrase I've since read elsewhere that dementia might be considered as a type III diabetes.

The argument goes on to suggest that very low carb diets can help the body convert body fat into glucose and also that it can cause the body to produce ketones which the brain can use as an alternative energy source.

There's lots of this that makes me sceptical but I can understand the desire to try anything that might help.

amazon.co.uk/Alzheimers-Ant...’s+antidote

Morning Brizzleben.

I’ve just caught up with this post having had problems with accessing the App yesterday, so some of what I say has probably already been said/ referenced in articles etc - so apologies to anyone I repeat and you may already have had good advice from the site experts. Also apologies if this is a bit long, but I’ve tried to keep it simple for our pred brains.

Basically, the body & brain work best when the supply of blood to all areas is good and the acid:alkaline (pH) balance is optimum. With diabetes, unless the blood sugars are well controlled, the small blood vessels become damaged and the body becomes more acidic. Both of these factors reduce the oxygen supply to the brain and other parts of the body and cause cells to become damaged & malfunction. This is more likely to be a contributory factor in vascular dementia, rather than in other types such as Alzheimer’s or Lewey body dementia. It’s all about achieving a consistent balance and trying to avoid peaks and troughs in blood sugar levels. Hence advice about eating protein with carbs and sticking to whole grains which are absorbed more slowly, rather than processed carbs.

Exercise, which of course is not straightforward for many of us, is also really important , as it gets the blood moving to all areas of the body getting nutrients & oxygen to where they need to go and helping to regulate blood sugar levels & cholesterol. The body is like a sensitive set of scales. Too much or too little of anything can tip it out of balance. When we’re young it is very good at compensating, but as we age it finds it much more difficult, so finding and maintaining the right balance becomes even more important or we get sick and small changes in our well being can tip us over very quickly. With many of the conditions we see in older age, such as Type ll diabetes, heart & vascular disease and dementia the damage and changes which happen start to occur many years before the symptoms become apparent, because basically the body has compensated for the abuse it has received. Then of course there are genetic factors, but that is a whole different ball-game......

Hope I haven’t bored/ bamboozled you and this is a teeny bit helpful. The good news is, it’s rarely too late to make helpful changes and moderation is the key to everything ( she says, reminding herself that 2 large glasses of wine last night was probably 1 too many!).

I have followed this unfolding low carb high fat story

for years, just out of interest, also with a special interest in dementia,

I figure it all started off with scientist gary taubes

debunking the (2004) the flawed report behind the low fat

diet advice. Then I had freinds who had heart issues so I

moved on to dr robert lustig (credited by cardiac dr naseen maholtra,

whose eu parliament talk link I actually found here on this website,

and do watch it and pass it on, you will hear the queens own gp speak

and a nutrionalist, and they talk alot about statins,

youtube.com/watch?time_cont...

Heart disease is getting the most coverage now, since it was

the heart associations who pushed the low fat advice, and ever since

the statistics have rocketed, thereby debunking the advice, but

still being recommended by nutrionalists here, as you can hear

on that video. I first discovered cardiac surgeon dr william davis

(Wheatbelly 2007), on a mission to reverse the bad advice, and he used to

follow all of it too, before he ditched it, I do believe dr davis

has the best and most detailed website I have ever seen, Cureality.

Some info is free, just google his name and wheatbelly or cureality, some

info is behind an inexpensive paywall, for patients wanting detailed advice.

Very much respected, and he works alongside other experts

eg Mary Shomon on thryoid, dr davvis is hypo but hashimoto thryoid

is autoimmune, as is PMR and dozens of others. Well known cardiac tv dr oz finally admitted dr davis was right all along, and he dr oz was wrong. However if its dementia you are most interested in, another one of dr Oz's four favourites is neurologist Dr Perlmutter (GRAIN BRAIN), who called alzheimers diabetes 3, he became famous for innovative approach to parkinsons in 1990s. His father a brain surgeon died of alzheimers so he had a personal interest too in preventative healthcare for brains. Both are very famous by now, and I found both their books at my local library here in london, but for 2 week mealplans and recipes for a beginner I recommend perlmutter's books more (with the assistance of his favourite italian restaurant) , all prepared quickly using normal ingredients, just avoidance of the worst foods and focusing on the heros, to achieve "exquisite control of blood sugar". However for those with serious cardiac and diabesity issues, I would stick with dr davis, its not just low carb but a very low carb diet, devised with his own patients in mind, to reverse their symptons, note that neither doctor would accept gluten free flours, they use seeds and nuts, so if you cant ditch bakery, then dr davis is best, he has all the recipes for baking (eg flaxseed bread), but expect to spend more time in the kitchen! But one final word of caution, you must consider your drugs too, as some foods are contraindicated with pred, or other drugs you are taking.

Dear Brizzleben: I am not an expert. I have had diagnosed GCA and PMR for about 4.5 years after 7 months of being undiagnosed. With Prednisone I have developed the highest level of "pre-diabetes." Some type 2 diabetes is caused by the resistance of the cell walls to letting the insulin breach the cell wall so that the glucose can "climb up" the insulin ladder and get into the cell. When we are very sick, it's hard to exercise. But I found that (and my family doctor recommended) walking helps an immediate high glucose reading. Doctor said that 45 minutes of walking would help especially after eating. Well, I have a glucose monitor. It seems to me that my glucose level goes up 60 points after I take the Prednisone. This takes about 6 hours. After that a 30 minute brisk walk immediately takes it down to 100--normal. On another note: My friend does not take Pred. and does not have GCA or PMR, but has a pre-diabetes problem. Her dietitian advised her to do 1 hr. of exercise a day. Viola. It seems that regular resistance training and (for me) Yoga helps keep the glucose steadier even if I eat a few carbs. That said almost all carbs raise my blood sugar way too much, and the rise persists into the first thing in the morning glucose reading. But with the hour of daily exercise I can eat a few carbs--no wheat, or other grains, almost no fruit except for maybe berries when I have exercised regularly, and maybe a small amount of whole fat yogurt. (After a while our immunity gets low and especially when we take antibiotics the tendency is for fungus to overtake bacteria and give us a fungal infection. So attempting to get a balanced gut is necessary, Yuck!) Also beans can be a problem. They are somewhat high in something that translates into a higher glucose reading. This is not a diabetic diet per se. (Some diabetes specialists espouse eating a lot of beans and other foods which fill the belly causing you to eat less, get thinner, and lower the correlation between high weight, belly fat and diabetes.) But in a rigid attempt to counteract the tendency of the Pred. to raise my blood glucose I really try to eat very, very few carbs. It is not fun. And of course life being what it is, and maybe the body needing carbs, I cheat sometimes. But I am now at the lowest measurement of pre-diabetes down from the highest. Everybody on here has read a book by one of our members, Katie, (I think). She survived PMR but is now a type 2 diabetic. AND when you are very sick you can't even easily get out of bed and stay up, much less do resistance training or yoga for an hour! I might actually be coming to the end of my GCA. It's supposed to go into remission. So I have more energy now, than most of us. And my PMR has never been as horrible as has the PMR of many people on this site. But the above method has worked for me. Good luck,

PS You can now make "rice" with a product made up entirely of cauliflower. I find it helps if you have a dish which make some kind of liquid, or "sauce."

PPS I seem to be able to drink red wine! It keeps me sane.

Hello - I have put a link below to a very informative website called Diet Doctor containing lots of fairly straightforward information about low carb/keto eating plan.

Unfortunately, at the moment I read it more than follow it! The very best of luck & better health to you...

dietdoctor.com/low-carb