Sorry if this post disappoints some people, but there are no short cuts in controlling diabetes ! Whatever type you are, it takes hard work and dedication, permanently, to keep blood glucose numbers in the safe zone. I have read all sorts of hocus pocus from resistant starch to cinnamon, vinegar, you name it. Sure these things can reduce BG by a small amount, for some, but the difference made is so small, it makes very little difference for most.
Big US blogger Richard Nikoley who runs the Free The Animal blog has been banging on about resistant starch for some time, as if he has reinvented the wheel, but it's old news. Many of the Paleo people have jumped on the bandwagon, but the info has been out there for a very long time. All you need to know about Paleo or Low carbing to get you started, can be printed on one sheet of A4, but to sell lots of books and earn a living from the blindingly obvious, requires a hell of a lot of noise. RN is one of the worlds leading makers of noise.
A resent comment by RN
"One way to chew on that title is to realize why Low Carbers have had success infiltrating Paleo Ranks. They merely restrict a macronutrient (carbohydrate); so, if they have no allegiance to Paleo, They can eat as much cheap soy-oil mayonnaise as they like, while scoffing at your super expensive grassfed butter."
Why would anyone want to infiltrate the Paleo ranks ? Who or what are 'the Paleo ranks' does anyone give a monkeys ? It's all a lot of hot air, it's noise to sell books, full stop.
At diagnosis my BG was 26 mmol, in US terms that is 468, would any or all of these tweaks including resistant starch have made any real difference ? not a chance. By all means have a go, but don't expect any really noticeable changes. Having said that I get through a lot of cinnamon because I love the taste. Can I perceive any changes with my BG meter, no way. There is only one way for a diabetic to control long term BG numbers on nil or minimal medication, there are no short cuts. Whole fresh foods, minimal carbs, sugar, starch, processed junk and regular exercise. There you go just one sentence, who needs a sheet of A4.
Eddie
Please check out our website www.lowcarbdiabetic.co.uk We created and maintain this site without any help from anyone else. In doing so, we do not receive direct or indirect funding from anyone. We do not accept money or favours to manipulate the evidence in any way. Please visit our Low Carb food and recipe blog www.lowcarbdietsandrecipes.blogspot.com
10 comments:
You could not be more right. And to take it a step further, the battle between paleo functions and primal functions, or even within their own subgroups over things like mayo, keto counts, potatoes, vitamins, macro-nutrients...kind of belies the whole 'not eating grains makes me so calm and serene' thing. ;)
Hi Gwen
The human race can turn something so simple and logical into the most complicated hog wash. Once I understood carbs and starch equals sugar all became clear. People are eating a diet of up to 70% sugar. What straight thinking person could believe that is a healthy diet.
So a very simple concept that a five year old could understand becomes a business for some. Book after book saying the same thing, carb wars, paleo wars, starch wars. So many fiddling while Rome burns.
It will ever be thus.
Eddie
paleoids who love their carbs have long wanted to claim paleo as their very own, excluding the LC paleoids.... not sure of the reason for the clannishness, though i suspect it's because they're mostly young enough to want to belong to a kewl clique, and there are so many older and overweight low-carbers, our numbers "pollute their waters."
sorry, kiddies -- there is damn little evidence that the late paleolithic, during which we "became human" included a large amount of carb-heavy food. the carb-defenders tend to have this fantasy of AdamandEve types strolling through the jungle picking apples off trees as desired, but REAL paleoanthropologists can tell you that even tropical rainforests aren't thick with fruit-trees, and humans had to compete to get any at all. one doesn't get a huge harvest of tubers unless one plants them ... and then you're in the neolithic. ;-)
depending on a LOT of different factors, individuals thrive best on individualized diets. claiming that some particular "magic" food is going to cure EVERYONE'S ills is a con-game which has been re-run countless times during the course of my life, and for centuries before it. IT'S ***NEVER*** TRUE.
How right you are Tess,
"Individuals thrive best on individualised diets".
Pity Eddie cannot grasp that.
Somebody (Dave)put a link in comments on Tom's blog to Peter's opinion (http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2008/02/fiber-inulin-and-cancer.html?showComment=1203661560000#c883191715599744648) rightly guessing it would be a good idea to bring him up as well
"Peter said...
Hi Dave,
Just had a read of your links. In the first link what struck me was that RS at low doses increased fat oxidation (15g/d RS) but at 30g/d it completely obtunded fat oxidation to the equivalent of zero g/d. Why? The SCFA made by gut bacteria belong to the gut bacteria. They're not ours. The microbiota will allow us a little of their butyrate but the bulk is sent directly to our liver and converted to tryglycerides. These are then stored as fat by activation of lipoprotein lipase. The whole cascade is controlled by Fiaf (Fasting induced adipose factor), which is to a significant extent controlled by the gut bacteria. Feed the bacteria and they make fat (butyrate), but they FORCE you store it. Now I like butyrate, it's a fat after all, it will induce fat oxidation, and I LOVE fat oxidation. I'll eat butter 'til I'm not hungry (I was going to say 'til the cows come home but...). Of course butyrate from butter feeds me directly, not via my bacteria, and via my small intestine not my colon. No gas! No Fiaf suppression either. I put it up in detail, first post is here , just check those with Fiaf at the start of the title."
I don't think about myself as a Paleo person , I need a LC, not a necessary Paleo diet. I would rather eat commercial deli meats and cheeses with mayo than organic tubers, bananas and honey + occasional meat.
BTW, since when a rice and beans are4064459825 the part of a paleo diet?
Thanks. I have though about trying resistant starch, but did not really understand the benefit.
I am type II diabetic and limit my daily carbs to between 20 and 30 grams with a fasting blood glucose of below 83.
In addition to your own experience do you have any additional data on the impact of resistant starch? Given that it is resistant starch I would not expect it to impact blood glucose. Could it have any other benefits?
I discovered I was prediabetic four years ago and have kept my A1C at 5.5 using a low carb diet and exercise. Lots of hard work and discipline have improved my health a great deal and given me back my life. I have tried many of the supplements, such as cinnamon, to improve my blood sugar levels and all of them have been underwhelming, to say the least.
I started using the potato starch with some regularity just before the holidays and it took me quite a while to work up to the 4 tablespoons per day. Yup, I had some gas! But it did things did calm down after a bit and my fasting blood sugar did go down by about 10 ml. The real important benefit is the post prandial readings. Before: 1 hr. after supper would be around 105-115 and that meal would not include anything starchy. After: now I can include a portion of rice (2/3 cup) or a red-skinned new potato and 1 hr. after I'll be at 86. This is big! I thought my meter was broken at first.
Anyway, this is not going to change my healthy way of eating. I'll still use low carb to manage my blood sugar. It's just not as low carb as it was. It's another handy tool I can use and I'm grateful for it.
Mark Sisson has written a couple of thoughtful posts revisiting the whole resistance starch theme and Tom Naughton is featuring a three part discussion on his blog. There is some really valuable information here. Knowledge is power!
Tom Naughton has a couple of posts at the Fathead blog about resistant starch (not regular starch). Quite a few commenters say they've lowered their BG with it. Steve Cooksey says he's also lowered his BG with it.
Tom makes it clear in the comments that if you eat rice or a baked potato, you're going to get a lot of disgestible starch along with the resistant. He's not urging people to go all potato-head...even if others have gone that route.
RN is arrogant and clamoring for web hits, but I wouldn't be so dismissive of resistant starch. Sure it is a concept that has been around for some time, but it works.
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