I’ve been reading the discussion on ‘How many carbs’ and what I don’t understand is why carbs are considered bad.
We eat a healthy diet of all fresh foods with little or no processed foods, and carbs are a big part of it - whole wheat pasta, a variety of rices, quinoa, barley, potatoes, whole grain breads and cereals. Also a lot of the good fats - olive oil, avocados, nuts, fish - a typical Mediterranean diet.
On the one hand I’m reading that a diabetic can eat what ever they chose (within reason) as long as the insulin covers it. (V is Type 1 - no pancreas)
On the other I’m reading about people dramatically reducing carbs to get better control.
(I would think eliminating processed foods would be more important to a healthy diet than eliminating carbs.)
As I am learning that so very many foods have some carbs in them, I don’t see how I could feed V enough to keep him running if I seriously reduced his carb intake. He’s currently at about 225 a day, 2300 calories. He needs to gain or at least, maintain, his weight.
Which is it: Are carbs good or bad?
Is there anyone out there who likes and eats good carbs?
i love carbs and i try my hardest to eat good carbs but then i am type 1 with no insulin resistance whatsoever. i eat anywhere from 200-250 carbs a day. i have an active job and have maintained my weight at the same number for the last 10 years.
Maybe the ‘insulin resistant’ part is important regarding the carbs? V is not insulin resistant, either - at least, as far as we can tell. His Type 1 came about because of the pancreas removal. He had a benign tumor that slowly cut off insulin production, which, now of course, is 0!
Glad to see someone else eating carbs! Thanks, Amanda.
Here is a video (Click here) addressing this debate.
In general, I think controlling diabetes is much easier with a low carb diet, but I do not follow one (yet). I have done so for several weeks and saw great results in my blood sugar. But I have not been disciplined enough about it. I’m trying to re-start a low carb diet today actually 
I wouldn’t say carbs are bad but some of them are hard on a diabetic and do cause BG spikes. I do not eat low carb because I cannot maintain that type of diet long term. My BGs are much more level when I can eat low carb. For now I try to choose carbs that are lower on the glycemic index and avoid carbs that I know will make my sugars crazy to avoid the spikes as much as possible. For example, I rarely eat cereal anymore. Even if I choose a healthy cereal option, I am guaranteed a BG spike of 180 or more. I eat about 160g of carb a day and I choose low carb options where I can.
