I think they were proving a point. That you can manage anything if you really want to.
I eat anything I want. Somethings are not worth the trouble, but if I want a doughnut, I’m going to eat one. I will figure it out.
Doughnuts are bad for everyone, so if you are going to throw shade, think it through.
If a non diabetic at 3 doughnuts no one would care. But it’s just as unhealthy. Esp since they stayed in range.
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Maya offered a link that details, in her own words, why she disagrees with the donut experiment. It appears that commenters here did not click on that link. The link leads to a page of A Sweet Life, a known and helpful site for people with diabetes.
I know we feel more comfortable living in bubbles of agreement. We live in divisive times and we’re all weary with the constant contention. But the diabetes community is spread across a spectrum when it comes to managing glucose with a dedicated eating style. We all don’t agree about this. If we want to understand our community we shouldn’t shy away from reading dissenting opinions.
I don’t think we’ll ever agree about this. We each act in ways we think suits us. Why not at least become informed about what people who don’t agree with us actually think?
I’ve met Maya in real life and she’s a soft spoken, articulate and rational person. You may not agree with her but should at least hear her out.
Edited to add: I may have misinterpreted the link counter in Maya’s comment. I thought that it recorded all clicks but when I used a “right click,” the TuD link counter didn’t record it. Sorry if my first analysis was mistaken. If you haven’t read the article, please do.
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I must say that I was rather horrified when I saw the donut eating video, and agree with most of what Maya said in her article. Although I found it interesting that the doctors could keep their glucose levels in control while downing all that terribly unhealthy food, I thought using donuts to prove their point just didn’t make sense nor was a good example of healthy eating for anyone especially since so many people struggle with weight issues.
I certainly was wondering about Dr Edelman’s kidney disease while I was watching this behavior.
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I’m on board with 90% of what Maya said (I too really wanted to see a 5-8 hour timeline) until the last bit of the RX on the low carb diet. IMO, which will be spicy shall we say, is many people who do GRIT develop a different type of harm in a form of an eating disorder. It happened to me, I’m still unjustifiably terrified about carbs though my introduction of them is only a few months old. GRIT helped me in numerous ways, it hurt too.
So first do no harm is to teach what is good food to eat, how to balance macronutrients, and how to bolus for them. Then admit life is life and sometimes we might eat a doughnut.
The attitudes of Drs. Edelman and Pettus flow directly from medical advice we received once the basal/bolus regimen and new rapid acting analog insulin came on the scene in the mid '90s.
Our practitioners thought they were relieving us from all the burdens of the previous generation of NPH + R insulin products. That insulin demanded fixed eating amounts and schedules. And that certainly was a relief! But the advice further told us that we could eat “whatever we wanted” as long as we dosed for it. I call this the “carb-up, shoot-up” philosophy.
I embraced that philosophy and gained weight, became insulin resistant, and lived long-term with elevated blood sugar levels. I’m certain that some of my complications arose or at least worsened during that time.
My glucose management is much less exciting now but also much safer and healthier. I certainly don’t miss the aggressive insulin dosing as I watched my post-meal BGs skyrocket and then was forced to endure “white knuckle” descents that were not for the faint-of-heart! My total daily dose of insulin during that period rose to the low 80s while I now only take about 30 units/day.
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Terry, I also fully agree with that and it did unknown harm to me (the glorious days when we are 15, didn’t have CGMs, and checked our BGL 4x a day so who knows what happened) but I fully believe there is a middle ground. When 20g of carbs from carrots is scary something bad has happened mentally, or so I believe. There is a huge difference between steak, potatoes (say 35g carb), and greens VS pizza. One is a meal, one is a YOLO I hope I dose this right. I think we at least agree on the last part.
I have a 95% TIR (70-140) and 5.2 A1C eating 130-200g carbs depending on the day. That just comes from learning how to dose and managing exercise. That’s a little higher than my GRIT A1C though TIR is about the same. Clinically I expect no difference.
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I think you have struck a rational balance, @nebo. Your glucose management numbers are excellent!
My husband and I have been discussing this video and others, I have seen which have been presented by these two physicians, for several weeks now.
All that we can figure is that they see so many unhealthy and non compliant diabetics in their practice, that they are trying to reach out to them in any way possible.
I have seen these two eat donuts, junk food, get drunk, and continually both act about 15 yrs old. It in no way appeals to me, but maybe they are able to reach a younger crowd with these videos.
I would much rather have seen them eat 1 donut, had 1 or 2 drinks and skip the processed junk food all together.
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I’ve read this criticism of lower-carb eating and I’m not persuaded. Anyone with a failed glucose metabolism has an eating disorder! None of us can eat whatever we want whenever we want.
I don’t think the incidence of eating disorders is any higher in the lower-carb groups than in any other cohort. I think that charge arises partly from people trying to discredit a valid and effective eating strategy. What’s to say that a T1Grit teenager who develops an eating disorder would not have experienced this problem with any other eating style?
Raising children with a chronic metabolic disorder that is diabetes is complicated and tough. I find it hard to criticize those parents who want to grant their children normal blood glucose levels. These parents must also consider the social and psychological factors. It’s not easy.
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I can see that point and can only speak for myself and other ex grit people. Most took a long time to not fear simple foods. Maybe other do it better or handle it differently I can’t say. But when people, and the article did it, act like LC is the only way I have to say my piece.
With kids it’s a crazy different game and I empathize with the parents. Like I said on my day there was a head in the sand approach. Parents now have the “luxury” of dexcom double up/down arrows and I understand trying to avoid that at all costs. It’s terrifying.
Low carb is a good option for many. Low carb militants help nobody. I’ve been shamed many times when I just started adding a potato to dinner being told I would kill myself. And they truly believe that. That is not healthy. VLC I see as a last resort. It works. I can attest to that. But it comes at its own cost. My thyroid went down and ldl got to 250 (yes I know the argument that that is ok, I disagree).
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Why do you think no one here has read it? I read it, and find some of her comments offensive. Edelman has had T1 Diabetes for 51 years and has devoted his life to helping other diabetics. Yet this Bernstein-blogger thinks it is appropriate to shame him for having frozen shoulder? Why didn’t she list all the complications Bernstein has had. Really, that is the extent of her empathy for fellow T1 diabetics?
Soft spoken - I don’t think so.
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When watching the donut video, I thought, “I’ll bet that those donuts were fried in very unstable (think rancid) poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).” When you read clinical studies that mention “oxidation” or “reactive oxygen species,” they’re talking about fats that go rancid inside our bodies. PUFAs are inherently unstable and easily oxidized. No one should consume any of the so-called industrially-produced “vegetable oils.”
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You may have missed this.
Yeah, I missed it because you hadn’t added it yet. That doesn’t detract from the Bernstein shaming being done by the blogger on fellow T1 diabetics. Really offensive to me.
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Why do you take me mentioning the complications as “shaming”?
I never shamed anyone, only stated facts.
I’ve had T1 myself for over 35 years now. I am also a compassionate person. Just like I will never shame someone for being an addict, I will not shame someone who simply doesn’t have access to information or funds for eating poorly.
This entitled and very rich doctor (he gets about $2 million yearly in kickbacks from insulin, pump, and drug companies) is neither, and as a doctor who took the Hippocratic Oath of “do no harm” has a responsibility to do better! Me pointing out in my article that he has complications, wasn’t due to lack of sympathy or to shame him. I also have complications, some very painful and debilitating, but I don’t sit around excusing them to being diagnosed at a time before pumps/CGMs and for being on pork/beef insulin when starting out. The progression of complications CAN be stopped when BG is normalized. Some can even be reversed. I’m the living proof as I was also able to reverse some of my complications and stop my retinopathy in its tracks with strict low carb and maintaining an A1c in the mid 4s for years now, and so is Dr. Bernstein.
While I understand that it isn’t for everyone and that some will choose other paths or only incorporate some aspects of low carb eating, a doctor should always demonstrate better behavior, set higher standards, and an example. All of his videos show him eating absolute junk. Not once have I seen him suggest that maybe there’s a better way of eating and managing BG levels.
As a public, influential figure in the T1 diabetes community, I think it’s okay to call him out on that.
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This is not a fact:
There is a way to prevent diabetes complications, but it requires a low carb diet.
Low carb is not required. It is an option some people use. But it is not the only way.
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I thought the point of the video was to educate in an entertaining manner. I believe they did set a high standard in their intentionally bizarre way…they showed two examples of proactive corrections based on CGM trend. Perhaps they reached some people who had never mastered that. Perhaps the video convinced a few people to get a CGM.
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I, of course, agree with Eric. You can have extremely excellent control without going very low carb.
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After you literally said:
Perhaps you should re-evaluate your own behavior. You’re LITERALLY shaming a qualified medical precessional for not prescribing to your personal diabetes morality.
At absolutely no point did they condone or recommend eating 3 donuts. At no point did they suggest “we’re perfect diabetics and can eat all this stuff without complications… And so should you!” In fact, they even said expressly in the very first minute of the video “we are NOT recommending anyone do this.”. So how can you criticize them for violating their hippocratic oath and imperfect behavior? What they’re great at is being relatable… Because we’re all imperfect. They help us tackle this disease when we’re not behaving at our best. And they do it while bringing humor into the equation, because it’s so important to be able to laugh about this when there is such an increased rate of depression amongst diabetic populations. I’m gonna give them a big check mark in the saving lives and changing them for the better column.
It takes a very specific type of personality to not only stick with a heavily-regimented diet, but to thrive on it. There’s a reason we’re in an obesity pandemic. Most of us don’t have that personality! Food is tied directly to our pleasure center. It’s instant gratification, and every bit as addicting as heroine. It’s tied to powerful memories. It’s a bonding activity. It’s an adventure, when you can travel the whole world on your fork. And for many people, myself included, it’s a love language. (I don’t know where it came from, but I swear my genome is 99% Italian grandma that needs to smother my loved ones in good food.). Not to mention that everything we shouldn’t be eating is what’s so plentiful, cheap, shelf-stable, and readily available.
I wholly recognize my imperfect relationship with food. I’ll admit to having eaten 3 donuts in the past, and might still now if I didn’t live in the middle of nowhere and would have to make them from scratch. BUT that imperfect relationship is part of my very perfect life that I love and have no intention of changing. I know from experience that I do NOT thrive on restrictive diets. It’s depressing and I usually gain weight and complications trying to satisfy urges that can’t be scratched. The TCOYD videos are made for the common man, just like me, and I appreciate them. Most doctors just tell you what you should be doing in that imaginary world, and few of them will get down and dirty when it comes to dealing with real world “bad” behavior.
When my pilot husband comes home from long trips abroad, we always celebrate with a bottle of prosecco…or two. It’s a very happy reuniting tradition for us, diabetes be darned. I’ve always known the alcohol took me for a rollercoaster ride, but their drunken video was the first time a medical professional broke it down for me so I’m better equipped for the next time.
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Low carb is not required to have good control. The video is fun and for me it shows the pitfalls of dosing at guessing a food you are not used too. You don’t have to watch it, you don’t have to eat donuts and you certainly don’t have to change how you decide to eat.
I have no complications from diabetes. But I consider myself lucky as I know we can’t always control that. And I also know that fate can change that at any time. I eat a vegan diet, I ride my exercise bike everyday and I snorkel/swim hours out in the ocean several days a week. I have been a vegan for 36 years and a vegetarian for 53 years for ethical reasons and the health reasons were a plus.
I eat what I want, for me it has to be strictly vegan. I have a cookie or a turnover if I want, It’s a healthy diet, lots of veggies and fruits, grains and beans. In my world I put a steak and hamburger right up there in being unhealthy right along with the donut.
But I don’t try to shove my way of eating at anyone. I do try to speak up that you don’t have to low carb if you don’t want to because so many think it’s the only way and nothing else is okay AND get very condemning of anyone that goes outside their box of what they consider the only way. This was meant to be a fun video and to me it is.
My TIR between 65-160 is 97%. I rarely drop below 60 and have a SD of 22. I also recognize most people can’t obtain those numbers or don’t want to and I get that.
I believe you pick the way of eating that works for you and makes you happy in life.
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