One of my favorite meals that I eat several times a week, it’s easy and fast. Take a small bag of your favorite frozen veggies, add a package of tempeh, tofu or seitan. Add a spritz of Braggs aminos, gravy or lemon, maybe some cashews on top. Just really easy and good for you!
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Thanks for your insights Marilyn
I don’t envy you steve. If you choose anything but low fat, you will probably be going against your dietitian and doctor. There is a minefield of information and speculation out there. I would trust your blood tests. There are a small group where triglycerides actually rise on low carb. So there is no black and white for any diet, You need to work out what works for you.
The only specific advice I have is don’t eat poly oils, have mono and saturated, Have a google why poly is bad. If I find the video about it, I will post later.
This is word-wide and respected current research on CVD by a head cardiologist Salim Yusuf, well worth looking him up.
Although this was for T2, generally low carb reduces trigs and raises HDL more than Jenkins cereal and low GI diets.
Marilyn posted some blood results. Triglycerides actually rose a bit when she went high carb from low carb. Not significantly, but they didn’t fall. I don’t know if the HDL-triglyceride ratio stayed the same. They are saying that this is the marker for CVD.
My triglycerides are good at 90. HDL is 63. After getting stents I stayed on the low carb diet for a few more years. My LDL after stents dropped to about 140. Switching to low fat plant based they dropped to 117 without adding a tiny bit of a statin. Now my LDL is in the 90’s.
I finally switched to the low fat plant based diet because I was very tired, gaining weight, having awful migraines, and fainting when getting out of bed from my blood pressure bottoming out. All those things are long gone since I switched diets. I was on the Bernstein diet for 11 yrs. It just isn’t a good diet for all diabetics. I loved it for several years, but I certainly would never do it again.
If the Trig/HDL ratio is what counts then I should never had needed stents when my HDL was 100 and my trigs were 37, if I am understanding this Dr. correct.y. I don’t want to take the time to watch the video again, so I am not sure I am correct.
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Although you aren’t doing so. You can’t blame a lifetime onset of CVD onset on any diet change for a short period. It would have been good to see your original blood tests, before any diet, but they aren’t available.
Yes as I said there was only a little rise in trigs and not significant. As I agreed in the other thread, low fat is working for you and there is no one diet that suits all. Thanks for the update on HDL. It wasn’t good that your HDL fell. This is a protective lipid, have a read on HDL/Trig ratio.
LDL will reduce on low fat, you don’t need to carry much dietary fats around your body, so your body doesn’t make it. The question is of the significance of the number. There is also what type of LDL is there, the A or B type.
LDL will also falsely reduce on polyfat diets because of the miscounting because of the size being altered, by damage to the exterior shell.
This stuff is above my head and I need clever people to explain it.
This guy will tell you that using LDL is 20 years out of date.
this is about blood tests, by a pathologist that is incharge of a path lab, as well as a teaching professor
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Great video Jack - thanks for posting.
Jack, I will see if I can find some blood tests that are before 2009. I might have those numbers somewhere. I realize there is a lot of controversy about LDL. I will watch the video, but I think I have already watched that one. In the past 10 yrs I have studied all of this info quite a bit.
Except for an alarming rise in my LDL, I saw no reason for stents when looking at blood tests. I do have a grandfather who died before I was born from heart disease. I also urine tested for my first 23 yrs of having diabetes. Since I have no other diabetic complications of any kind that I am aware of, I dislike thinking that my need for stents were related to my diabetes.
The low fat diet has also lowered my insulin resistance which I think is healthy.
I really like Dr. Bernstein and realize that he has great lab results, but as you said not all ways of eating work well for all people.
I think LDL is a good measure of thyroid function which can be surpressed on low carb.
I use Bernstein’s approach and a few supplements for insurance.
Use the plan which allows you to keep best control without feeling like managing your diabetes isn’t any more of full time job than it already is.
Research backs most of the plans in terms of health outcomes which leads me to believe that it’s more of an issue of caloric surplus and unhealthy habits then actual diets per se.
80 grams of protein for a guy as acive as you is pretty moderate.
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Thanks for these Jack… very helpful…
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I have been reading more about LDL this morning. On this site I hear doctors say that LDL isn’t that important. On Mastering Diabetes they have many posts from doctors saying that low LDL is essential. I looked the Cleveland Clinic site and their recent findings show that what you eat doesn’t matter all that much, because genetics play a huge importance in LDL levels. I went to several sites from well respected hospitals looking for recent studies. John Hopkins and several other sites say that any one who has an LDL and has had stents or a heart attack or is a diabetic should have an LDL number of 70 or lower. I read enough to make me try to add another 10mgs to my tiny dose of a statin.
A pharmacist who taught at a University in my community was a well know and respected expert on diabetes in the US. He was one of the first diabetics to use a pump. He dropped dead a few months ago. He was 75. At one time that sounded old to me, but now it sounds not that old. The last time I saw him he was overweight. I think he pumped insulin for what he chose to eat and didn’t follow a strict diet. I might be wrong. I do know that he was going through some extreme personal stress. I don’t want to die in 7 yrs. My parent both lived until they were 89 and that is the age I hope to reach. My LDL number fell on the plant based diet. Adding a tiny bit of a statin helped too. In some ways I feel like I am fighting for my life and I am doing the best things I can for my body.
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You control your BG better on high carb very low fat. If for no other reason, it’s good enough for HCLF. Any fat used would be palm or coconut oil, I wouldn’t use the seed/bean oils. Your blood tests are good. I think you are doing the best thing for you. I’m not trying to get you to go back to LCHF or Keto.
Your metabolism works well on carbs. Going by the general population, about one third can and the rest are overweight or obese.
None of us have a crystal ball to longevity. We do the best we can and get on with it. Hoping we don’t get hit by a train first. The T2 Metformin is in a longevity trial and well worth reading and thinking about.
Have you had a cardio review? I would ask the benefits of being on good blood thinner, antiplatelet. Low statin is worth taking and good for the vein walls. I wouldn’t take high doses needed for cholesterol reduction. again it’s the lipid types that are making up the cholesterol, not necessarily the total.
Jack, I have had a more comprehensive look at my cholesterol a few times. Last time was a month ago. My LDL-P is 1061 anything under 1000 is considered Low. So I am happy with that. The small LDL-P is 311 and it should be less than 527 so I am happy with that too.Large VLDL-P is 1.5 and it should be under 2.7 so that is quite good. So my studies are good, but my cardiologist ignores these. He just want the LDL to be 70 or below.
Actually my A1c was better on a very low carb diet, but it is quite good on the plant based very low fat diet too and my LDL is lower and I no longer have migraines or pass out when I get out of bed from my BP dropping. I am so very pleased to not have those problems since I changed my diet. I also have more energy so I can get lots of exercise.
Oh, I use no oils of any kind now. Almost anyone can be thin on this diet because the percentage of fat in the diet is sooo low and the carbs are all good healthy plant carbs. No junk or processed food of any kind.
I am only taking 10 mgs of a statin 3 times a week. Most people take at least 50 mgs a day. I take a supplement which thins blood.
Yes, I get heart studies done.
Yes all we can do is what we think is the best for our own bodies and hope that we are making the right choices.
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Yeah LDL isn’t likely an issue unless it gets very high. As I menationed to someone else when it gets high thyroid is something to look at as thyroid helps to drive the conversion of LDL into the hormones ( pregneneolone, progesterone, dhea, testosterone, estrogen, etc. )
As long as LDL is kept generally unoxidized or glycated via reasonable blood sugars and a few key supplements I wouldn’t be worried. Keeping inflammation low as well.
Cholesterol is way overblown and will likely fade once the baby boomers pass away.
As an FYI the human brain has the equivalent of roughly a dozen eggs worth of cholesterol. It’s a precursor to all steroids, an antioxidant, fights toxic substances, etc. It’s really quite an important and amazing substance.
Published research shows statin benefits are independent of cholesterol lowering inflammation, plaque stabilizing, blood thinning:
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LDL can’t be ignored when it gets close to 300 like mine did on a very low carb diet. This baby boomer did not take getting stents lightly, would you? I am hypothyroid.
My A1c was 4.7 when I found i suddenly needed stents. It had been under 5.5 for years.
Hi Marilyn, I’m with you on this one. I had unbelievable BG control on very low-carb diets, but my blood pressure would bottom out from standing up from my chair at work. Working out became difficult and sometimes dangerous (falling over while lifting heavy weights is not a great thing). My doctor let me know that I’m still eating low carb compared to most Americans, but I’m eating a lot more than I was a year ago.
The differences for me so far haven’t been A1c, but my average fasting BG has increased by about 10 mg/dL, I’ve gained a bit of weight (probably water weight), and my liver has a lot more ammo to raise my blood sugar when working out, etc. So it’s a mixed bag. But, for me, eating moderate carb has allowed me to exercise more the way I’d like to and reduce some of the problems from having low blood pressure.
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Very interesting David. I hit my head when I would pass out and that can be so very dangerous especially as one ages. It is such a relief to not have to worry about that anymore.
Have you considered a low fat plant based diet? You would lose the extra weight you have gained. My protein levels are actually higher than they were on very low carb and my insulin resistance is so low that it can’t be measured except to say that it is lower than 25 which is as low as the lab can test.
I ride my exercise bike 7 miles a day and my glucose level always falls when I ride.
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David - how many / much in the way of carbs do you typically eat per day under your new regime?
Both my endo and my cardiologist explained to me that perhaps the greatest risk from LDL in diabetics is glycosolated LDL which is more likely to contribute to arterial sclerosis than native LDL, regardless of speciation. Even though my total LDL is 54 and my triglyceride level is only 30 and my A1c is 5.4, he still has me on statins to drive the LDL lower. My cardiologist told me that statins are indicated for all diabetics for this reason. I found a few papers discussing this, but It looks like you’ve done a very thorough review of LDL’s relationship to heart disease. Do you come across anything about this?
@Marilyn6, plant based definitely doesn’t work for me (I can’t get enough protein), and low fat screws up my HDL terribly. My current diet of moderate carb, high protein, moderate fat seems to work pretty well. My BG is normalish (low, but at least manageable), my bloodwork is still solid (LDL low, HDL above the threshold, triglycerides low). I have low insulin resistance, and everything seems to work out OK. The biggest issue is the water-weight I’m not used to. Haven’t gained a lot of weight, just enough to be annoying (one pant size, and I’ve only got one pant size in the closet 
).
@Jimi63, Jim, I’m eating 100-150g of carbs a day now (with a pretty high fiber intake of 25-35g), which I thought was “back to normal,” and my doctors pointed out was about half of what “normal Americans eat.” Honestly, I have a hard time seeing how people get that much carbs. Regardless, those carbs tend to be made from homemade bread, beans, and root veggies. I’ve never eaten the “burgers and french fries” diet, and don’t plan on starting anytime soon 
I still eat a lot of dairy, meat (lean beef I raise myself and chicken), eggs, olive oil, but I have started baking and eating sourdough bread as well. And I’m not psychotic about limiting my diet to keto-levels when eating out.
So, overall, I’m probably eating like a fairly abstemious “normal person,” a bit more heavily weighted towards meat, eggs, and dairy. I haven’t figured out how to hit my protein goals (about 150g per day) on either a high fat or a high carb diet, so I do what I do as long as it works! Fortunately, my body seems to be able to deal well with the carbs I’m throwing at it lately.
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