What is the most effective way to improve your blood sugar and lose weight without medication? Many diabetics and those with prediabetes are convinced that a low carb diet is the best way to stabilize and improve blood sugar levels.
Low carb diets are also easy to implement. It doesn’t take much time or effort to set up a weekly slate of meals that are low carb and, because there is such a huge variety of delicious meals one can enjoy, it’s easy to continue on it.
Unlike other diets that might require its followers to restrict their calories and severely limit the kinds of meals they are able to enjoy, a low carb diet only restricts certain kinds of foods, those that contain large amounts of carbohydrates, especially processed carbohydrates.
So bread, rice, cereals, tortillas and any other foods high in carbs or made from starch or white flour are out, but vegetables, chicken, and fish are in. Many low carb diets even allow the inclusion of beef and pork.
With such a wide variety of foods to choose from, followers of a low carb diet can avoid that sense of deprivation so common in other kinds of diets that impose much stricter guidelines. You are basically replacing processed, man-made foods with real foods found in nature.
Followers of low carb diets claim there are plenty of benefits beyond just a lower HbA1c if you eliminate as much starch and white flour from you diet as possible.
You will no longer suffer those post-lunch lulls and the brain fog that inevitably drifts in after a carb-heavy lunch. Your thinking will be clearer. You will be more alert and energetic. And because you have deprived your body of the sugar and carbs that you may have been accustomed to eating, you will be less likely to crave sweets and other unhealthy snacks throughout the day.
So with all of these health benefits being promised, what exactly is a low-carb diet? How many carbohydrates can you eat to be considered low carb?
While opinions can vary on this question, here’s a general guideline to get you started should you decide to try a low carb diet yourself (after consulting with your doctor, of course).
Mid-range carbohydrate: 130 to 225 grams per day
Low carbohydrate diet: below 130 grams of carbs per day
Very low carbohydrate diet: below 30 grams of carbs per day
The more you limit the number of carbs you consume every day, the more likely it is that you will lose weight and reduce your blood sugar.
With such a wide range between what is considered very low carb and what is thought of as moderate low carb, the diet allows for an individual approach.
If someone is looking to make rapid changes in improving their blood sugar levels and wanting to lose a lot of weight, then the a very low carbohydrate diet might be worth considering. But if one is simply looking to lose just a little bit of weight and keep their blood sugar in check, a moderately low carbohydrate diet might be enough.
Some recent studies support that the low carb diet is an effective tool for combatting diabetes and losing weight. In one study, a significant number of subjects put on a low carb diet had lower HbA1c levels after just a few months.
The theory behind its effectiveness is quite simple. Carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates, are converted quickly by the body into glucose, resulting in a rise in blood sugar.
The pancreas must then produce more insulin to process this newly arrived flood of glucose so that it can be transferred from the bloodstream into the body’s cells. If the person is diabetic or insulin resistant, the cells do not readily responds to the insulin and, as a result, the glucose is unable to move into the cells and stays in the blood.
Over time, this will lead to higher levels of blood sugar coursing through the body. If left unchecked, these higher blood sugar levels can eventually lead to a whole host of complications such as neuropathy, kidney disease, and irreversible damage to blood vessels throughout the body, including those affecting eyesight.
While the debate still continues in some quarters over the effectiveness of low-carb diets versus low-fat diets, many studies show that low-carb diets tend to significantly improve the blood glucose levels (HbA1C) of type 2 diabetics.
But, we are all different. What might affect one person adversely or positively could have the opposite effect on someone else. Only you know what works best for you and when you share your experiences with your doctor, you can choose the best possible diet plan geared specifically for your own unique body chemistry.
The last thing you want is to experience a dangerous bout of hypoglycemia because you weren’t ready for a sudden and drastic reduction in your intake of carbs. Talk with you doctor, collect your own data, record your own experiences, and plan accordingly.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1570767/
