Foody Friday: How Reducing Carbohydrates has helped start to Reverse my Diabetes!

When I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes earlier this year, it was the wake up call I needed to review my lifestyle and I set out on a journey to try and reverse the ‘blood sugar’ readings to ‘normal’ levels.

The NHS here in the UK haven’t yet acknowledged that ‘reversing’ diabetes is possible and therefore I thank my lucky stars that I came across a research study which is currently turning some of the ‘theories’ on their head. Dr Taylor at Newcastle University has achieved significant success in rapidly reversing diabetes in a number of patients, using a very low calorie and low carbohydrate diet.

Although I wasn’t comfortable reducing my calorie consumption to 600 calories per day, having read the study, it seemed like a ‘no brainer’ to massively change my eating regime and significantly reduce the amount of carbohydrates I eat.

Over the last few months, I’ve lost 1.5 stone in weight (21 pounds) and my blood sugar readings have come down from 60 to 45. I am informed by the Diabetic Nurse that 45 is a borderline pre-diabetic reading. A non-diabetic would be considered to be functioning normally with a reading of less than 40.

So, whilst I’m not yet in the ‘normal non diabetic range’, I have reversed my readings to a ‘pre-diabetic’ borderline reading having followed a Low Carbohydrate diet for the last 6 months, whilst also enjoying some really tasty and filling food along the way.

The guidelines provided by the ‘professionals’ which I felt compelled to follow in the 1970’s, 80’s & 90’s is now being shown to be VERY WRONG and yet the NHS/NICE are still giving confusing messages about what Diabetics should and shouldn’t eat. Previously, the advice was to:

• Cut out/down on red meat
• Swap butter for low fat spreads
• Eat rice, pasta, potatoes as a ‘staple’ food
• Swap from full fat to skimmed milk
• etc….

Research is now showing that this was probably the ‘worst’ diet to follow and has probably contributed to the rise (my own included) of obesity.

Whilst I appreciate that some people may want to wait for the Newcastle Study to be finalise and the results to be published, I didn’t!  I wanted to make the change immediately to minimise the impact of diabetes on my body.

I came across the 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet Book, which takes the key principles being used successfully in the Newcastle University Study and provides some really helpful information into how swapping to a low carbohydrate diet can work very effectively in the fight against Diabetes..

According to Doctor Michael Mosley, The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet is for anyone who:

 Is concerned about their blood sugar

Already has raised blood sugar and wants to reverse it

Needs to improve or reverse diabetes

Wants to lose weight and stay healthy

https://thebloodsugardiet.com/

 

However, I would also add that many people, even if they haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes, would benefit from making a change to a ‘lower’ carbohydrate diet and I would encourage you to read up on the ‘principles’ detailed in both the Newcastle Research Study and Dr Mosley’s 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet book and decide whether you think they would be good changes to make.. You may also want to check with your Doctor first… The research really is very illuminating!

Personally, I think I was so ‘indoctrinated’ into believing what the professionals had previously told me was considered to be ‘healthy’, that in some respects it was quite hard to shift away from this and eat virtually the opposite! It took some convincing but now the evidence is speaking for itself as I am feeling much healthier!

So – What Key Dietary Changes Have I Made?

• Eating butter and NOT low calorie spreads which often contain harmful fats and chemicals…
• Using Olive Oil in salad dressings etc.
• Increasing the amount of protein in my diet e.g. red meat, chicken and salmon
• Eating eggs several times per week (apparently the official guideline here in the UK has now been changed to state ‘unlimited eggs’ can be eaten each week)… I’m wondering if the level of ‘greenhouse gasses’ would increase if everyone ate ‘unlimited’ amounts of eggs? – YIKES! ….
• Cutting out bread, oats, pasta, rice, potatoes etc.
• Adding crème fraiche or cream to sauces, as this helps satisfy the hunger and contrary to popular belief is a much healthier option than eating the carbohydrate.
• Eating more nuts as a snack and including nuts in some of the recipes
• Cutting out biscuits, cakes etc.
• Cutting out some fruits which are high in natural sugars e.g. bananas, grapes, mango etc.
• Eating more Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Blueberries
• Swapping breakfast from porridge/fruit to Full Fat Greek Yoghurt/berries

I thought I was being ‘healthy’ by eating porridge with fruit and a bit of honey for breakfast when in fact it was particularly ‘unhealthy’ for me!

I’ve featured a few of the recipes that I’ve tried and tested along my journey and will continue to add more as I come across any new ones. Here are links to some of my previous recipes:

Firm Favourite – Really quick and easy to make are the Tomato & Pesto Stuffed Peppers: https://brilliancewithin.com/2016/06/01/recipe-5-steps-to-tastiest-stuffed-peppers/

Lemon Chicken – This was a lovely summer evening recipe: https://brilliancewithin.com/2016/05/25/brilliance-within-recipe-basil-lemon-zesty-spring-chicken/

Moussaka – I keep this one as a ‘treat’ as it’s not ‘no carb’. Moussaka remains one of my childhood ‘comfort eating’ foods so when I feel like a bit of ‘comfort’ is necessary, this is my healthier alternative to my mum’s original recipe which contained potatoes.. Swapping the potato for sweet potato reduces the amount of carbohydrate but doesn’t cut out the carbohydrate altogether. You could go completely traditional and use Aubergine instead which would be even healthier..

https://brilliancewithin.com/2016/05/24/recipe-sweet-potato-moussaka-variation-on-a-classic-greek-dish/

Lamb & Pine Nut Meatballs: https://brilliancewithin.com/2016/04/13/8-week-blood-sugar-diet-recipe-review/

Pomegranate Lamb Stuffed Aubergine: https://brilliancewithin.com/2016/09/30/foody-friday-8-week-blood-sugar-diet-recipe-review/ – Another on my list of tasty favourites!

 

 

 

 

 

Then of course there was the DIY COOKING DISASTER – DO NOT TRY THESE AT HOME https://brilliancewithin.com/2016/06/04/diy-healthy-cookery-disaster%f0%9f%98%a5-dont-try-this-at-home/

Uugghhhhh!!! Skinny Bean Burgers… NOT RECOMMENDED

You could always give the DIY Disaster Burgers to the cat – They are used to coughing up dry fur balls – well these were pretty similar in texture!

I’ll continue to post more ‘tasty and healthy’ recipes as I continue my journey to ‘REVERSE’ diabetes and I hope you enjoy trying some of the above in the meantime!