Had To Take A Break From My Life Because What I Just Read Caused Me Outrage

Saw my doc today -- he said "Since you've been a 'good boy' (Editor's note: this 'boy' turned 57 this past July 5th) and kept the weight off for 3 years, I think we can take you off the pills. Your blood pressure is normal, your blood glucose is normal, your cholesterol is normal ... whatever you're doing, keep doing it." I was so elated, I bought a cranberry oatmeal bar and a large coffee on the way out of the clinic -- under the guise of needing change for the parkade gate to get out of the place (it was really a celebration of life). Sure it'll affect my next A1C test -- sue me! (at least I have an explanation).

I subscribe to the (usually unbiased) Mayo Clinic newsletter -- this is what they sent me tonight:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/low-carb-diet/NU00279/?utm_source=Highlights&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HouseCall&pubDate=October%2014,%202011

If you follow a low-carb diet; among other things; they warn of:

"It's also possible that severely restricting carbohydrates to less than 20 grams a day can result in ketosis. Ketosis occurs when you don't have enough sugar (glucose) for energy, so your body breaks down stored fat, causing ketones to build up in your body. Side effects from ketosis can include nausea, headache, mental fatigue and bad breath."

Omigawd! So ... if I take control of my life, initiate my body living off its stored, excess fat instead of making more and get a good report from my doc, I risk developing ... wait for it ... bad breath??? (I intentionally disregarded all their other listed 'side effects' because I experienced those, in the old days, simply by sitting in the Donut Shop parking lot & eating a half dozen donuts for breakfast. Come to think of it ... might explain the 'bad breath' effect as well.)

I'm just a guy. I'm not a doctor nor do I play one on TV. I'm just a guy that got a really good bill of health from his doc today simply because I lost weight and kept it off. I highly recommend weight loss -- in any manifestation you can manage. Let the guys in the white coats try to explain your improved, overall health. I'm here to tell yuh, it feels great!

And now ... back to life,

Congratulations on your excellent doctor's visit!  It took a lot of hard work to get there but you made it.

 

When I was eliminating nearly all carbs because my blood sugar was very high, I was concerned about diabetic ketoacidocis so I got some keto sticks to check my urine and I was fine.  If you are a Type 2 diabetic, it's very rare to get this.  But, you can have worse symptoms than bad breath if you do develop ketoacidocis.  I was concerned because several of the symptoms of this were symptoms I was experiencing.  But, it turned out that I was anemic.  But it sure doesn't hurt to check yourself occasionally.  I got the keto sticks at the drug store for around $10.00.

 

This link is from the National Institute Of Health that explains the symptoms of diabetic ketoacidocis.

 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000320.htm

 

Sherrine

IMHO maintaining good health is a balancing act. A person needs the right amount of activity, the right amount of rest, they need the right amount of protein, carbs, and fats, and beyond the right amount they need to right types of these foods.

The big problem as far as I am concerned, with the medical community, is they all to often look for and take a "one size fits all" approach to things when all too often it needs to be individualized.

The needed individualization is all to often left up to the person/patient. They need to educate themselves not only about things in general but about how things effect them, and for those with health issues this is even more important.

For some people an ultra low carb diet is going to be just fine, but for others it could become dangerous. The risk is there, but how much of a risk depends on the person. So keep and eye on everything and if something is working for you then there is no need to fix what is not broken. Hopefully one of these days medical researchers will take a really deep look into things and figure out the factors that are present for those who have the greatest risk of complications from one type of treatment and those who have the greatest likelihood of success from it.

I was curious about what the typical American diet was like when it came to carb intake so I looked it up. The typical American consumes 300-400 grams of carbs per day, which means 100+ carbs per meal. Based on current recommendations Low carb pretty much means cutting this by 50% and ultra low carb means cutting it by about 75%.

In the past 12 years I have been dealing with this I have seen and heard all sorts of suggestions on how many carbs are acceptable for a diabetic coming out of the medical community.

It has ranged anywhere from carbs don't matter so long as they do not come from white breads/pasta, potatoes and refined sugar to no more than 30 per day.

All I know for certain is how they effect me. For me too few is just as bad if not worse than too many, and for me the type of carb seems to have little effect beyond the speed it will elevate my blood sugar.

I know people who can eat 30 grams of carbs from veggies and fruits and their blood sugars only raise a little but if they have 30 grams of carbs from refined sugars their BGL will climb like they had 100 grams of "natural" carbs.

IMHO too much attention is paid to carbs when it comes to diabetes and not enough to how fiber, fats and calories also play a big role in BGL management.

Just dropping by while there's a short break in life - dealing with hemmerhoid procedure complications now ... ain't life grand? ;-)

Thanks for the well-wishes Kris