It is time for a change, but I'm afraid to implement it...

[saelee]

I am fortunately healthy, and am a believer in the low carb WOE. I have recently purchased Dr. Bernstein's book, and found it incredibly informative and detailed.

My mother is 61 years old, a type 2 diabetic on glucovasin, has had triple bypass surgery 3 years ago, and was recently put on Nitro-pathces. She is still active in many respects, is able to do household chores and take short walks, but to say the least she is overweight and cardiovascularly fragile.

I know some in the forum have similiar backgrounds and health profiles, and I wish to get my mother to eat in the way prescribed by Dr. Bernstein.

My quesitons is what should i do to properly transition her into the low carb WOE, and can there be dire consequences if she happens to cheat.

I am convinced that this is the way to go, as it will finally allow her to control her blood sugars and to regain her health.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Sam

[Lisa N]

Hi Sam!

My quesitons is what should i do to properly transition her into the low carb WOE, and can there be dire consequences if she happens to cheat.

I think the first step would be to determine if this is something that your mother wishes to do. If she's only doing it because you want her to, she'll be a lot less likely to stick with it and follow the rules than if she were convinced herself that low carb is the best way to go. Has your mother read Dr. Bernstein's book and is she familiar with what is going to be required? Does she agree with it?
Next, is her doctor willing to work with you on monitoring her and adjusting her medications as needed? Going low carb usually requires that dosages be lowered as blood sugars start to come down on their own (sometimes too low if dosages aren't adjusted at the right time and by the right amount) and it's not advisable to try to do that on your own. If your mother agrees that low carbing is the way that she wants to go, the next step might be a consultation with her doctor to let him/her know what you are about to do and request their assistance.
Dr. Bernstein doesn't address transitioning into low carbing...the way he wrote the plan you jump in with both feet right from the start dropping to 30 grams of carb per day and that's where you stay. If you think that might be too difficult or too hard on her system, you can try dropping to something like 60 grams of carb per day for a while (maybe 15 grams per meal and 2 snacks of 7.5 grams each) and then dropping slowly from there, maybe 5 or 10 grams per week while assessing how her body is handling it.

Dire consequences from cheating? Well...I guess that depends on how you define dire and how often those cheats are anticipated. On those rare occasions when I eat a high carb meal (maybe a couple of times a year now), I know that I'm going to pay for it with higher blood sugars for a day or two and possibly leg cramps on and off for that night. Most of the time, whatever it is I'm considering eating (that I know I shouldn't), I wind up deciding that they cost of the cheat is too high and I abstain or find a low carb alternative instead. If her blood sugars are well-controlled, an occasional cheat isn't going to be a matter of life and death; more likely a matter of discomfort and higher blood sugars for a short time. OTOH, every time you spike your blood sugar over 150 and it stays there for any length of time there is potential for damage to body systems that most folks would like to keep intact, like kidneys for instance.

I wish you and your mom good success! :)

[c6h6o3]

I think cheating can be very dangerous. All of the fats that we eat are broken down into fatty acids. Whether or not those fatty acids are reassembled into human adipose tissue is a function of the level of sugar in the blood. When you keep it under 30 grams / day, the building blocks for fat are there, but the liver doesn't manufacture it because the control system tells it not to. When you suddenly reintroduce higher levels of glucose and resultant higher levels of insulin (whether produced by the pancreas or injected) you're pulling the trigger on the fat manufacturing process. With a vengeance.

I think it's crucial to work with a sympathetic doctor on this. My physician has also mentioned that as levels of triglyceride and cholesterol in the blood are reduced, sometimes the fibrous outer coating of cholesterol deposits on blood vessel walls begins to dissolve. Then as underlying cholesterol deposits flake off, dense particles can be reintroduced back into the bloodstream. When that happens you don't want fat in the blood to which the cholesterol can bind to form more plaque. If you don't stick with the diet you can end up worse off than if you hadn't started it.

[saelee]

Thank you all for your responses, they have been very helpful.

one more thing i would like to know is if anyone can refer me to a doctor, who is open minded, up to speed, and who is knowledgeable in the ways of the Diabetes Solution, who is in the North East part of New Jersey?

Sam

[Lisa N]

Sorry, Sam...can't help you with a referral, but one place to check would be the Atkins website www.atkincenter.com I believe that the maintain a registry of low-carb friendly doctors and they may be able to refer you to somone.
You could also check Dr. Bernstein's website, www.diabetes-normalsugars.com and perhaps they may be able to locate a low carb friendly doc close to you.

[c6h6o3]

The telephone number listed in his book for Dr. Bernstein's medical practice is:

914-698-7525

[c6h6o3]

It is, indeed, the Diabetes Center. It's unlisted.