Hey Everyone. I;m not exactly sure what is diabetes and what causes it and symptoms. also i was talking to my friend about the low carb diet i have been on for about 2 weeks, and she said i may get diabetes from this because i'm not getting enough sugar. can someone please help me with some informatoin and the effects of low carbing with diabetes or developing diabetes? thanks

Hi Ryu!

I'm not sure where you friend got her information, but she is very wrong. Low carbing will not give you diabetes. In fact, it's the diet of choice to CONTROL diabetes. I speak from experience on this one, because I'm a diabetic myself. Diabetes is caused when the body does not produce enough insulin which is the hormone that allows your body to use sugar (or carbs) for energy. It is also the hormone that is involved in fat storage in your body. Eating high levels of carbohydrates and refined sugars causes your pancreas to produce insulin at high levels which the cells of your body can become immune to over time. All this overproduction of insulin will eventually wear out your pancreas and then diabetes develops as your pancreas produces less and less insulin. This is called adult onset diabetes or type 2 diabetes. So diabetes is actually caused by TOO MUCH sugar, not by not getting enough. Diabetes that develops during childhood when the pancreas fails to produce any insulin at all is called Type 1 diabetes and always requires insulin injections to treat. The symptoms of diabetes are not always obvious and can be confused with other problems, but they include extreme thirst, frequent urination, frequent intense hunger and sometimes blurred vision. The only way to tell for sure if you have diabetes is to have your doctor run blood tests. A couple of good books to read on low carbing as it relates to diabetes are Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, The Schwarzbein Principle, Syndrome X, and Protein Power.

Thanks Lisa for the great information.

My friends reasoning for this is when you are on a low carb diet therefore you don't much sugar and carb which produces insulin. So if you don't eat enough sugars are carbs there will not be enough insulin and so you may get diabetes because you are not getting enough insulin this way. what are your thoughts on this?

Ryu...

Well...first off let's clear up some confusion on what produces insulin. It's your pancreas, not carbs or sugar. ANY food will cause your pancreas to produce insulin if your pancreas is still functioning, but carbohydrates and refined sugars will cause it to produce larger amounts (not a good thing!). As a matter of fact, your pancres will produce insulin even if you eat no food at all...just smaller amounts. High amounts of insulin in your blood stream on a long-term basis will cause a condition known as insulin resistance where the cells of your body become immune to the effects of insulin and your pancreas has to produce more and more to do the job it once did with less. This is the beginning of the downward spiral towards diabetes because as your pancreas has to work harder and harder the cells in your pancreas that produce insulin (called the beta cells) begin to burn out and stop producing it. As this process continues, eventually you will get to a point where your pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin for the sugar (called blood glucose) to get from your blood into your cells where it is needed and blood sugars begin to rise. Now you have full-blown diabetes. Once beta cells are burned out, there is very little chance that your body will make more, so once you have diabetes it's not curable. It IS manageable with a low carb diet, however, because you are not giving your body foods that break down into sugar which your body can no longer use (not enough, insulin, remember?) or are giving it so much less carb that the pancreas can handle the challenge again. A low carb diet can also prevent diabetes because it does not make the pancreas work so hard producing insulin to cover all the carbs and sugar and so keeps the beta cells in your pancreas from burning out. So....to sum it all up, your pancreas will produce insulin whether you eat a lot of carbs and sugar or not, but it will produce a lot less which is really a good thing because you are not overworking it. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to give you a good explanation that I hope you understand.

Thanks for the great reply Lisa.

I didn't know that other foods helped produce insulin too. Thanks makes me feel alot better since I got a bit scared when my friend told me about diabetes.

I have been on a low carb diet for 2 weeks now and I have already lost 10 pounds. I do find it difficult to get something quick to eat as most of the quick foods are high in carb. Also it is much more expensive, as quicks food like sandwiches and stuff is cheaper.

But I feel great and It isn't as hard to follow as I thought It would be, but I do eat alot of chicken then usual.

Thanks for the great replies, this forum is great with you people on it!!!!!

Ryu...

what I do for quick foods is keep a supply of cooked meat and veggies on hand to quickly warm up in the microwave or pack into a lunch to be warmed up later. Raw veggies work well, too, with some low carb salad dressing to dip them in. Boiled eggs are also very quick to grab on the run. Considering that I'm not buying a lot of expensive junk food and eating at fast food places all the time, this WOE really doesn't cost me much more than what I was doing before. I always buy the meats and veggies that are on sale and stock up when I find a good bargain. When considering cost, think too of the long term costs, not just in money but also in health with potential prescription drugs and doctors visits being cut way back. Sure, it CAN get expensive if you are buying a lot of low carb goodies, but we really don't need them so I consider them a luxury, not a necessity. Try not to worry too much about that diabetes thing. It's really caused by making your pancreas work too hard, not by not making it work hard enough.

I usually eat strawberries and the odd pickle for a snack at home. plus eggs too. most my meals are meat and salad usually. I thought it would be difficult for me to chang emy habits, but i am still eating delicious food and stuff and I don't mind drinking lots of water, usually have to odd diet soft drink. Me and my girlfriend are both on it so it is easier. We are planning to make low carb pastas and bread though soy protein powder instead of the flours. We will see how that goes.

Thanks for all your help and information. You are really terrific!!!