Dr Bernstein diet solution question

(Liza) #8

Thank you.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #9

Apparently the body does get the last word. My body told me to buy 90% cocoa Lindt chocolate at Wal-Mart yesterday. The devil made me do it. (Actually my best friend). Haven’t had chocolate in four years!! And I am stuffed!

(O. Kur) #10

Not, if you are a T1D.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #11

While I am not familiar with Dr. Bernstein’s protocol, myself, I imagine that it would probably help Type I’s as well as Type II’s. The difference, of course, is that Type I’s absolutely require some level of exogenous insulin, but from presentations I have seen by Type I diabetics at low-carb conferences, a low-carbohydrate diet such as Dr. Bernstein’s helps keep serum glucose in the normal range, eliminating the need for the pre-prandial insulin.

Dr. Stapleton, for example has done several presentations to LCDU events (available on YouTube on the LCDU channel), showing graphs of his glucose and his daily insulin dose. He maintains that the stability of glucose levels promoted by a LCHF diet considerably minimizes the risk of hypos and consequently greatly reduces the need for insulin. He finds he does well on only his daily dose, and he doesn’t need to supplement with insulin before meals.

(Liza) #12

Thank you for this information. I am not type 1 diabetic. I’m just trying to understand the difference in ketogenic diets with the focus on more fats and Dr. Bernstein’s diabetes solution which is low carb and ketogentic but without a heavy fat macro.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

We focus on fat only because it stimulates insulin secretion so little that it is a safe source of calories. We have also found that the body is reluctant to use its store of excess fat if it’s not getting enough calories, hence the constant refrain of “eat fat to satiety.” It’s not that fat is magic, or anything, just that we shouldn’t be depriving our body of energy. It needs that energy to heal and to feel safe letting go of excess fat.

ETA: Also, if we’re trying to keep protein moderate, fat is the only macro left that we can eat all we want of. But the experts seem to be coming around to the idea that high protein isn’t as much of a problem as was originally assumed, so perhaps we don’t need to worry about high protein. The science on this point isn’t completely settled, however, and the experts’ recommendations vary considerably.

It seems safe to say, however, that if you are experiencing symptoms of malnutrition, you probably need more protein, and that if people are smelling ammonia on your breath, you need to cut back. That’s a pretty wide range of protein intake.

Why do I need to eat fat on a Ketogenic Diet?
(Canadian Beauty) #14

Not sure if you have been to Dr Bernstein’s but that diet is FAR from ketogenic. 800 calories a day, no fat, super restricted in the foods you eat. The minute you put something in your mouth not on the plan you will gain all of your weight back. It’s like comparing apples to avocado’s!

#15

Really well said, as usual, Paul! Great succinct explanation.

(Bunny) #16

Grinding my axe as usual:

There is not the eating of much fat required on a ketogenic diet, you simply process fat the way nature intended your genetic wiring to do without the need for much exogenous man made sugars and processed foods, the term Low Carb High Fat LCHF does not do it any justice, just as low fat could mean the same thing, it is like an ancient definition about something we understand better now!

I think that is one of the biggest misconceptions rolling around in peoples heads out their, we nudge each other here on the forum and comment about eating more fat because we can, and it is safe to eat more if you would like too, but it is not necessary, the problem is, we have been told by the powers that be, that FAT is bad, SUGAR is good when it is the polar opposite of what the financially invested want us to believe so they can fill their pockets with your money to put you in an earlier grave, because they simply want to remain ignorant or know it is wrong but will do it anyway as long as they can go undetected without consequence (sociopaths)!

So now people think non-hydrogenated saturated animal fats are bad to eat when it is the hydrogenated (man made stuff) trans fats in vegetable and animal oils/fats and the eating of sugar on top of it (the worst thing you can do) that’s apparently the root cause for the obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease (etc.) and the vast majority of common health problems world wide that are not coincidently natural, I can see no other explaination for it!

Unprocessed extra virgin fats/oils from animals, plants (if you don’t heat it) alone will not harm you and are beneficial to the human body!

Sugar by itself (and eating fat with it) and eating too much of it will severely damage the body extensively with enough time and is the core attribute of 95% of the deaths world wide, the root cause being, eating too much of it!

(Liza) #17

There is another Bernstein and Bernstein Diet online that is not Dr Richard Bernstein who has championed low carb eating for diabetics. Dr. Richard Bernstein is medium fat, low carb. I have brought my sugars under control with his methods before doing keto. Which the both are very low carb. I have been considered pre diabetic but I am definitely insulin resistant and metabolic syndrome. Losing on keto but very slowly. Since Apr 18 with no slips 174 and now 159. Ketosis the whole time.

(TJ Borden) #18

It’s almost annoying how smart and articulate @PaulL is. :joy:

(Liza) #19

No counting calories only low carb.

(TJ Borden) #21

Hunger is your body’s way of telling you it needs energy. Most of us just aren’t used to trusting it because the hunger and satiety signals get fucked up on a SAD.

With keto, and fat adaptation, you can trust those signals again. The reason many notice a reduction in hunger is because those signals are working again and your body is getting energy from stored fat. Now, when you’re hungry, it means your body has pulled what it can from storage and needs you to eat.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #24

T.J.'s post pretty much explains it, but it might help you to know also that there is a maximum amount of fat per day that you can take out of your fat cells, so there is a limit on how many calories you can get per day from internal sources. And this limit goes down, of course, as you burn off your excess fat.

Richard did a fascinating post on this in the Science forum, and it explains why, in general, we need to eat, even when we are getting calories from our excess fat, and why lean people have trouble fasting (of course, the body can also use muscle tissue for fuel, but that is usually not a good thing).

(TJ Borden) #25

I loved that episode. That’s what actually got me thinking about a super long fast. I have enough stored energy to meet ALL of my caloric needs for quite a while.

I also wonder though, Richard talked about the max, but does that necessarily mean that’s what the body will ACTUALLY pull, or it’s just somewhere up to that point.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #26

My guess is that, under the right circumstances (i.e., fasting), the body will go right up to the max. Whether the max will be enough, that is the question.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #30

Either that, or the person gets really hungry and has to stop fasting. One of the things they noticed from people’s experience in the concentration camps in Germany, was that the body held on to some fat until quite late in the starvation process. It seems there is a mechanism to try to balance things as much as possible. (Fat and protein are both essential to various processes in the body. It must be quite a juggling act.)

(TJ Borden) #35

Which for most people, it won’t

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #38

It could be low sodium, because sodium, potassium, and magnesium all regulate the levels of the other two.

Apparently, from recent research, the healthiest daily amount of sodium is 5 g, which translates to 2-1/2 tsp of table salt (includes salt already naturally in the food). I don’t really know how much magnesium and potassium we need, however. Sorry!

ETA: During a fast, you would want to drink to thirst; just don’t overdrink. Supplementing electrolytes could indeed be helpful, too. Some people recommend a cup of bone broth a day while fasting, for that reason. It supplies electrolytes but doesn’t have enough calories to break your fast.

(Running from stupidity) #40

Finally!