Post by Enchantress on Oct 13, 2004 14:20:24 GMT -5
Bye-Bye Bread
After being diagnosed with insulin resistance, I’m learning to live without carbs
By Donna Raskin
I had what I thought was an unrelated batch of symptoms: I was tired all the time, even though I got plenty of sleep and had a fairly low-stress life; my skin, which was always prone to breakouts, looked worse than ever; no matter what I did, I couldn’t lose weight; and, worst of all, my hair was suddenly falling out. My doctor suspected a thyroid problem, but when tests revealed hormone levels in the normal range, she sent me to an endocrinologist for further exploration.
The specialist took one look at me and said, “You’re insulin resistant.” The tell-tale signs? The hair loss and something else I hadn’t considered relevant: a rash under my arms, around my neck and on my back. I had been sure the dark patches were either a fungal infection from the gym or a reaction to fabric softener.
He told me that insulin resistance, which is a precursor to Type 2 diabetes and also increases your risk of heart attack and stroke, occurs when your pancreas improperly reacts to food, specifically to carbohydrates. When you eat, the pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream, which helps transport the energy in food (glucose) into your cells. But if you’re insulin resistant, your cells respond sluggishly to the insulin. Glucose then builds up in the blood, which triggers the release of more insulin. This cycle makes you tired, especially after eating, and leads to high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure and other equally serious symptoms. Experts suggest that 10 to 25 percent of the adult population may be resistant to insulin to some degree.
My endocrinologist put me on the diabetes medication metformin (Glucophage), even though my blood sugar levels were fine, and told me I had to eat a low-carb diet. This meant no more than 75 grams of carbs a day—roughly equivalent to one cup of salad, one apple and two slices of bread. “No bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cake, cookies or fruit,” he warned.
His plan seemed pretty drastic to me, and I was particularly skeptical about eliminating all fruit, but I realized that I probably did need to eat fewer carbs than I’d been consuming. Always a spaghetti lover, it was easy for me to polish off two bowls of pasta (albeit whole wheat) for dinner. Plus, although I ate the proper number of calories for my height and weight, a lot of them came from precisely the foods my doctor told me to eliminate.
So, I gamely cut out everything he mentioned. And, after two days, I did feel a lot better. But then the cravings began. After a while, my blood sugar, which was affected by both my medication and my new diet, was so low that I couldn’t focus on my work. I did lose five pounds, but I felt so crummy—light-headed, irritable and exhausted—that I couldn’t even enjoy it.
And then I went on a three-day carbohydrate binge. Not cake and cookies, but spaghetti, rice and lots of whole-wheat bread. By the end of a week, the five pounds I’d lost came back. I knew my doctor was right about my condition, but it was clear to me that he didn’t seem to be completely right about the solution.
I had to figure out a way to eat better and still feel good. To find the answers, I called endocrinologist Cheryle Hart, M.D., and Mary Kay Grossman, R.D., coauthors of The Insulin-Resistance Diet (McGraw-Hill) and staff directors of the Wellness Workshop in Spokane, Washington. Dr. Hart’s advice was reassuring. My diet would change, but not as drastically as my doctor had recommended. “Only eating a very low-carb diet is not desirable for a person with insulin resistance because it doesn’t correctly address the problem,” said Dr. Hart.
In order to keep insulin levels stable, she said, the most important thing is to keep the amount of carbohydrates you eat at each meal equal to the amount that your body can use within a short period. In other words, I shouldn’t simply cut carbs drastically, I should learn how to consume them wisely. And, thankfully, Grossman concurred with my belief that I shouldn’t limit how much fruit I ate. “A healthy diet for adults includes at least seven servings of fruits and vegetables and three servings of whole grains each day,” said Grossman. “But a 24-ounce glass of orange juice with toast and cereal for breakfast is not reasonable, even though all of these foods are a healthy part of anyone’s diet,” she added. If you have insulin resistance, all of those carb calories will make you feel fatigued and lead to weight gain. A better meal, she said, would be an apple with some cottage cheese or peanut butter.
I asked Dr. Hart why the old low-carb diet made me feel so awful. “Carbohydrates play a critical role in mood and craving control,” she explained. “They are necessary for synthesis of serotonin, which is the brain’s main mood stabilizer and appetite controller. Women have one-third less serotonin than men have, and many studies have shown that women deplete their serotonin within three weeks of dieting.” This is why women are especially prone to carb-bingeing and depression when their carbohydrate intake is too low to make serotonin, she said.
I’ve been following this diet now for more than a year and am happy with it. Not only is it easy to stick to, but it has kept excess weight off and mellowed my mood swings and energy level variations. I showed the book to my endocrinologist and he took me off the medication and told me to continue with the plan, which is as good a recommendation as you can get.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about giving up high-sugar foods was the impact on my skin. Long plagued by blemishes, enlarged pores and dark spots, my skin seemed to miraculously clear up once I gave up any food with sugar or white flour. The funny thing about this was that once, during a particularly bad breakout, I had assumed the problem was directly related to my morning coffee habit. It turns out that the real culprit was the doughnut that went with the coffee. And, frankly, for me it was much easier to give up the doughnut than the coffee!
It’s not always easy to pay attention to nutrition labels, but I believe that the effort is definitely worth it. And I think about that every time I choose to snack on peanut butter instead of a few cookies.
8 Keys to Low-Carb Eating
1. Limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat at any meal to around 40 grams. Keep in mind that all carbs are not equal. High-fiber, complex carbs, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains, will not raise your blood sugar as drastically as simple carbs, such as white bread and white pasta.
2. Eat protein with each meal, which will keep your blood sugar levels stable and decrease your cravings for sugar. Good sources include fish, poultry, lean cuts of meat, lowfat dairy products and beans. For every 7 grams of protein you eat, you can complement it with 15 grams of carbs (but stick to the 40 grams of carbs a meal rule).
3. Limit saturated and hydrogenated fats, such as butter, animal fats and the fat in processed foods, but eat moderate amounts of plant-based unsaturated fats and oils, such as olive oil and nuts. This will help you feel more satisfied while you’re limiting your carbohydrate intake.
4. Don’t cut out entire food groups or types of food, such as all breads or dessert. The point is to learn how to eat wisely and make good choices, not to deny yourself good foods, including fruits and whole grains. And ignore silly advice like “Don’t eat carrots or peas.” No one eats enough of these foods to gain weight or make their blood sugar levels swing. Also, most people eat carrots and peas with something else, usually a protein or a fat, which cuts down on the potential sugar rush.
5. Avoid processed foods and commercial baked goods, especially those that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
6. Don’t forget about portion size. Just because something is low carb doesn’t mean you can eat as much of it as you want. Calories still count.
7. Do some sort of exercise, such as walking, every day. It will not only keep your weight down, but also combat insulin resistance.
8. Allow yourself to splurge once in a while. But try to include a protein with that high-carb treat to mellow the insulin response.
www.womansday.com/article.as...7&page_number=1
After being diagnosed with insulin resistance, I’m learning to live without carbs
By Donna Raskin
I had what I thought was an unrelated batch of symptoms: I was tired all the time, even though I got plenty of sleep and had a fairly low-stress life; my skin, which was always prone to breakouts, looked worse than ever; no matter what I did, I couldn’t lose weight; and, worst of all, my hair was suddenly falling out. My doctor suspected a thyroid problem, but when tests revealed hormone levels in the normal range, she sent me to an endocrinologist for further exploration.
The specialist took one look at me and said, “You’re insulin resistant.” The tell-tale signs? The hair loss and something else I hadn’t considered relevant: a rash under my arms, around my neck and on my back. I had been sure the dark patches were either a fungal infection from the gym or a reaction to fabric softener.
He told me that insulin resistance, which is a precursor to Type 2 diabetes and also increases your risk of heart attack and stroke, occurs when your pancreas improperly reacts to food, specifically to carbohydrates. When you eat, the pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream, which helps transport the energy in food (glucose) into your cells. But if you’re insulin resistant, your cells respond sluggishly to the insulin. Glucose then builds up in the blood, which triggers the release of more insulin. This cycle makes you tired, especially after eating, and leads to high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure and other equally serious symptoms. Experts suggest that 10 to 25 percent of the adult population may be resistant to insulin to some degree.
My endocrinologist put me on the diabetes medication metformin (Glucophage), even though my blood sugar levels were fine, and told me I had to eat a low-carb diet. This meant no more than 75 grams of carbs a day—roughly equivalent to one cup of salad, one apple and two slices of bread. “No bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, cake, cookies or fruit,” he warned.
His plan seemed pretty drastic to me, and I was particularly skeptical about eliminating all fruit, but I realized that I probably did need to eat fewer carbs than I’d been consuming. Always a spaghetti lover, it was easy for me to polish off two bowls of pasta (albeit whole wheat) for dinner. Plus, although I ate the proper number of calories for my height and weight, a lot of them came from precisely the foods my doctor told me to eliminate.
So, I gamely cut out everything he mentioned. And, after two days, I did feel a lot better. But then the cravings began. After a while, my blood sugar, which was affected by both my medication and my new diet, was so low that I couldn’t focus on my work. I did lose five pounds, but I felt so crummy—light-headed, irritable and exhausted—that I couldn’t even enjoy it.
And then I went on a three-day carbohydrate binge. Not cake and cookies, but spaghetti, rice and lots of whole-wheat bread. By the end of a week, the five pounds I’d lost came back. I knew my doctor was right about my condition, but it was clear to me that he didn’t seem to be completely right about the solution.
I had to figure out a way to eat better and still feel good. To find the answers, I called endocrinologist Cheryle Hart, M.D., and Mary Kay Grossman, R.D., coauthors of The Insulin-Resistance Diet (McGraw-Hill) and staff directors of the Wellness Workshop in Spokane, Washington. Dr. Hart’s advice was reassuring. My diet would change, but not as drastically as my doctor had recommended. “Only eating a very low-carb diet is not desirable for a person with insulin resistance because it doesn’t correctly address the problem,” said Dr. Hart.
In order to keep insulin levels stable, she said, the most important thing is to keep the amount of carbohydrates you eat at each meal equal to the amount that your body can use within a short period. In other words, I shouldn’t simply cut carbs drastically, I should learn how to consume them wisely. And, thankfully, Grossman concurred with my belief that I shouldn’t limit how much fruit I ate. “A healthy diet for adults includes at least seven servings of fruits and vegetables and three servings of whole grains each day,” said Grossman. “But a 24-ounce glass of orange juice with toast and cereal for breakfast is not reasonable, even though all of these foods are a healthy part of anyone’s diet,” she added. If you have insulin resistance, all of those carb calories will make you feel fatigued and lead to weight gain. A better meal, she said, would be an apple with some cottage cheese or peanut butter.
I asked Dr. Hart why the old low-carb diet made me feel so awful. “Carbohydrates play a critical role in mood and craving control,” she explained. “They are necessary for synthesis of serotonin, which is the brain’s main mood stabilizer and appetite controller. Women have one-third less serotonin than men have, and many studies have shown that women deplete their serotonin within three weeks of dieting.” This is why women are especially prone to carb-bingeing and depression when their carbohydrate intake is too low to make serotonin, she said.
I’ve been following this diet now for more than a year and am happy with it. Not only is it easy to stick to, but it has kept excess weight off and mellowed my mood swings and energy level variations. I showed the book to my endocrinologist and he took me off the medication and told me to continue with the plan, which is as good a recommendation as you can get.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about giving up high-sugar foods was the impact on my skin. Long plagued by blemishes, enlarged pores and dark spots, my skin seemed to miraculously clear up once I gave up any food with sugar or white flour. The funny thing about this was that once, during a particularly bad breakout, I had assumed the problem was directly related to my morning coffee habit. It turns out that the real culprit was the doughnut that went with the coffee. And, frankly, for me it was much easier to give up the doughnut than the coffee!
It’s not always easy to pay attention to nutrition labels, but I believe that the effort is definitely worth it. And I think about that every time I choose to snack on peanut butter instead of a few cookies.
8 Keys to Low-Carb Eating
1. Limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat at any meal to around 40 grams. Keep in mind that all carbs are not equal. High-fiber, complex carbs, such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains, will not raise your blood sugar as drastically as simple carbs, such as white bread and white pasta.
2. Eat protein with each meal, which will keep your blood sugar levels stable and decrease your cravings for sugar. Good sources include fish, poultry, lean cuts of meat, lowfat dairy products and beans. For every 7 grams of protein you eat, you can complement it with 15 grams of carbs (but stick to the 40 grams of carbs a meal rule).
3. Limit saturated and hydrogenated fats, such as butter, animal fats and the fat in processed foods, but eat moderate amounts of plant-based unsaturated fats and oils, such as olive oil and nuts. This will help you feel more satisfied while you’re limiting your carbohydrate intake.
4. Don’t cut out entire food groups or types of food, such as all breads or dessert. The point is to learn how to eat wisely and make good choices, not to deny yourself good foods, including fruits and whole grains. And ignore silly advice like “Don’t eat carrots or peas.” No one eats enough of these foods to gain weight or make their blood sugar levels swing. Also, most people eat carrots and peas with something else, usually a protein or a fat, which cuts down on the potential sugar rush.
5. Avoid processed foods and commercial baked goods, especially those that contain high-fructose corn syrup.
6. Don’t forget about portion size. Just because something is low carb doesn’t mean you can eat as much of it as you want. Calories still count.
7. Do some sort of exercise, such as walking, every day. It will not only keep your weight down, but also combat insulin resistance.
8. Allow yourself to splurge once in a while. But try to include a protein with that high-carb treat to mellow the insulin response.
www.womansday.com/article.as...7&page_number=1