Fruit & Blood Sugar Spikes

[ralong]

Hello Everyone,

Okay, so I picked up this month's First for Women magazine and read all about eating recommendations from the nutritionists from The Biggest Loser.  The article discourages eating fruit alone as it cautions that it will cause blood sugar to spike leading to fatigue and cravings. And yet, here we all are, some of us with a lot of weight to lose and some of us having lost a lot of weight already by using the eat fruit alone strategy, essentially challenging this Biggest Loser rule. I'd love to hear from Roger and others feel about turning this theory upside down with the LDL eating plan.

Rebecca   

[Sweet_Pea]

Hi Rebecca,

I'm a diabetic on insulin and this program works well for me.  I have the fruit in the morning and feel very good with lots of energy.  I also have fruit for dinner.  I feel better than I have in years,  following the old rules of eating very little fruit.  I can tell you it works but you must try it for your self to experience the wealth that comes from this way of eating.  I work out in the yard and haven't done that for years.  So I praise it highly. 

I don't reccommend eating fruit in between meals as this causes your blood sugars to rise again and will not stabilize the blood sugars  and therefore your appetite doesn't change.  As your blood sugars stabilize, you have less appetite.  At least that is the way I understand it.

Hope you have a great day.

Hugs, Carrole

[ralong]

Thanks Sweet Pea, I appreciate your feedback. I am just so floored that we have been discouraged from this way of eating for so long and yet it seems to be very effective for so many here who struggle with weight and health issues.

Continued great health to you!

Rebecca

[greenheron]

I would have to see what the the rest of the Biggest Loser plan included....rice?  bread?  pasta?  potatoes? 

Anytime you have a successful eating plan, whether it's Weight Watchers or South Beach or LDL or Atkins or Biggest Loser, you have to stress some foods while limiting or eliminating others...things have to balance.  It's not always pleasant or satisfying, and some plans are just plain wrong for some people.

I expect there are a few people who have found LDL was not for them.  So be it.  Obviously it's working for an awful lot...we're proving that, more and more every day.  There are plenty of people here who do test their blood sugar, and they're the ones who have health problems that prompted them to get a meter in the first place.  For everyone else without those health factors, we REVEL  in the fruit!!  Our own bodies and reactions tell us that the fruit is just fine, thank you.

[Believing I Can]

Hi Rebecca,

I completely understand your hesitation about eating all that fruit.  I felt the same way at first; since my husband is a type 2 diabetic, I was concerned because he has always been told not to eat a lot of fruit because it would spike his blood sugar.  He was following the standard diabetic diet, but could not lose any weight, even though he has been taking two diabetic medications for several years.  Before we started LDL, his fasting blood sugar was running between 180 - 205, so we decided to give it an honest try and see what would happen.  It has been 4 months since we started, and his fasting blood sugars now run below 120 on most days.  Besides that, he says his joints don't hurt like they used to and he is getting more energy every day.  So, based on our own nonscientific trial, for us, LDL clearly turns the Biggest Loser theory upside down.  We love this program - it gives us good, nutritional food to eat, and does not police our portions or make us count every morsel we put in our mouths.  AND we get the added benefit of losing weight!!!    What's not to like??? 

[Jerzygrl09]

Many years ago, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond wrote a fit for life book and in it they advocated (and still do to this day) having only fruit before Noon. Easily digested, healthy and they said the body in the a.m. is an an "elimination" cycle, so fruit is the best choice. You have to read between the lines here...    I too was afraid of so much fruit - I have it for dinner most days, but I'm doing well nevertheless.

[mom]

I am fairly new to this program, and am also a type 2 diabetic. I have watched what I ate since being diagnosed, no juices, whole fruits only with meals, limited fruits, pastas, only whole wheat bread.  Even with all that, my fasting sugars where higher than the normal, and my last HgbA1C was elevated even above the allowable for diabetics, my Primary Care Physician was ready to add yet another medication to the one I was already taking twice a day.  I requested 3 months to try and turn things around, and wasn't having a lot of success, dispite increasing my exercise to daily.  The beginning of May, I read the ldl article in Womens First magazine, then spent about a week looking at this sight, asking some questions, and then ordered the book.  I monitor my blood sugars frequently, so that I know what effect the diet changes are having, I have had to modify the fruit smoothies some, (I can only use 1/2 banana in a smoothie,)my morning blood sugars are between 80 and 110 and the ones 2 hours after I have had a fruit smoothie are usually between 90 -120.  Popcorn is the other thing that seems to be making my sugars go up, but by having beans when I eat, or putting beans in my smoothies, my sugars are lower than they have been in 3 years.  the proof will be in July when I get my repeat HgbA1C and the middle of June when I get to step on the scale again to see if I have lost any weight.  (although I bought a skirt on friday that was a size smaller than what I normally wear.)

[Sparkle]

Mom,
  I, too, am a type 2, very out of control for the past year because no one could give me straight answers about my disease and I decided (like a spoiled 2 year old) to simply eat whatever the heck I wanted and gave up trying to control it. 

Risking sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I have come to believe that the whole system that was supposed to educate you and me about our bodies has some pretty unholy alliances with drug companies and others. I simply cannot/will not trust them.    But THAT is a story (or rant!) for another day...

While LDL seems completely counter-intuitive to all I have been told about Type 2, I cannot easily dismiss the success those with diabetes on this board have had, and they, unlike the ADA, have nothing to gain by being dishonest. So starting next week, I'll do my own investigation and see what my next A1C has to say about it. Surely fresh fruit and veggies will find me in a better place than brownie binges. 

[mom]

no matter what they say about ldl, you can't argue with the success stories, and you do have to watch and see what works best for you.  I can only believe that I will be healthier and happier eating foods that are less processed, and more like those God gave us in the garden of eden.  I know that in just over 2 weeks of eating ldl lifestyle, my morning sugars are within normal, and I'm not going to argue with that.  I also work night shift, 1 week on 1 week off, so even with that messing with my system, I am being successful.  praying that you will be successful to.  would love to hear about your successes.

[grambonnie5]

I just started the ldl program and already feel much more energy. I have not been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but with insulin resistance and I want to stop it in it's tracks - before it turns into diabetes. I was concerned with the fruit but have felt great so will continue. I am waiting until the beginning of next week to take my blood sugar and see where it is at. It usually runs around 110 so not to high but higher than it should be. I know the fruit cannot be as harmful as some of the junk I have eaten in the past. The success stories are so impressive and give me such hope. I am so tired of the yo-yo dieting and the feelings of hopelessness that I have felt everytime I have started a new "DIET" and have lost some weight but regained it when going off. I want it to be different this time. I have seriously started a new diet every week when the new "Womens World" magazine comes out. I have been so confused at what to even start or which one to follow. I feel so blessed to have come across this program. There are enough struggles in this life without weight being the one I think of first thing in the morning-all day-and then the last thing I think of at night.

[ralong]

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful feedback. You are all so supportive on this site.

Rebecca