Carbs are actually not the enemy. Carbs also don’t cause diabetes. The blanket recommendation of “avoid carbs” for diabetes management is incredibly unhelpful, impractical and not backed by science or real life experience. So, I wanted to share some (hopefully refreshing) tips that you won’t normally find on a google search.
These tips are centered around the basics of human digestion and metabolism. Carbohydrate restriction is not sustainable. It is well established that dietary restraint is unsuccessful and more harmful than helpful. My overall philosophy when working with my clients is to empower them with knowledge and understanding of their own unique body. The way food works in the body is incredibly nuanced, complex and varies based on many factors, which is why a “good food/bad food” approach is simply nonsensical. My hope is that the following information will inform you on how to eat, instead of what not to eat for both diabetes management and prevention.
Tip 1: Macronutrient Pairing
This sounds like a fancy phrase but it’s actually quite simple. The idea here is that, for the most part, you want to avoid eating carbohydrates alone. Instead, pair carbohydrates with other food groups - namely proteins and/or fats (meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, beans, cheese, oils, butter). The science behind this tip has do with human digestion, absorption and the rate at which your meal empties from your stomach (we call this: gastric emptying).
Protein and fat helps delay gastric emptying, thus slowing down the absorption of carbohydrate and in turn, avoiding a blood sugar spike. A meal containing carbohydrate, protein and fat helps with satiety, keeps you full, improves blood sugar control and overall meal satisfaction. One of my girlfriends had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with her daughter. I told her this tip and she was shocked at how her finger sticks improved after simply pairing carbs with other foods!
Here are some examples. The ones in bold exemplify better blood sugar control:
Fruit eaten by itself
Fruit + cheese or yogurt or nut butter or beside your salad or sandwich
Cereal + almond milk (almond milk has virtually no protein or fat)
Cereal + 2% or whole milk (adds fat and protein)
Bowl of pasta
Bowl of pasta + shrimp or chicken + vegetables (fiber also delays gastric emptying) + olive oil or cheese
Fat free yogurt
Full fat yogurt (+ Greek style for protein)
12 oz Smoothie
6 oz Smoothie + ½ sandwich or scrambled eggs
Waffles + syrup
Waffles + syrup + butter/nut butter + eggs
Tip 2: Respond to Initial Hunger Cues
Hunger is your body’s way of communicating an unmet need. The unmet need being nourishment from food, and energy in the form of glucose. Therefore, being responsive and attentive to your own body’s hunger cues before they get extreme is synonymous with maintaining glycemic control.
Now, this topic is quite nuanced and individualized. We also know that hunger cues can go offline for a myriad of reasons, which is why it is super important to work with an intuitive eating counselor to help you learn about your body’s experience.
One study in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism tested the hypothesis that responding to initial hunger is associated with improvements in metabolic biomarkers, particularly insulin sensitivity (insulin sensitivity refers to how responsive your cells are to insulin – we want this to be high! The opposite of insulin sensitivity is insulin resistance, which is an indicator of diabetes). Here’s what they found:
“A 7-week training program to establish initial hunger led to significant decreases in insulin resistance, insulin and blood glucose peaks, HbA1c and pre-meal blood glucose.”
“Responding to initial hunger offers a viable alternative to low fat and low carbohydrate diets that is safe, cost-effective and likely to be met with greater acceptance since it does not involve energy deprivation.”
