On 3/2/2012 1:03 AM, sf wrote:
On Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:25:17 -0800 (PST), charlie
wrote:

Triglycerides are way low after a year on low carb. Fats are a bit
higher, doing more substitutes now to get that down. It can be done!.

It most certainly can! Hubby had a fasting blood test today after low
carbing for only the month of February. The good news was his
triglycerides dropped significantly to 66 and his blood glucose
numbers improved - so he's encouraged to soldier on.

How do you deal with hunger? He still hasn't talked to a dietitian,
but his Dr told him to cut back on saturated fats due to a heart
blockage that was taken care of with stents and he has to watch sugars
because of prediabetes. I'd like him to eat brown rice and whole
wheat products but he's avoiding rice, corn and wheat except for a
couple of slices of w/w bread per day for a sandwich at lunch.

BTW: he's not overweight and weight loss isn't a goal - but low carb
seems to be doing good things for his numbers. Do you have any
insights for me about controlling hunger?

For those with diabetes or prediabetes, the usual advice about
whole grains often isn't a good idea. Most starches in common
foods digest about as fast as table sugar, with very similar
results on the blood glucose.

There was someone, years ago, who announced that all complex
carbohydrates would digest much slower than sugars, and
therefore needed much less control for those with diabetes,
and this was so obvious that no scientific research was needed
to prove it. Well, the scientific research was finally done
anyway, and it proved this idea WRONG.

Actually, there is a wide variety in how fast complex
carbohydrates digest. Many of the white ones, such as white
bread, corn, rice, and Irish potatoes, digest about as fast as
table sugar.

Whole grain products usually help a little, but not much.
The grains are usually ground up enough that the digestive
enzymes only need to go around the remaining portions of
the grain shell in order to start digesting them as fast
as similar white products. Some even have molasses
residue added for color, and therefore include some sugar.

Some, such as sweet potatoes and cooked dried beans, actually
digest slower.

Some, now known as fibers, cannot be digested by humans, but
can sometimes be digested by the bacteria in their large
intestines. This can produce diarrhea and intestinal gas.

Carbohydrates are not an essential part of the diet. The liver
can convert proteins into glucose more than fast enough to
supply those portions of the brain that must use glucose as
their energy source.

Low-carb diets are often harder to start than low-fat diets,
but once they are followed well for a few months, they
decrease the hunger enough to become easier to follow.

They also limit the liver's ability to convert excess sugars
in the blood into a mixture of saturated fats (a type of
triglycerides) and cholesterol.

In case someone mentions fructose, note that the body can't
do much with it. It increases the appetite, and the liver
can convert it into a mixture of saturated fats and
cholesterol. The body cannot use it for energy more
directly, only when it is finally burning off the saturated
fats.

Both low-carb diets and low-fat diets are known to help
control weight, but wouldn't you prefer the extra benefits
from low-carb diets?

If you're looking for the good type of cholesterol, note
that including omega-3 fats in the diet helps produce them.
Such fats are found in fish from cold water, and also in
walnuts. More foods as well, but those are the ones I
remember.

One problem with partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils
is that it tends to convert omega-3 fats (good, and
essential) into transfats (almost all bad).

Robert Miles