Fiber

[Ltactics1]

Will mixing high fiber foods with low fiber foods slow the blood sugar spike of the low fiber food?

For, example : If I eat honey by itself compared to honey and,spinach ( more fiber)will it make, a difference for the blood spike caused by the honey?

Or should we, avoid low fiber foods to begin with? White rice is, a low fiber food, but is recommended by mcdougal for treating type 2 diabetes, so I'm confused. Thanks.

[patty]

I have a feeling the honey will spike the blood sugar, no matter what it is mixed with. White rice, is a grain that is why it is acceptable. I would ask Jeff Novick on his forum. He really clarified a lot of things for me. He is the best. His Calorie Destiny dvd is temporary online now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CdwWliv7Hg

Aloha, patty

[colonyofcells]

Brown rice is recommended but white rice is allowed. Honey is not food but a condiment and should only be used in small amounts. Pretty much all unrefined plant foods and fungi will have plenty of fiber. Fruits have less fiber compared to vegetables and it is not necessary to eat fruits in a Dr mcdougall diet. Dr Mcdougall diet does limit fruits.

[roundcoconut]

If you develop a deep understanding of how food works, then you'll be able to make your way forward comfortably and competently.

If you try to apply one principle to the ideas and concepts you've picked up along the way -- some of them faulty -- then your success is not quite so predictable or natural.

The concepts that we've been taught from mainstream America -- Dr. Oz-style nonsense -- can fall by the wayside. "How much fiber should I be getting?" is not the best lens through which to construct a diet, nor "What foods spike my blood sugar?"

The lens of whole food, calorie dilute, minimally processed is a much better foundation. On top of that foundation, there are further concepts like satiety (such as chew your food, don't blend it, don't drink it, don't swallow it in a pill); concepts like Pleasure Trap foods (sugar, oil and salt and how they'll mess you up -- and by sugar, yes, we mean honey too); and concepts like triaging your effforts (don't microfocus on getting enough niacin in your diet, when you aren't yet implementing known "big picture" stuff, like exercising, and staying away from cigarettes and alcohol).

Are you willing to go deep and read the basics on the Jeff Novick forum? I think that would give you a good foundation!

[vgpedlr]

Will mixing high fiber foods with low fiber foods slow the blood sugar spike of the low fiber food?

Yes. All foods eaten together get mixed into a "soup" by the stomach. This is one of the major shortcomings og=f the Glycemic Index: it tests foods in isolation, but people usually eat foods in combination.

Or should we, avoid low fiber foods to begin with? White rice is, a low fiber food, but is recommended by mcdougal for treating type 2 diabetes, so I'm confused. Thanks.

Fiber is your friend for many reasons so it's best to choose foods with intact fiber as much as possible. White rice is accepted because what matters most is the context of the whole diet. You could eat white rice and get plenty of fiber in your meals from other sources, such as veggies and legumes. You could also eat white rice and be lacking in fiber if you combined it with low fiber foods like meat or refined foods. It's worth remembering that Dr. Kempner got good results with a diet based on white rice and fruit.

[Ltactics1]

Thank you for the responses. I have eliminated honey and have been eating fewer nuts just in case, as well as fewer starches in one meal, replaved by more green leafy vegetables. I can't check my blood sugar currently, but I noticed the light headed ness I usually feel when standing up is decreasing as I get more active and eat better.

What are some of you guys staple meals?

[Willijan]

Thank you for the responses. I have eliminated honey and have been eating fewer nuts just in case, as well as fewer starches in one meal, replaved by more green leafy vegetables. I can't check my blood sugar currently, but I noticed the light headed ness I usually feel when standing up is decreasing as I get more active and eat better.

What are some of you guys staple meals?

My staple meals are oatmeal, baked potatoes, both Russet and Yukon Gold, various soups heavy on potatoes, various recipes based on beans/lentils with added vegetables.

Eating lots of starches, in most every meal, is basic to this diet. That is what makes it work. If you try to live on green leafy vegetables instead, you will be hungry most of the time. Starches--potatoes, corn, other grains, sweet potatoes, beans, squash--are where you should get enough calories to maintain a reasonable weight level. Add vegetables.

[barryoilbegone]

Just to add to the mix of the earlier discussion, please know that the primary cause of type 2 diabetes for most people (which is affecting insulin sensitivity) is high amounts of fats (oils and animal fat). Not sugar, in the first instance - even refined sugar. That's why removing this from the diet causes type 2 diabetes reversal in most cases - even eating a refined food high in simpler sugar molecules, like white rice, because white rice is a very low fat food.

Google for Dr McDougall's writings on type 2 diabetes for more info

[Ltactics1]

Barry, is it fat, or simply mixing high amounts of fat with high amounts of sugar, and what is the, research of this?

[barryoilbegone]

Biologically speaking, it starts with fats: high amounts of these as a percentage of the diet (think above about 10-15% of calories, and especially animal fat and oils) act to block insulin receptors in the body's cells. This leaves sugar we also eat remaining in the bloodstream, where it cannot be metabolized fully, and starts to damage the body's tissues over time.

Treatment can be based on the considerations John has set out here, but note it's not only he that follows this, and many of the steps he advocates were not invented by him (as he points out, and references to the research can be found):

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2009nl ... abetes.htm

If it feels strange to hear this, don't worry. Most people are (wrongly) being told that sugar is the devil, the evil. If it is why do our brain and muscles dominantly prefer and use glucose (sugar) for fuel? It might be worth thinking about what forms sugar gets to us. The biological key is typically high amounts of complex carbohydrate (slower metabolised) sugars alongside small amounts of fat, that then does not "takeover" the insulin receptors in cells. Most Westerners have it the other way around: that's why they're sick in many cases from type 2.

[colonyofcells]

Instead of debating fat vs carb, what we know is that unrefined plant based eating patterns like the dr mcdougall diet helps manage diabetes :
unrefined starch and vegetables (does not need to be eaten in the same meal)
unrefined starch and beans, peas, lentils, and vegetables (does not need to be eaten in the same meal)
my personal examples of this eating pattern :
whole grain pasta and vegetables and mushrooms (I just boil and pour over greens)
brown rice and vegetables and mushrooms (I soak the brown rice overnight and boil and pour over greens)
I prefer to cook with lots of water since water makes the fiber expand. I also exercise after each meal.
In the dr mcdougall diet, there is a 1 cup (cooked) limit on beans, peas and lentils to avoid too much protein.
For mushrooms, I buy the white mushrooms with vitamin d at safeway.