Blood Sugar Levels

[smumoo]

I have been on the McDougall program for years. My brother is 61, a type 2 diabetic (takes insulin), has high-blood pressure and is about 30 lbs. overweight. His blood sugar levels have been terrible and his Dr. has told him he is a prime candidate for kidney, eye, heart disease, etc. issues. It frightened him and he has agreed to try the McDougall plan. My question is why is his blood sugar spiking? He took it before dinner and it was 340! This was his first day on the diet and he is eating only plant/starch based, no oil/sugar foods. I know, I shopped with him and made up his meal plan. WIll the blood sugar levels get better with time. Or is there something he should or should not be doing/eating. He said he wasn't going to eat a lot for dinner and I don't think that is the answer. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't want him to get discouraged and stop just when he is getting started. Thanks so much.

[Hal]

It is my understanding that it takes a few days to have an affect, and it takes about ten days to see the results starting to show up. It might be that there's still plenty of oil and stuff that needs to metabolize before we see the turn around.
Keep it up, good luck, and keep us posted.

[smumoo]

Thank you for your reply. I'll let him know. He is determined to see it through!

[Birdy]

Hi smumoo,
I also have type 2 diabetes and have been in a similar position of questioning. As Hal said, it does take time. You and your brother would likely find Neal Barnard, M.D.'s book Preventing & Reversing Diabetes very helpful in answering some of your questions. Also, check out Jeff Novick's posts on the McDougall website. His stickies have specific information about T2DM and diet. I think Jeff believes the maximum weight loss diet (MWL) is best for people with diabetes. For more on MWL see the thread about that for a list of foods to eat and recipes. Finally, research has shown that just 10 minutes of walking around after each meal goes a long way to reduce postprandial blood sugar spikes. But it definitely takes time and other factors affect blood sugars from day to day, such as sleep, stress, and even minor illness like having a cold. As your brother loses those 30 pounds, his diabetes will improve. Weight loss has been found to be highly effective for reversing and/or improving diabetes and risk of complications. And the McDougall diet is great for weight loss.

[colonyofcells]

It does take time for weight loss to happen and it takes time to get to a normal bmi. For asians, normal bmi is actually 18 to 22. Whole foods plant based diets do have additional benefits that is not related to weight loss. While waiting for weight loss, there are some temporary tricks that can be used to avoid being alarmed by after meal blood sugar spikes : exercise after each meal, vinegar, include beans, peas and lentils (up to 1 cup cooked), ground flax, include vegetables in every meal, use tubers or intact grains like oats and barley, can get rid of fruits, have lighter dinner or skip dinner, raw or cooking methods should be steaming and boiling, influence the body to burn more calories by getting more used to colder temperatures, eat cooked mushrooms, etc.

[smumoo]

Thanks for the info.! Much appreciated.

[landog]

Neal Barnard, M.D.'s book Preventing & Reversing Diabetes

Yep

[Ern2Win]

I highly suggest that you watch Dr. McDougall's webinar on diabetes:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... -11-03-16/

One of the key points he makes is only measure blood sugar once a day....in the morning. Measuring after meals will only serve to alarm you.

[Poison Ivy]

I highly suggest that you watch Dr. McDougall's webinar on diabetes:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... -11-03-16/

One of the key points he makes is only measure blood sugar once a day....in the morning. Measuring after meals will only serve to alarm you.

I think you are absolutely correct. Postprandial BG measurements cause a lot of psychological turmoil.

[smumoo]

He watched the video, as suggested. It helped, a lot. I did also and now understand diabetes more than I ever did. Thanks for all your posts!!!

[smumoo]

My brother's blood sugar levels are coming down!!! He has reduced his insulin by 1/2. The other night he became hypoglycemic after taking his insulin and having dinner. His blood sugar plummeted to only 70! He is feeling great and loves the food. His blood pressure has gone down to normal levels. He has only been on the diet since Monday. It's amazing what good wholesome food can do for your body. His Dr. had never heard of this type of diet helping diabetes (she is an endocrinologist!). Can't thank everyone enough for your wonderful suggestions and encouragement.

[colonyofcells]

What I heard is usually, Dr mcdougall will stop insulin for type 2 diabetics who are doing the dr mcdougall diet and will just bring back the insulin if really needed to avoid hypoglycemia. Can maybe ask the endocrinologist for permission to stop the insulin.

[landog]

Dr. McDougall, in this link says:

"Diet is powerful medicine – if you’re seriously ill or on medication, don’t make a dramatic dietary change (or start an intense exercise program) without the care of a physician who knows about nutrition and its effects on health. Never change medications without professional advice and, if appropriate, share this message with your doctor."

[colonyofcells]

Dr John Mcdougall talk for PCRM (vegan group) International Conference on Diabetes :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu6uQ6GGFLo
In this talk, dr mcdougall first ensures the patient is type 2 diabetic (not type 1 or type 1.5), and either stops all the insulin or cuts the insulin by 1/3 or 2/3 and or gets rid of all the diabetes pills.
The talk seems to be from 2014 when Dr Craig McDougall was still working at Kaiser :
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/diabet ... s-schedule