Would your 1200 calorie high protein, low carb vs high carb answer apply to a type II diabetic on pills?

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THANK YOU! I love your reply on high protein low carbohydrate diets and have linked to it in several places on Facebook!

Would your same answer apply to a 66-year old Type II diabetic using drugs to control (no insulin)?

As far as weight loss, yes. As to best nutrition therapy for a person with Type II diabetes (non-insulin dependent), no.

A high protein, low carbohydrate weight loss diet would not be recommended for persons with diabetes as it causes ketosis (incomplete breakdown of body fat due to lack of food carbohydrates) where ketones build up in the blood and spill into the urine. This metabolic situation is similar to ketoacidosis that persons with diabetes experience when their blood sugar is high and any medication they are taking is not controlling their blood sugar within normal ranges.

A person with diabetes (on oral medication or injected insulin) should follow a diabetic nutrition therapy that counts carbohydrate servings. Each carbohydrate serving is equal to 15 grams of carbohydrate found in milk (12 grams), bread and fruit (15 grams). Vegetables have only 5 grams of carbohydrate per serving so 3 servings of vegetables would count as 1 carbohydrate serving. Meat and fats have no carbohydrates. This nutrition therapy recommends 2 – 3 carbohydrate servings at each of 3 meals and 1 – 2 carbohydrate servings at an evening snack which helps to spread out the amount of carbohydrate over a day.  In addition, diabetic nutrition therapy would have a calorie goal so that the person with diabetes can either maintain or lose weight.

Anyone with diabetes should visit their dietitian at least once a year and the appointment is usually covered by health insurance.  Ask your doctor for a referral to see a dietitian who can prescribe a nutrition therapy that would meed your weight loss and diabetes control goals with an individualized eating plan to reach weight goals.

Thanks for the Facebook links. Hopefully, your friends can learn something about healthy weight loss and diabetes.