To think there is a poor understanding of a healthy diet?

[LivelyLemonQuoter]

I think most people think they know what a healthy diet looks like, but in reality they do not. I see so many comments on MN that demonstrate this.

The most common one is that fruit should be limited because of its sugar content. This is very bad advice. Sugar in fruit has little impact on our blood sugar levels. And most people in the UK do not eat enough fruit.

The other is concern over eating any carbs. Wholemeal bread and pasta is fine, carbs in pastry and doughnuts is not great though.

And most people need to eat more nuts. Nuts are very good for you and should be part of your regular diet.

Ok I'll bite seeing as I've been reading this thread with mounting frustration. You are not correct to stipulate what is a healthy diet so narrowly OP and then counter other posters' thoughts on fruit consumption with advice from Diabetes UK.

I was vegetarian for many years and still developed type 2 diabetes. If I'd followed Diabetes UK's advice I would have been screwed. Instead I did a lot of research and realised a low carb diet was the answer - and it was - I reversed my diabetes in just 3 months. If I had eaten 3 portions of fruit and pulses and kept on with wholemeal bread I would not have achieved this. How do I know? I tested my blood sugar very frequently - lentil soup spiked it - non-starchy vegetables did not. And what didn't raise it all? Health natural sources of protein such as eggs, fish, chicken and meat.

My vegetarian diet was very healthy (in my eyes) but obviously still too high in starch and sugar (bread and fruit and pulses) for my body. Diabetes can have a genetic component too - so you are not right to say your idea of a healthy diet is the 'best'. Not one diet fits all. Some people may thrive on what you stipulate, but some may not, like me.

You are being too prescriptive in what you say.

I’m not allergic, I have an autoimmune disorder.

I stand by my point. You can’t decide you have the right answers about healthy food and then say “oh not everyone”. The answer is then, “It depends”.

If I ate this:

• the oats would spike my blood sugar
• the pulses would give me gas
• all the carbs and lack of protein wouldn’t keep me full

So healthy for you isn’t what suits everyone.

For me:

Breakfast: three scrambled eggs with mushrooms and tomatoes
Lunch: a chicken breast with rocket, peppers, sweet potato and other veg
Dinner: steak with spinach, pine nuts, broccoli and roasted aubergine

A friend of mine is type 1 diabetic and her doctor told her she was eating far too much fruit.

🤪🤪🤪

Do you always just do exactly what the government tells you to do?

Not that long ago they were recommending margarine…

Agree with this. I’d wither away on that.

That carb/pulse heavy meal plan would be terrible for my body. My body thrives on animal protein with vegetables, fruits, good fats and some carbs. I do lots of exercise and move a lot in daily life and I’m very slim so need the extra energy you get from this kind of food. It also just makes me feel good 😊

I agree that If you are type 2 diabetic, restricting all carbs is definitely one way to reduce your blood glucose levels and possibly help to reverse your diabetes. Can I ask if you also lost weight when following this diet?
The thing is, it’s mainly the reduction in abdominal fat that reverses the t2dm itself. What you eat day to day does not have as much of an impact on insulin resistance (ie the cause of the diabetes).
there are many ways to improve your glucose control and reduce your insulin resistance. The way you did it obviously worked very well for you. But I would just point out that it is not a blueprint for a healthy diet for everyone. Fruit is not the enemy (for most people).
I am a diabetes specialist, and I would bet my life that for every 100 patients who want to keep directing the conversation about diet back to fruit, there might be one or two for whom the amount or type of fruit they’re eating is problematic, to the point where reducing it would impact on their glucose control.
Diet advice on Diabetes UK has to be directed at the masses. If all type 2 diabetics followed their advice to the letter, the vast majority of them would see a significant improvement in their glucose control. It’a not advice to reverse your diabetes (which isn’t possible all t2dms).
What you did was difficult, and very commendable. You have achieved something that is just not possible for most people out there living with t2 diabetes.

Anyone on here that might be obsessing.
Or anyone that isn’t on here as well in fact

I did lose weight. I understand what you are referring to, but I believe both are important - weight loss and low carb. Luckily my diabetes nurse was very supportive of my approach but I was also given a Diabetes UK leaflet with recipe ideas and meal plans etc, however, it was basically what I'd been doing for years already. My diet was healthy according to all the guidelines yet I still got diabetes. What is prescribed by Diabetes UK would have not helped me at all. During the pandemic my blood sugars (and carbs) had crept up - so I lowered my carbs and normalised my blood sugars in 2 weeks with no weight loss involved. You are the specialist and I understand I am not - but I am a specialist in what worked for me - I would say that the likes of Dr Michael Mosley and Dr Jason Fung helped me so much in a way that the standard advice did not. I can only tell you my experience - low carb was the last thing to try after years of eating 'healthily' and still gaining weight. I do agree that without weight loss you are possibly controlling diabetes (although that is still a good thing!) rather than fully reversing it - however without low carb I would not have lost the weight! PS I'd tried everything before, Slimming World, WW - you name it!

Definitely. They have found a new market in the worried well, aided and abetted by Tim Spector and the Glucose Goddess who has somehow made a career and a slavish following out of her n=1 experience.

Maybe, maybe not. I seemed to develop an intolerance over the years -- had to rethink the lentil bakes, three-bean casserole, chickpea curry etc etc, and as for tomatoes with everything, forget it!

It's annoying.

It goes far beyond Tim Spector. Try listening to what Dr James Kinross, a consultant collateral surgeon at Imperial College London has to say about the gut microbiome. It’s about supporting your gut health and always good to update yourself with with the latest scientific findings.

I ink at the end of the day a lot of people don't have the time or energy for one more thing. And the kicker is - they think cooking real recipes will be hard, because that's what they see.

Even a lot of easy Jaime Oliver type 5 ingredient things look a bit complicated compared to pre-made food. Most aren't once you've tried a few things like that, but it's getting there.

Learning some really simple things in school might be really helpful in that regard. I taught my kids how to do home made tomato soup and grilled cheese. They were amazed that the soup didn't really take loner than canned. It's cheap, tasty, most people like it. I also used to do a crock pot meal that was basically a pork roast with a carton of sauerkraut tossed over it and a lot of pepper. Not everyone like it, but my family does and it takes three minutes to prepare. Tuna melts are another quick, cheap, healthy option. But people often think it's only for lunch.

In a lot of ways I think foodie culture has made things worse instead of better.

A rise in blood sugar after eating is completely normal — it means your body is doing what it’s supposed to do. Glucose from food enters the bloodstream, insulin is released, and that glucose gets delivered to your cells for energy. This rise-and-fall cycle is part of healthy metabolism.

You should worry more if your blood sugar never rises — that could mean you're not eating enough or your body isn't responding properly. It's not the spike itself that’s harmful, but consistently high spikes or poor insulin response over time. Balance is the goal, not flatlining your blood sugar.

People with type 2 diabetes are insulin sensitive - which means they have abnormally high insulin responses to foods containing glucose. The key strategy here is to manage glucose intake, by restricting total quantity at each meal or snack, and spreading the load more evenly through the day. Mixing their intake at each meal with healthy fats or protein help to slow down the absorption of the glucose.

People with type 1 diabetes do not produce insulin, which is why they have to inject (usually) insulin, and they have to count the carbohydrates they ingest, in order to ensure they use the right amount of insulin.

This does not mean either group should avoid any fruit (or any other glucose containing food), but they need to be sensible about their intake. The same goes for any individual with a health condition that needs to be managed nutritionally, whether that be diverticulitis, IBS, IBDs, kidney disease, etc.

The reason dietitians are the go-to people for nutrition advice? Because they have the depth and breadth of knowledge about food and human digestion, that no other medical professional has (including diabetic nurses)- let alone influencers or authors who have "researched" the topic They are also heavily regulated - here in the UK by the HCPC - and can't just make stuff up.

And so what if you don't like a certain food, or feel it upsets you? There are plenty of alternatives. You don't like fruit? Then eat more veg, and vice versa (variety is the key here). Protein comes in meat, fish, nuts, pulses/legumes, and dairy. Healthy fats can be found in virgin oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, and dairy.. And so on. Western nations tend to be very lucky in the sheer variety of wholefoods available.

If you are your healthiest self on keto, then more power to you. Ditto for low-carb, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, flexitarian, Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, African, Nordic, etc. At their core, all of these ways of eating tend to have similar principles.

The goal at the end of the day is to provide your body with a wide variety of essential nutrients, so that it can operate optimally. You get to pick and choose the foods the nutrients are packaged in.

And if you want a donut (I want chocolate icing on mine) then eat a donut. Just be aware that it is a treat, and not a nutritional essential, and you will be fine.

That's all very well but personally I don't fancy being ill while I'm supposedly getting used to it! Some people just can't eat certain foods

Agree. I couldn’t eat pulses at all a few years ago. I can now eat some (and I do) but my body still doesn’t like a lot of pulses and legumes.

If you get plenty of fibre and protein elsewhere I don’t think you have to go mad!

Errrrrr, yes we are. All fruit contains natural sugars some have lots more than others. The only ones advised, to be eaten in moderation are berries. If we MUST have other fruits then apples and pears, but sparingly.

As for carbs, they are a complete no no too, they turn into sugar in the blood stream.

Your statement about carbs for cholesterol is way off too, they’re cholesterol’s worst enemy. It’s not cholesterol you need to worry about so much as the triglycerides and the hdl within. Educate yourself before you start spouting off.

you REALLY don’t know anything about being diabetic or having high cholesterol do you.

Yes, Tim Spector and the Glucose Goddess haven’t just made it up! It’s based on a LOT of research and, in TS’s case, a huge body of data.

Three portions of fruit a day would not just spike a diabetic’s blood glucose but send it off the scale (in most cases) and to do this consistently would worsen your diabetes and lead to eventual harm and even death. You cannot just eat any old fruit being diabetic and certainly not 3 portions a day.

Yes that's how your body work. Eat, spike, insulin released
No need to worry about sugar spikes unless you are diabetic

Heard it all now 😂

When I worked in a Scottish secondary school, one of my colleagues was horrified at what she saw in the Home Ec Dept... S1/Y8 pupils were being shown how to microwave a slice of ready made pizza.

I think everyone had a different metabolism. What works for one won't work for another.

When people talk about glucose spikes they’re not talking about the normal (small) rise in blood sugar caused by eating. Obviously.

Porridge spikes my blood sugar so much that I can literally feel it crashing - it makes me shake. It’s like I’ve had nothing to eat, which is why I avoid oats.

Consistently raising your blood sugar like this and then it crashing is not good for you, even if you’re not diabetic. It increases inflammation and insulin resistance.

(Edited to add - note how the poster’s blood sugar actually crashed to lower than before she’s eaten.

I think you need to reconsider your ‘advice’.