I was reading an article the other day (can't find the link) that was basically discussing the dangers of a high fat diet when combined with a high carb diet. Actually the article was advocating a high carb diet but also saying that fats needed to be kept low for health reasons.

The article was mainly about diabetes and that a low fat (20% or less), high carb diet is good for diabetics and if you choose to eat a high fat diet, then it better not also be a high carb diet. Apparently it is the combo of high fat and high carb that wreaks havoc on the body.

I'm not diabetic but I am prone to insulin issues and I think the issues echo with my own issues. I was afraid of following a high carb diet for years because I always had issues when I introduced carbs into my diet. So I followed a restricted carb, moderate fat (30% or less) diet and did fine. I was amazed when I switched to a high carb/low fat diet and felt better than ever.

I think this kind of echos what people have been doing in the low fat versus low carb debate. Low carbers think it is the way to go while low fatters think it is the way to go. I think both options are viable and it really depends on the individual person on what they prefer. Although sometimes it seems that low carb is complete opposite to low fat, how could complete opposites both be healthy for the body?

Maybe it is just avoiding the high fat/high carb combination (which is definitely the standard american diet) that is the answer?

This is interesting.

How do you know if you have insulin issues? I mean my blood work comes back with the nasty cholesterol number high and everything else is fine. I've read here that some of you have insulin resistance. Can you tell that without blood work? Does it make you feel different? My sister is diabetic and has to watch her insulin intake. She loves fruit but has to watch out. She has to sit down. She says she can feel it.

I'm just wondering if any of you found that out about yourselves before it was confirmed with blood work.

I've always heard that there really are just 2 types of diet. High carb/low fat or low carb/high fat. I'm trying to limit fat but I'm finding it difficult to do both low carb/low fat.

Boy oh boy do I with I could have high fat/high carb and still lose weight. Wouldn't that be a fun diet?

Mare,

I have PCOS and I have hypoglycemia. Both of them are related to insulin issues although they aren't diabetes. You can test for both with blood tests but tests aren't always accurate, blood sugar is a funky thing Before I started following a low fat diet, if I ate a high carb meal (even if the carbs were complex), shortly after I'd get shaky, naseous, feel like I needed to pass out, etc. Also, the carbs would give me intense hunger cravings.

Now, I can eat a high carb meal and I'm fine. I do find I still have to be careful with bread though but I think that is just because I have a bread addiction. I'm fine if I eat a couple pieces of bread but sometimes if I know more bread is available, I'll want to eat it. If I eat a sandwich while I'm eating out, the same thing doesn't happen.

Hey nelie and cbmare!

You know, this reminds me of food combining--the Suzanne Somers (and others) approach. The idea there was, if you ate carbs, you just ate carbs (and vegetables of various kinds)--but you didn't get fats or protein mixed in. Likewise, if you ate proteins and fats (and vegetables), you didn't eat carbs with them. This was said to be a European style of eating. I tried it for awhile, and my digestion worked much better. However, I can't say that I lost much weight doing that. OTOH, I wasn't particularly trying to.

Carbs with fats form the basis of most junk foods and foods that pile on the pounds, for me at least. Ice cream is one of the worst offenders--high fat and sugar! Pasta with rich oily sauces and meats is another. Heck, Doritos and the like! Soooo bad.

I definitely try to avoid the high carb/high fat combination! I'm not willing to try high carb alone, though--in my own case, I need more protein...

Jay

Hmm, Now I am a little concerned...

I am Vegan so my diet is def high carb (mostly complex) but its also relatively high fat, especailly if I am not careful (I cook with olive oil/sunflower oil and eat whole nuts and or peanut butter a couple times a day). I havent done the math but I feel like a couple ounces of walnuts and almond milk with my cereral HAS to be better than the Bacon egg and cheese roll I had before.

Do we know if the kind of fat you consume makes a difference on the effect on inuslin?

I am definitly at risk for diabetes even though the last time I had my blood tested for it I was okay (granted that was almost 8 years ago) so Im worried that my diet may be doing me harm but I feel really good when I eat this way and my overall calorie intake is much lower that it ever was before...could I really be doing harm in the long run?

I think perhaps it's time to define what is meant by high carb and high fat. nelie, can you give some specifics?

Jay

House_of_mirth,

I brought the topic up for discussion and really there are lots of studies on various diets. The particular article I read was talking about a vegan diet and specifically saying be careful with your fats, even healthy ones.

From your description, it doesn't sound like you are eating a high fat diet though. A couple ounces of nuts here and there sounds pretty healthy to me. For me, I limit nuts heavily because I can binge on them. No one can say whether or not your diet is healthy for you and as long as your blood tests come back with good results, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

House of Mirth: I'm no expert but I don't think walnuts and almond milk constitute the kind of high-fat diet the article must have mentioned. It's probably more like what Jay said -- Doritos, pasta with oily sauces, etc. Maybe spend a couple days actually tracking your fat intake just to put your mind at ease -- there are, of course, multiple things online that will help you track, or you can just do it yourself.

As for feeling the changes in blood sugar/insulin reactivity...
I definitely knew there was something wrong with the way my body reacted to food before I went in for blood tests. I was feeling tired all the time, headachey, and irritable. After eating any kind of sugar, I'd crash and just want to sleep (and if I did sleep, I'd wake up with a headache and feel hung-over). As nelie mentioned, if I ate just carbs for a snack or something, I would get hungry almost immediately after. Turns out I'm hypoglycemic, because my pancreas waits too long to produce insulin after I eat sugar/carbs, and when it does finally start producing, it produces too much!

So if you're paying attention to how you feel, and how you feel after eating certain foods, it's totally possible to catch blood sugar and insulin issues before going to the doctor. Of course, only a Dr. can tell you for sure, and only a Dr. can give you real medical advice, etc... But problems with glucose and insulin will most likely be noticeable by you.

That's all Just wanted to weigh in on that issue. If you manage to come across the original article I'd be interested in seeing it.

From the particular article (and other articles I've read on a high carb/low fat diet) indicate fat under 20% although they never seem to give specifics on carb percentages although usually above 60%.

I know we had a recent discussion in another thread about various diets, including the natural eskimo/masai diet which are very low carb (again no percentages) but those following the natural diets are very healthy. Which is the opposite of the natural chinese diet which is low fat but high carb (again no percentages).

And really I was basing the discussion on things I've read in the past where people lowering their intake of carbs improves insulin levels as well as lowering intake of fat also improves insulin levels. Seems quite opposite but both seem to have the same effect.

Same goes for heart disease. Atkins and other low carb diets claim to decrease risk for heart disease but so do low fat vegan diets such as Eat to Live. Again, seems quite opposite but both claim to have the same effect.