I can’t believe this FUDA diet is almost over. I’m almost sad, but I’m sure a buttload of pizza tomorrow night will help me get over it.
That’s right, pizza has been chosen as the mutual mixed-meal postprandial competition between Sunshine the carbophiliac and Aurora the carbophobe.
In English, Aurora and I are going to eat pizza, a food with balanced levels of animal protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and take blood glucose tests afterwards to measure who has the superior glucose response. Seems kinda unfair seeing that I’ve dominated her so unmercifully throughout this experiment.
On morning 12 I took a 79 to 93 mg/dl victory. Today I won again by a similar margin, 85 to 97. Aurora, in her defense, did have some cyclic hormonal activity kick in during this window, which undoubtedly has effects on blood sugar (hopefully she doesn’t read this, don’t say I told you that). Still, 97 mg/dl for a fasting glucose test is enough to grant her a diagnosis of gestational diabetes if she happened to be pregnant ? which she isn’t (hallelujah!).
In other news, I’ve been dropping a lot of comments about this experiment at low-carb blogs like Jimmy Moore’s ?Livin? La Vida Low-Carb. I’ve gotten some hilarious responses. One lady mentioned that eating the amount of carbohydrates that I am without gaining weight might suggest a need to visit the local doctor. She claimed I ate more than she was when she was obese. Funny. Eating only carbs is about as fattening as drinking water. Strangely enough, the post was about glucose testing.
Anyway, stay tuned for the grand conclusion ? to be posted Monday morning at the latest. That won’t be the end of my glucose-scapade though. I’ve got a great deal more glucose testing to do on various diets, including a high-carb diet that contains tons of animal fat, high-carb with animal protein, hardcore HED, and eventually the milk diet.
But one thing we can all bank on ? the glucose and insulin mystery is much more complex than either low-carb or low-fat advocates purport. No one should conclude, like Gary Taubes has for example, that carbohydrates = insulin = fat. The following Fuhrman quote is more accurate than Taubes’s sum conclusion ? more in alignment with T.L. Cleave or M.F. Stone (that’s me stoopid):
?So, it is certainly true ? as the advocates of animal-food-rich diets, such as Atkins, Heller, Sears, and other proclaim ? carbohydrates drive up insulin levels temporarily. These writers, however, have not presented the data in accurate fashion. A diet revolving around unrefined carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes) will not raise blood sugars or insulin levels. Studies have shown that such a diet can reduce fasting insulin levels 30-40 percent in just three weeks. Obviously, a low-fat diet that is high in refined sugars and refined carbohydrates and low in fiber is not a healthy diet. To lump refined and unrefined carbohydrates together is inaccurate and misleading.
Wow I can't believe your experiment is already almost over! I just have one random question for you and that is how did your skin react to this diet? Did it seem to improve or worsen or nothing at all?
Balls enough to do the old blood test on Graham's diet? a littlee aaah.. 180 does 80 10 10.. Now, that would be interesting.
I for one appreciate the experiment. Now it is time for me to go back and start commenting on a few groups I belong to and start stirring things up again. :-)
The milk diet should be interesting. I have done it but I didn't do any testing. I felt great the entire time and muscled up very well with little effort. My skin, my hair, my digestion, sleep, and so on were fantastic.
Michael
Nutrition and Physical Regeneration
Matt did you know that BS readings are not accurate? I have found that readings taken from the left hand versus the right – WITHIN SECONDS OF EACH OTHER – vary as much as 6 to 20 points! I did this on a whim the other day and couldn’t believe my eyes. So I took my fasting BS for 4 days in a row following the same routine to see if it would repeat. And it did!
The following link explains further:
http://stason.org/TULARC/health/diabetes/14-How-accurate-is-my-blood-glucose-meter.html
Skin cleared on my face and arms immediately, but I did get some "backne" the first week. That's cleared up though. All in all, skin improvement.
Graham? Damnit. Okay, I'll do it next week, but only for 3 days at the most.
Since my blood glucose was never outside of the 79 to 87 range for the whole 2 weeks when taking fasting readings, I'm not too concerned with your comment rmarie.
Ahh, it will be sad to see Sunshine go. But thanks for once again being the guinea pig. These experiments opened up avenues and alleys I'm checking out.
Is this enzyme-related? Does the digestion get a rest so the body can heal? And what about the temporary-ness of it? What up with that? Fascinating!
If you (and dear, true Aurora) will continue taking glucose readings, for god's sake get an accu-chek lancet device. Those other kind are freaking torturous.
And speaking of glucose, I second what Marie said. I bought the RelionMicro in September because, you know I was curious. It checked out it with the control solution. However, within 30 seconds of testing one finger, then another I get readings differing by 5-7 mg/dl.
Which totally sucks. But what can we do? Isn't an inadequate tool better than no tool?
Oh, yeah. And if it's more mind-blowing, 180-flipping health antics you're looking for, I second Matt's future endorsement (in the last post) of Chloe & Harper's site.
Holy snikey those girls can stir it up.
high-five to Lisa!
Haha, dude, 3 days? Come on, it's just fruit!
Yer mattie, I did it for 2 years, the ole fruit diet and I only had my teeth fall out, plus my hair, plus my periods stopped, plus I got fatigue.
Plus Plus plus fruits good for you but only if it's raw!!!
=)
xxpxx
yeah, the fruit diet pretty much had it's way with me as well..I just thought it would be interesting to see what it's effect was on someone who has better health than I did to begin with.
It's not a mystery that a high carbohydrate diet can lower fasting blood sugar levels. The diet produces more insulin, and unless you're insulin resistant, that insulin can drive down fasting blood sugar levels.
Low carbers frequently have higher blood sugar levels do to an over-active liver using gluconeogenesis to compensate for the lower carb intake. The difference is that the low carber's insulin levels are much lower, and the post-prandial glucose tests can be lower, as well.
Snowdog, I'm afraid you've drastically oversimplified the scenario. Don't worry, I've been guilty of that too.
Low-carbers can be more insulin resistant for starters, which is why they have elevated blood sugar from the release of glycogen from the liver. Glycogen is released, but they can't store it, causing compensatory hyperinsulinemia.
Secondly, a high-carb diet may be a better way to overcome insulin resistance, which lowers insulin levels regardless of carbohydrate intake – and the blood sugar elavations are minimal and very brief before returning to normal after meals. Secreting insulin upon the ingestion of some carbs is not the problem. That's normal and natural – it's the compensatory release of excess insulin to overcome insulin resistance and the higher fasting levels of both glucose and the hormone itself that matter most.