Eat How Many Carbohydrates?

This article on “How much carbohydrate in a meal is too much” caught my attention for the answer. Her answer is “It depends”.  Read her blog of May 22, 2010.  Note: link is now broken and site no longer exists.

While I must give this author high marks for her partial answer and consideration of individual height and body size, she failed by not giving a complete answer. While she mentions people living without carbohydrates, she by-passes the topic of low carb and that people can have different meal requirements. Not everyone can eat the same number of carbs at every meal.

I have to wonder about another statement when she declares “researchers have found that 60 grams per day is a minimum level that prevents diabetic ketoacidosis.”  I have always read that diabetic ketoacidosis was the result of high blood sugar and lack of insulin, not the lack of carbs.

I have asked the author for links to the studies for her statement, but apparently will not receive an answer. Now if she had said ketones, then I would not have been so disagreeable. I believe David Mendosa when he writes about ketones because he provides links and lets you investigate for yourself.

There are some other conflicts in the article. How does the author reconcile the above need for minimum carbohydrates and the statement that people have gone for many days without carbohydrates, and I have to ask why is it that many of my fellow people with diabetes are on less than 45 grams of carbohydrates per day and have none of the problems the author wants us to believe will happen. The author has much to offer people with diabetes, but we need facts and information, not dogma.

When people, and even medical professionals, make blanket statements, they need to provide links so that we may read and maybe understand why they make the statements they do. This is why I provide links so that people will be able to read the same information I read. Whether they agree or disagree with me is up to them.

At this point it is important to note that ADA has (hard to believe, but true) changed their position about carbohydrates. Check out Standards of Care section of the 2010 ADA Clinical Practice Recommendations. The updated carbohydrate recommendation starts on S25 (you will need to page down to this, as the reference starts on page S11) with the paragraph “Although numerous studies have attempted to identify the optimal mix of macronutrients for meal plans of people with diabetes....” This will now allow variation of carbohydrate consumption to fit the individual and not forcing a certain number of carbohydrates. The low fat regimen is still advocated