# Give up bacon



## akdutchguy (May 22, 2013)

So I went to see a nutritionist about getting diabetes under control. She told me I should not eat bacon. It took my breath away. Then I looked her in the eye and told her that I love bacon so much I started making my own. She asked if she said I would die if I ate another piece of bacon would I have another. I asked  her if it was applewood smoked. 
Of course I would. Bacon is amazing
Jason


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## sqwib (May 22, 2013)

Sometimes we have to bow down to the higher power.

When I was younger a bunch of guys sitting around pondered the  question "Can you live without sex" and we thought about it a few seconds and we said no, so an older Married Gent listening to us guys laughs and says,,_ "Don't get Married"_, hell, I always thought that's when you would get it whenever you wanted it... SO Wrong...boy were we wrong!

So I hope you had a good bacon run and listen to your nutritionist.


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2013)

Is this nutritionist an idiot??

There are no carbs in Bacon.

Bacon is bad for many things, but Diabetes isn't one of them.

Bear


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## sqwib (May 22, 2013)

Sad but seems valid, been googling it somewhat.

In addition to whole-fat dairy foods, fatty or marbled cuts of meat also carry a hefty amount of saturated fat, which initiates inflammation in the body and raises cholesterol levels. Since those with diabetes are already at an increased risk of heart disease, eating high-fat meats puts them at an even greater risk of heart disease than the average person. Instead of feasting on fatty bacon, hamburgers, bologna, hot dogs, or spare ribs, fill your plate with lean protein choices like skinless chicken and turkey, fish and shellfish, or lean pork tenderloin


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2013)

SQWIB said:


> Sad but seems valid, been googling it somewhat.
> 
> In addition to whole-fat dairy foods, fatty or marbled cuts of meat also carry a hefty amount of saturated fat, which initiates inflammation in the body and raises cholesterol levels. Since those with diabetes are already at an increased risk of heart disease, eating high-fat meats puts them at an even greater risk of heart disease than the average person. Instead of feasting on fatty bacon, hamburgers, bologna, hot dogs, or spare ribs, fill your plate with lean protein choices like skinless chicken and turkey, fish and shellfish, or lean pork tenderloin


I would think that's too much of a round about way to avoid Bacon for Diabetic reasons.

Now if a nutritionist said to avoid Bacon for the Heart Disease---OK, but Not for Diabetes.

That's like saying eating carrots could save your life, because eating carrots could improve your eye sight, and keep you from walking in front of a speeding truck.

The fact remains there are no carbs in Bacon, the leading No-No for Diabetics. Many other things are much worse for a Diabetic than Bacon.

Bear


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## sqwib (May 22, 2013)

Bearcarver said:


> I would think that's too much of a round about way to avoid Bacon for Diabetic reasons.
> 
> Now if a nutritionist said to avoid Bacon for the Heart Disease---OK, but Not for Diabetes.
> 
> ...


It is directly related 

A high fat diet disrupts insulin production

it has something to do with insulin resistance  in the body.

I would listen to the nutritionist or get a second opinion, I'm sure that cutting out other fats, one could still enjoy some bacon every now and then.

But I do like your analogy


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## mneeley490 (May 22, 2013)

Does she know there are other kinds of bacon other than belly? Could you cure and "baconize" a leaner piece of meat instead? Say a pork loin, beef eye of round, or even a turkey breast?


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## chef willie (May 22, 2013)

Time to look for another Doctor....seems to me this all goes in a circle.....bad for you, then hmmmmm, ok in moderation. 'They' told us to quit eating butter for that improved margarine product.....look how that turned out. A pound of bacon a day is bad....3-4 strips?? twice a week maybe.....WTF


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2013)

SQWIB said:


> It is directly related
> 
> A high fat diet disrupts insulin production
> 
> ...


There you go Sqwib!! I agree with that.

I would get the second opinion from a nutritionist who isn't a Vegan or a Vegetarian.

Nutritionists can easily be wrong, just like Drs. You can go to a Dr to get a simple Catheterization to check your coronary arteries. Then wake up a couple days later in intensive care, to hear that your coronaries were all clear, but while the "Doctor" was in there looking around, he ripped your Ascending Aorta open. Surprise -- Surprise, Sgt Carter!!!

So yes, I would get a second opinion!

Bear


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## snorkelinggirl (May 22, 2013)

Just anecdotal evidence, but....

My husband has been struggling with his blood sugar for several years due to a strong family history of Type 2 diabetes. He is slim and fit, but genes sometimes talk the loudest.  We went on a no processed foods, low-ish carb diet about 2 years ago. It took almost the full 2 years to see an improvement in his blood sugar, but his HbA1C finally dropped from 6.0 to 5.4. It took a little while, but he also feels way better, no highs then crashes after eating.  Concurrently, his HDL has gone way up, his Trigs have gone way down, and Total Chol hangs out around 200. Gout markers have also gone down.

He eats eggs almost every morning, and bacon a couple of times a week. Lunch and dinner are usually meat with vegetables and sweet potatoes or root vegetables, some fruit. We follow the paleo diet most of the time.

Here are some other resources to take a look at, if you are interested:

http://www.diabetes-book.com/

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2U3HnWmWA

http://robbwolf.com/

http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

I personally think that you need to decide for yourself what you are going to believe....a lot of conflicting info out there, and almost all nutritional studies have an agenda and bias behind them.

Myself, I'd give up the bread, pasta, flour, sugar, and most of the french fries before giving up the bacon.  FWIW....YMMV.  Good luck!!!

Sorry, just a little edit to this post. When I said we gave up "processed food" I meant the kind of stuff that comes in a box from the store. We eat lots of homemade cured meat, bacon, and sausage.

Clarissa


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2013)

For what it's worth, here's a little true story about Drs & Nurses & Hospitals & Diabetes.

My Son's wife got Diabetes 1 from the hospital giving her to much Pregnazone, so my Son did a lot of studying about the subject.

So while he was visiting me in the hospital after my 9 hours of surgery, he noticed that they were taking my blood, and sometimes giving me insulin for a slightly elevated number. My Son told them that was a bad thing to do, because Dad has never had Diabetes, and his numbers were a little off because of the operation he just went through. The nurse just said that is what they were told to do. My Son told them, before they do it again, he wanted to talk to the head Endocrinologist. So about an hour later a nice old guy showed up (Endo guy), and my Son & him talked for a couple minutes, and the guy said he agreed with him entirely that giving me Insulin could do more harm than good, and gave the nurses orders to knock it off.

I got lots more stories, but this was the only Diabetes story.

Bear


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## sqwib (May 22, 2013)

Well have to find out from Jason what else his Nutritionist asked him to cut out, probably a bunch of things but the bacon hit hard, hell it would hit hard to anyone on SMF.

Clarissa, my father is the same way, can eat bacon, sausage no problem, but a few pretzel sticks and his blood sugar skyrockets.

My heart doctor and family doctor both said I need to watch myself, while neither said anything about high fat foods, they both said starches and sugars I should keep away from.

I respond to carbs especially while dieting, but we are all different. But next time I see old doc, I'm going to ask him what he thinks of this...for my own piece of mind anyhow.

I would give up on the carbs too before higher fatty foods, but before I started eating bacon I would get another opinion, and to reiterate what bear said one that is not a vegan.

Bear I got a few for you too, one involved me near contemplating suicide because I felt I was dying,  but I'll leave that for another time.

Sometimes the Dr. should treat the patient not the illness!


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## akdutchguy (May 22, 2013)

The bacon hit the hardest. Eating fewer carbs not as bad. I eat 2 slices of bacon and 3 eggs for breakfast most every morning. Not the healthiest breakfast.  I figure if the good Lord wanted us to eat lots of broccoli he would have made it more fun to shoot. Maybe taste like bacon. So I am going to try to cut back on the bacon intake a little and eat more Cheerios for breakfast with some fruit. Got to stay around for my kids. I've been a diabetic for 27 of my 34 years here on earth. At least lean meat still tastes good smoked. 
Jason


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## diggingdogfarm (May 22, 2013)

Excellent post SnorkelingGirl!!!
I'm a diabetic.
Beware of dietitians!!!
When I listened to a dietitian, it got me in all sorts of serious trouble!!!!!
High blood glucose, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, weight gain, depression, etc.
I've seen a dramatic change since I switched to a low-carb/high-fat diet....less than 30 net grams of carbohydrate per day. 
My blood sugar is now between 80 and 110, my triglycerides are now normal, blood pressure has come down, everything has improved and is now in a normal or safe range and *I eat bacon nearly every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!*
No one is going to convince me that LC/HF is a bad idea!!!!!!!


Here are a few books and resources that you may find very useful. 

Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars

Jenny Ruhl's website and her books are excellent.
http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

The following book was written for practitioners and it's very technical, but it makes a very convincing case for low-carb/high-fat!
It's written by two research scientists.
The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable.

Diabetes Daily has an excellent forum. Many folks there follow a low-carb plan.
http://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/

HTH

~Martin


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## diggingdogfarm (May 22, 2013)

I forgot to add, be careful eating too much protein from lean meats and the like, most folks don't realize that *excess protein can convert to glucose* via gluconeogenesis!!!!


~Martin


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## snorkelinggirl (May 22, 2013)

DiggingDogFarm said:


> I'm a diabetic.
> Beware of dietitians!!!
> When I listened to a dietitian, it got me in all sorts of serious trouble!!!!!
> High blood glucose, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, weight gain, depression, etc.
> ...





DiggingDogFarm said:


> I forgot to add, be careful eating too much protein from lean meats and the like, most folks don't realize that *excess protein can convert to glucose* via gluconeogenesis!!!!
> 
> 
> ~Martin


Excellent, Martin!  I love everything that you said! 

And congratulations on making such a huge improvement in your health thru diet!!!

Clarissa


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## redwood carlos (May 23, 2013)

Bearcarver said:


> For what it's worth, here's a little true story about Drs & Nurses & Hospitals & Diabetes


Just remember 1 out of every 2 Doctors are below average. I have had to tell doctors how to do their job on more than one occasion.


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## nursewizzle (Apr 4, 2018)

diggingdogfarm said:


> Excellent post SnorkelingGirl!!!
> I'm a diabetic.
> Beware of dietitians!!!
> When I listened to a dietitian, it got me in all sorts of serious trouble!!!!!
> ...


That book by Phinney and Volek is amazing, I recommend it to everyone.


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## myownidaho (Apr 4, 2018)

You know what the call the guy who finished last in his medical class? “Doctor”. Everything in moderation and beware of medical people who speak in absolutes. Definitely get a second opinion.


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## indaswamp (Apr 4, 2018)

Too much sugar and carbohydrates-not fat- lead to diabetes. To burn fat, your body needs to be in Ketosis...


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## nursewizzle (Apr 4, 2018)

indaswamp said:


> Too much sugar and carbohydrates-not fat- lead to diabetes. To burn fat, your body needs to be in Ketosis...


I wish more people, including health care professionals, understood this.


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