Why your fasting blood sugar might still be high on low carb

September 9 2017 by in Blood sugar, Diabetes, Low Carb High Fat

It’s not too uncommon to have slightly high fasting blood sugar on low carb and keto diets. Is this a problem?

It depends on your insulin levels, as outlined by Dr. Ted Naiman below. If you’re insulin sensitive, and have slightly higher fasting blood glucose, it’s likely just fine.

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How to reverse type 2 diabetes

Insulin

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How insulin toxicity causes obesity and type 2 diabetes – and how to reverse it. Dr Jason Fung at the LCHF Convention 2015.
What causes insulin resistance?
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No less than 70% of people die from chronic disease, connected to insulin resistance. Dr. Naiman explains what causes it.
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Controlling the insulin in your body can help you control both your weight and important aspects of your health. Dr. Naiman explains how.
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Why do we get fat – and what can we do about it? Gary Taubes at Low Carb USA 2016.
Why you shouldn't fear protein on keto
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Do you really need to worry about protein on a ketogenic diet? Dr. Ben Bikman shares a new way of thinking about this.

Advanced low-carb topics

"We are not designed to be chronically ill"
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Food quality: is low carb enough?
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Erynn Kay dives deep into the importance of food quality and nutrients – and how we can heal our bodies by picking better-quality products.
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What is the current science in support of a low-carb and keto diet?
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Dr. Ted Naiman is one of the individuals who believes more protein is better and recommends a higher intake. He explains why in this interview.
Do You Have to Count Calories to Lose Weight?
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Do you have to count calories to lose weight? Dr. Jason Fung explains why you don't.
How to measure your insulin response
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How do you measure your insulin-response pattern?
Common mistakes on low carb
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Do you have a hard time losing weight on low carb or keto? Then perhaps you're making one of the common mistakes.
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Can a ketogenic diet be used in cancer treatment? Dr. Angela Poff at the Low Carb USA 2016.
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If your muscles can't use stored glycogen, is it then a good idea to eat a high-carb diet to compensate for this? Or can a keto diet help treat these rare glycogen storage diseases?
Nutritional ketosis and metabolic-based research
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Dr. Dominic D'Agostino's presentation gives valuable insights into the keto research which is currently conducted across the world.
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Your weight loss has hit a plateau, so what can you do to restart your weight loss? Dr. Westman's LCHF course part 4.
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Is it possible to exercise on a strict low-carb diet? Professor Jeff Volek is an expert on the topic.
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How can low-carb ketogenic diets help athletes perform better, improve endurance, and prevent bonking?
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What’s the real cause of heart disease? How do we most effectively estimate someone’s risk?

Diabetes

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Low-carb pioneer Dr. Eric Westman talks about how to formulate an LCHF diet, low carb for different medical conditions and common pitfalls among others.
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Dr. Fung's diabetes course part 2: What exactly is the essential problem of type 2 diabetes?
My Big Fat Diet
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What would happen if an entire town of First Nation people went back to eating the way they used to? A high-fat low-carb diet based on real food?
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Do doctors treat type 2 diabetes completely wrong today – in a way that actually makes the disease worse?
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Dr. Jake Kushner explains why we would be better off treating type 1 diabetic patients with a low-carb diet.
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Dr. Eenfeldt's get-started course part 3: How to improve type 2 diabetes dramatically using a simple lifestyle change.
"I knew nothing"
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How come Professor Tim Noakes completely changed his view on what constitutes a healthy diet?
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Why are the recommendations to people with diabetes to eat a high-carb diet a bad idea? And what is the alternative?
The problem with sugar
50:01
Is it fat or sugar that has triggered the unprecedented epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic disease? Taubes at Low Carb USA 2017.
A Disease of Insulin Resistance
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Part 3 of Dr. Fung's diabetes course: The core of the disease, insulin resistance, and the molecule that causes it.
The 2 Big Lies of Type 2 Diabetes
42:54
Why is the conventional treatment of Type 2 Diabetes an utter failure? Dr. Jason Fung at the LCHF Convention 2015.
How to help patients reverse type 2 diabetes
27:43
How exactly do you as a doctor help patients reverse their type 2 diabetes?
Therapeutic Fasting
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What if there was a more effective treatment alternative for obesity and type 2 diabetes, that is both simple and free?
Low carb for doctors – introduction
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Are you a doctor or do you know a doctor? Are you interested in low carb? Then this great new free course – low carb for doctors – could be something for you to watch or share!

Dr. Naiman

Too much protein is better than too little
40:13
Is increasing protein intake on low carb a good or bad idea idea in terms of weight and health – and why? Dr. Naiman explains.
Why more protein is better
15:17
Dr. Ted Naiman is one of the individuals who believes more protein is better and recommends a higher intake. He explains why in this interview.
Is obesity caused by too much insulin?
25:27
Is obesity mainly caused by the fat storing hormone insulin? Dr. Ted Naiman answers this question.
What causes insulin resistance?
29:01
No less than 70% of people die from chronic disease, connected to insulin resistance. Dr. Naiman explains what causes it.
Becoming a low-carb doctor
19:30
How do you find a low-carb doctor? And how do we make it more simple for doctors to understand low carb?
Hyperinsulinemia - What insulin does in your body
45:29
Controlling the insulin in your body can help you control both your weight and important aspects of your health. Dr. Naiman explains how.

Earlier with Dr. Naiman

All earlier posts about Dr. Naiman

7 Comments

1
rpf
September 9 2017
Interesting but hard to know for oneself since there's no easy way to get your daily fasting insulin that I know of, is there?
2
Tanya
September 9 2017
I just got a glucose monitor and was a bit worried when I saw my fasting blood sugar-6.9 mmol, almost diabetic. So no need for concern? Will it normalise?
3
Cathis
September 9 2017
How can i messure the insulinlevel my self?

Reply: #5
4
Eddie
September 10 2017
Who created this infograph?

Are the conclusions (high FBG "not a problem" if insulin profile appropriate) supported by studies?

What is best course of action for a LCing (keto at time), exercising, daily IFing, man who is concerned about "pre-diabetic" FBG and A1c?
5
Reply to comment #3 by Cathis
Peter Biörck Team Diet Doctor
September 10 2017
Hi Cathis!

There are no easy way (like for sugar and ketones) yet to do home testing for insulin levels.

How can i messure the insulinlevel my self?
6
Jennifer bowerman
September 10 2017
Am I wrong here? Most doctors don't measure insulin levels. They determine diabetes status based on blood glucose levels and then prescribe insulin or its equivalent to balance off and bring the glucose down. So high insulin is treated with high insulin. Isn't this a message Dr. Fung makes many times in his lectures?
7
It
September 10 2017
Low carb is why i became hpothyroid. Good luck.