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EventsLow-carb hack #3 – eat less of dairy products and nuts
in Helpful tips 
Not great for weight loss
How do you make it simpler to stick to a low-carb lifestyle in the long run? Making low carb simple is our mission, and here’s another practical hack that you could start using today.
Go dairy and nut free (or just eat less of them)
There are a few foods that are relatively low carb, but which might become problematic if you consume too much of them – especially for weight loss. The two most common ones are dairy products (other than butter) and nuts.
Here’s why:
Dairy
Dairy products tend to have some carbs, especially the ones that are not full fat such as milk, yoghurt and cottage cheese. Even dairy with more fat such as cream and cheese might be problematic in large quantities because the carbs add up – making it hard to stick to a strict low-carb diet.
Furthermore, the milk proteins found in these create quite a high insulin (the fat-storing hormone) response. The exception is butter, which has close to zero protein and carbs.
Here are our top dairy-free recipes:
Nuts
The main reason nuts can be a problem is that the carb content is high, and it’s very easy to eat a lot of them in one sitting.
Low-Carb Nuts Guide Conclusion
You’ll lower your insulin levels if you eat less of these foods. This usually results in weight loss.
Learn more:
How to Lose Weight #12: Eat Less of Dairy Products and Nuts
Do you think that these tips are helpful? And what are your best tips for low-carb living?
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However, I'm leaving a fairly long comment - from one patient to another! - to encourage you to really 'do your homework' and explore ALL your options before you agree to take meds.
Your insulin can be measured several ways, and maybe DietDoctor.com will develop a specific post to address that question, because a lot of us need to understand how -- and how accurately! -- insulin can be measured.
I'm not in the medical field, but I've paid a small fortune for diabetes-related meds since 2010. They all have side effects, some of which are scary. I've nearly blacked out (multiple times), and the nausea, etc, and abdominal cramping were horrendous. I'm reasonably certain that Metformin *will not* reverse the underlying biological process that is moving you toward diabetes. It will treat the symptom of high insulin, but over time you will need larger doses of Metformin, because the underlying eating behaviors that feed the disease process aren't reversed by taking meds.
In my own case, in 2015, after being unable to tolerate one more unpleasant side effect from yet one more new drug, I switched to from Doctor A, who wrote prescriptions -- to Doctor B, who focuses on lifestyle, better nutrition, and helped me get off the diabetes-related meds. For me to get off those meds felt like a miracle, but it is entirely possible to do it.
I feel 10x better than I did on the meds.
I'd **strongly** encourage you to take advantage of all DietDoctor.com videos to educate yourself about alternatives to going on meds.
Several of the videos might be particularly helpful for you:
(1) Dr. Fung's explanations about how to drop your insulin levels via Intermittent Fasting
(2) Dr. Naiman's explanation about hyperinsulinimia
(If you are on meds, then fasting might not be safe, and Dr. Fung is quite explicit about the need for close supervision if you are in that category.)
In my own case, if I'd found DietDoctor.com back in 2010, I would have realized there are excellent, healthy alternatives to meds, and I'd have switched doctors much sooner. (That also would have saved me years of miserable, scary side effects, as well as a small fortune that I'd have preferred to spend on more veggies, butter, and cheeses.) Now, I come to this site every day for additional knowledge and inspiration.
Best of luck to you!
From my perspective, you are asking some great questions!
Why take meds if insulin can be lowered with LCHF food and intermittent fasting?
jo