Low-carb hack #3 – eat less of dairy products and nuts

September 26 2016 by 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?

Low-carb tips and guides

Earlier

Diet Doctor Low-Carb Hacks #2

Diet Doctor Low-Carb Hacks

Low Carb for Beginners

How to Lose Weight

Videos

Advanced Low-Carb Tips! – Interview with Dr. Eric Westman

9 comments

1
Dirk
September 26 2016
Are there "acceptable drugs" on the market to artificially lower the insulin level in the blood ? How can the insulin level in the blood be measured ?

Replies: #2, #5
2
Reply to comment #1 by Dirk
solomon
September 26 2016
I have heard Berberine, a supplement, and Metformin help with insulin sensitivity. Insulin level is measured at your lab. Blood glucose is a marker but not an excellent one. Some dairy may raise insulin without necessary raising glucose to the same degree. In Type I diabetics, you get the glucose rise without a matching insulin.
3
Maura
September 26 2016
Dirk, there are meds that will lower your insulin levels.
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!
1 comment removed
5
Reply to comment #1 by Dirk
Apicius
September 27 2016
My cheeky answer to Dirk's question about what to take to lower insulin is "bacon".

Why take meds if insulin can be lowered with LCHF food and intermittent fasting?
6
Apicius
September 27 2016
My trick with nuts is I only have nuts with shells in my kitchen. If I want to eat nuts, i need to crack the shells. Lots of work, slows me down.
1 comment removed
8
jo
October 14 2016
give nuts up they can cause lots of weight gain out of sight is the best place for all nuts

jo
9
darla
October 4 2017
this seems contradictory - less dairy more butter...? heavy cream I love but they say reduce dairy..?
10
Judy
August 9 2020
I used to eat tons of nuts and still lost weight on a lower carb diet (I am not interested in getting into ketosis, I just want to stay fuller for longer). There have been studies showing that nuts don't cause as much of a weight gain as suspected in fact it helped people lose weight. It keeps you full and they are also full of fibre

Reply: #11
11
Reply to comment #10 by Judy
Crystal Pullen Team Diet Doctor
August 10 2020

I used to eat tons of nuts and still lost weight on a lower carb diet (I am not interested in getting into ketosis, I just want to stay fuller for longer). There have been studies showing that nuts don't cause as much of a weight gain as suspected in fact it helped people lose weight. It keeps you full and they are also full of fibre

For some, it can be the portion size of nuts that is an issue as many are surprised by the size of a serving of nuts.