Low Carb Eating and Diabetes Time in Range (TIR)
For decades, proponents of low carbohydrate (carb) eating have been saying that it’s the best choice for keeping blood glucose levels in range for people with diabetes, but the topic remains controversial.
Now, there’s a shift away from A1C as the gold standard for measuring glucose control to the more descriptive measurement of Time in Range (TIR). This provides new, clear evidence of how low carb eating benefits people with diabetes on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
This article will explore the relationship between low carb eating and TIR, and what that means to people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in particular.
While there is no universal definition of what a low carb diet looks like, most healthcare professionals agree that “low carb” is considered fewer than 100 to 150 grams of carbs eaten per day.
This is much lower than the guidelines for most Americans that recommend carbohydrates making up between 45 percent and 65 percent of a person’s total daily calories.
If a person eats a typical 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, that equals between 225 and 325 grams of carbs per day.
There are many different ways to go about restricting your carb intake. Some extremely low carb diets include the ketogenic diet as well as the paleo diet, where people typically eat fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day.
Other popular low carb diets include the Atkins diet, which eliminates virtually all carbs, as well as the South Beach diet and some versions of the Mediterranean diet, that limit carbs from grains, instead focusing on carbs found naturally in fruits and vegetables.
A popular choice among people with diabetes is the so-called Bernstein diet, an ultra-low carb approach pioneered by Dr. Richard Bernstein, who lives with T1D himself. This method advocates eating full fat, mostly animal products, and limiting carbs to 20 grams or fewer per day. Read More
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