[smiths6021]

Has anyone ever had their endo or a nutritionist/dietician give them a meal plan that was high in carbs? When I went and saw a nutritionist on Thursday at the diabetes center in my area she gave me a meal plan that had 45-70 carbs for each meal. I respectively told her that I wouldn't be coming back to see her.

 

[John.in.France]

Almost all government sponsored (regardless of nationality) nutritionists will present patients with meal plans that follow the ADA guidelines. They are contractually obliged to do so.

Your experience is therefore typical and the suggested approach to the advice offered is to nod quietly and smile sweetly until you leave the office. Then do the right thing and accept that the nutritionist will pat themselves on the back when your figures improve.

 

[Shanny]

As John indicates, it's a very rare dietitian/nutritionist/CDE who will actually depart from the party line which recommends far too many carbs. Your solution is fine - just walk away. Mine was to just not bother meeting with them to begin with, and John's recommendation to smile & nod until you're out of the office works well too.

Most of us learned early on that we're on our own on this journey, which is why this forum came into being. Somebody has to tell the truth about these things if the professionals and official agencies won't/can't do it, so here we are - trying to let people know diabetes can be controlled and is not the progressive disorder the medical community tells us it is (of course it progresses if people follow the advice prescribed by docs and the ADA!). If we keep our blood sugar under 140 (7.8) at all times, the odds of developing diabetic complications drops way down.

 

[smiths6021]

I didn't know that this was something that happened so frequently! It's very surprising that the ADA actually recommends high carb diets. It's absolutely ridiculous that they so many doctors and dieticians are giving out such detrimental information.

 

[Shanny]

If you check the sponsors list of the ADA, you'll understand it better. There are many big industries that contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to them, and it buys a lot of political clout. These industries have a vested interest in keeping us sick enough to need meds and other supplies/equipment. They'll be SOL when diabetics discover high blood sugar can be controlled to a great extent with diet.

 

[diabetes86]

If you want to become a CDE Certified Diabetic Educator, Yo have to take THERE test. If there test says how many carbs does a person need and you check "0" you will get that question WRONG.

If the test asks how much fat a person needs to eat and you check 100gr instead of 16gr you get that question wrong.

pretty soon you fail the CDE Certification test and you dont become a CDE.

Until the schools and board Certification organizations change we will continue to get BAD information.

 

[wonderwoman]

I recently walked out on a meeting with the CDE at Georgetown Hospital, when she insisted my eating plan was unsustainable, that I was going to end up in ICU due to ketones, and that I most likely had an eating disorder because I was "afraid" of carbohydrates. . .

 

[Shanny]

Good for you, Elizabeth!

 

[Rhiannon]

As others have said, this is sadly the norm. When I was diagnosed, my physician scheduled an appointment with a Kaiser nutritionist. At that time, I had very little knowledge about diabetes, had not found this forum, and so I went to the appointment with none of the knowledge I've since gained. And yes, I was given a sample meal plan that is full of carbs. As it was, I looked at the plan and thought it was simply too full of food and too costly for my budget.

I am so glad to have found this forum and became better informed.

 

[div2live]

I think a better question to ask is has anyone every been to a endo or a nutritionist/dietician that actually gave a truly low carb and high fat eating plan to their patients?

I bet those 'animals' are a protected species!

 

[Judy-in-France]

Yep, current courses are aimed at High Carb. I particularly loved a course that went from talking about Paleo being ok, to the next section being 'now we have proved that the high carb, low fat diet is the healthiest...' with no such proof.

 

[Kristin251]

I think a better question to ask is has anyone every been to a endo or a nutritionist/dietician that actually gave a truly low carb and high fat eating plan to their patients?

I bet those 'animals' are a protected species!

I think I came as close as they get thankfully. My nutritionist was very Paleo and told me the way I ate as a type 2 was perfect for a type 1and I didn't need cabs other than green veggies. I blamed myself for being near death and she assured me it was my Dr's fault for not giving me insulin. I now know how true ths is and how great she was. I know she is the needle in a hay stack.

 

[diabetes86]

My new endo said (under his breath) that he supports LCHF diet for his diabetic patents.

 

[Shanny]

But only if they discover it on their own & he doesn't have to suggest it? Big help HE is!

 

[grammaB]

The majority of dr/cde/dietians are very afraid of supporting lc/hf for all the reasons mentioned above. I think it is going to take a generation of dr, etc to die off and newer ones, hopefully more open to lc/hf to come in to power/practice to maybe finally get the word out.

 

[Judy-in-France]

You could see if there is a Sports Nutritionist near you, they are on the cutting edge of research into LCHF, and not ruled by hospital/Big Pharma.

 

[Kajola]

Another player in the game is the insurance companies, which dictate to the doctors which therapies, treatments, and drugs they must push on patients if they want to be able to accept insurance.

The last doctor I was seeing would ask me every time I went in, to take a statin, even though I'd told him many times that I would never take one. And he'd make careful note in his laptop that he suggested and patient refused (CYA).

Regarding the nutritionist's diabetic meal plans, I'll never forget when I was 1st diagnosed and doctor sent me to the office dietitian. She asked me what I planned to eat and I said "Atkins", naively thinking she'd be proud I knew that. haha! She was aghast! No, No, No, Atkins is dangerous. Atkins has killed people (this was 1999). Then she handed me some handouts with sample meals on them, and I swear to God, one of them had "small bag of M&M's" listed under "Lunch".

 

[MaJoie]

My friend looked at the ADA suggested menu with me and said "You're really going to gain weight if you eat like that!" She was right of course. Oven fried potatoes and toast in the same meal with margarine (AAAck) and artificially sweetened jelly (double aaaack). One egg of course. Gotta watch that fat. It was way more carbs than I was eating even before I found this forum and bloodsugar101.

 

[qtram]

I am new to this site and newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetic. I have an appointment with a nutritionist (at my endo's nurse insistence) next week and after reading this thread, I am a bit hesitant. I think I am at a good point in controlling my BG with my diet but thought I go and see what she has to say. However, when I called and made the appointment I asked for a CDE nutritionist and was told that CDE is good for type 1 and the person I am scheduled with is specialized in diabetes also. Is that true? I am also not seeing any mention of treating diabetes in her bio either. Should I be concern about this place? The person taking the appointment was being snarky when I asked for a CDE also.
Thanks for any of your insights-
Tram

 

[VeeJay]

Do what you have to do to keep your doctor and your insurance happy. Many who can't get out of it just nod and smile their way through the appointment. Who knows, there might be a gem or two of information that could be useful.