[Shalynne]

Dairy intolerances and allergies are quite real, but not directly related to diabetes. Of course, one could be blessed with both at once, and I believe several Forum members are.

At one point before diagnosis, I thought I'd developed an intolerance to all dairy, including butter and cheese. In my case, it turned out my system was struggling to digest the carbs (bread, crackers) that I always ate with dairy. No bread, no problem!

 

[Shalynne]

It wasn't a decision. I found out I was diabetic and my (knee jerk) reaction was to go on a high fat diet. (This was 20 years ago, before there were forums probably.) Most of it was dairy. I like sour cream and cheese, and even used whipping cream in my coffee. Fats made up about 85% of my calories, so maybe I was a bit extreme.

In about 3 months I started to lose circulation in my arms. I would wake up once or twice a night with my arms asleep, and have to move them to get the circulation going again. I freaked out in a very serious way. 'Ohmigod, diabetes, amputations,' and dropped the high fat diet.

It took 3 days for an improvement to start, and that was quite a relief.

A few months ago, after reading all the high fat advice on this forum since getting here, there happened to be a sale on sour cream

Got a few pounds. By the time I finished them, I was starting to have the exact same circulation problem again.

I don't know exactly what it is from. Not sure if it is the saturated fat, or possibly the cholesterol. Dairy products seem to be high in cholesterol too.

It may also be a reaction specific to dairy rather than fat, per se. I say this because most of your high-fat consumption was from that one group, and because dairy intolerance/allergy is quite common. Have you been able to get that checked out?

In addition to dairy, I like meats, eggs, fish and a moderate amount of very oily nuts. Avocados are not cheap, but they're a prime food for most of us. And on those rare occasions when I cook, I like to use olive or coconut oil. Real mayo in salads.