glucose queries

[Jafa]

Thanks Mac and Juliegee for your insightful replies.

That being said, aging, any degree of IR, or even menopause without bHRT can exeracerbate this in every APOE genotype as described in the Type 3 diabetes literature.

Cunnane also said "In the case of asymptomatic offspring with a family history of AD, maternal but not paternal family history is associated with lower CMRg". So, regardless of apo-e status I'm likely to have cerebral hypo metabolism. I have felt so much better since extending my overnight fast from 12 hrs to 16-17 hrs, and reducing carbs. My concentration is sharper and I'm better able to make decisions. If my performance on Lumosity games is anything to go by, I have improved on some while others are stubbornly average. Of the many changes I have made however, fasting would be the last one I'd give up, I just feel generally better, whether my ketones be 0.6 after my fast, or 0.2 later in the day.

I must add that I also restarted Citalopram 10mg recently after a break of around 2 yrs, indication generalised anxiety disorder. Like many on this forum after going on a low carb diet I began waking 90 mins or so after going to sleep, fully awake and convinced it was morning. I found it very hard to go back to sleep and this would recur 2-3 times, and sometimes I was unable to go back to sleep at all. The anxiety over the adverse effects of not sleeping (knowing how bad it is for our brains) was I'm sure playing a part in me not being able to get back to sleep, so I decided to restart the Citalopram. My sleeping has improved, although I may still wake a couple of times in the night I am better able to get back to sleep. Feeling heaps better during the day too, so maybe I need the serotonin as well as the sleep.

Julie, you put me to shame worrying about my BMI. A good reminder though about maintaining muscle mass. All the walking we do probably takes care of our leg muscles, I try to do 50 press-ups most days for the arms but maybe I should be getting into some weights.

Yeah, like you Julie, a lifetime of eating low fat is a hard habit to break. Once I have my next blood tests in March and if I'm lucky like you and see that my lipids gave not gone sky high, I will re reassured that a LCHF diet will be fine. There is a bit of a family history of CVD but I'm not overly concerned about that. Awaiting my apoB result.

I am interested in knowing of others' strategies to keep their glucose down during the day. Do we have 2 larger meals with a higher peak but a longer gap to allow the blood sugar to settle, or adopt a 2 smaller meal, 2 snack strategy through the day to avoid the glucose going up as high after eating, but perhaps remaining higher over a longer period (is that what happens)?

[Stavia]

Jafa, excellent question.
I chose to eat around noon and again by 6 ish so as to have a decent fasting period. It seems to feel "right", I only get hungry about 11.30am ish. It's working for me IR wise, but YMMV. I suggest you try out one regime, test, tweak etc.

[Julie G]

java, like Stavia, I only eat a few times a day. Since you're fasting for 16 hours, you have an eight hour feeding window. You may want to shoot for one meal near the beginning and another closer to the end, but at least 3 hours prior to sleep. For me that's around 1PM and 6PM. If you feel the need to snack between, try avocado slices or nuts to increase your level of ketosis. Both have been found to be very heart healthy as well.

I'm unaware that a LC diet interferes with seep. I've actually had the opposite experience. When I was insulin resistant, I often awoke in the middle of the night needing to eat. Once I began to address my IR with a higher fat diet, my sleep dramatically improved. You may want to look into ashwagandha and bacopa monnieri. Both are nootropic herbs that are classified as adaptogens that could help with anxiety and sleep.