Dr. Bernstein's response to Diabetic Assoc. Diet

[ElfiePoo 109]

Dr Bernstein wrote an article in 2008 in response to the new Diabetic Associations guidelines. I thought some might find it interesting. Here's the link but I thought this was rather interesting:

One concern I have is with the guidelines focusing mainly on carbohydrates. Protein doesn’t raise sugar anywhere near as much as carbohydrate; however it can still raise blood sugar. Protein raises blood sugar by two mechanisms. The first mechanism is gluconeogenesis, which is the conversion of a small percentage of the protein to glucose. It converts to about 2 grams of glucose per ounce of protein, a very small percentage. An ounce is 28.5 grams. If you eat a 12-ounce steak, those grams can add up.

The other mechanism by which protein raises blood sugar is the incretin effect, which in my books, I call the “Chinese Restaurant Effect.” Just distending your gut with anything will raise blood sugar, even a handful of pebbles, if you are a severe diabetic like me. So, just the presence of that steak in your gut will distend the gut, causing you to release hormones that will raise blood sugar. The first paper that I ever wrote that got published was published in the mid-1970s, somewhere around 1975, in a remote publication called Acta Paediatrica Belgique. It was entitled, “Protein as the Principal Source of Glucose in the Treatment of Diabetes.”