Fasting and what to eat for breakfast with diabetes?

Among my companions who want to achieve normoglycemia to have healthy management of diabetes or prediabetes, or to avoid this condition, they often ask me constantly: what is the “ideal breakfast”? What to have for breakfast; Is it necessary to have breakfast? (Understanding it as it is conventionally understood, that is, as “eating early in the morning”). Or they also ask me other related questions, for example, what time should I have breakfast? Can or should I do intermittent fasting if I live with diabetes? (an issue that I have talked about before, in several articles and live broadcasts) And if I am implementing intermittent fasting, does it necessarily mean avoiding eating in the morning?…

And there is confusion, because two opposing myths exist in the world of nutrition and food: on the one hand, official advice tells us that “eating breakfast is mandatory” (again, understood as “eating early in the morning.” ), and that breakfast is supposedly “the most important meal of the day.” This is a myth and there is no science to back it up: there is no reason why eating early in the morning is “a more important meal,” whatever that means. But on the other hand, among many people who follow a low-carb or keto diet, combined with intermittent fasting, there is sometimes the idea that “everyone should” or “it is good for everyone” to skip breakfast at conventional times and only eat later, at noon or after. I will explain that this is not necessarily true either, and that it will depend on what we are doing, why and for what: it depends on the individual context.  of each one, which we must analyze.

Some people who eat a low-carb diet feel that it is not necessary to eat breakfast; This is because by eating a diet low in glucose and high in real fats, the hormonal axis of leptin and ghrelin is better regulated, two hormones that influence the hunger-satiety cycle. In addition, real fats are very satiating, so we will simply feel satiated for a longer time. And by avoiding sugars we also avoid riding the roller coaster of hyper- and hypoglycemia, for example. So we better avoid those “slumps” in blood glucose that make us hungry, in a bad mood, and much more likely to choose unhealthy options, just to eat “whatever.” If you’re no longer hungry in the morning, listen to your body’s signals and try skipping breakfast; or just drink coffee, tea or mate. The question of whether or not to eat breakfast is a very personal thing, so connect with your body to understand what is best for you.

So I don’t like to tell my patients or companions to adhere to strict protocols of hours, that is, to necessarily spend “x” hours without eating and “x” hours eating, but rather that they first learn to listen to their own bodies and your needs.Much less do I recommend starting to fast without rhyme or reason, just to stop eating because they told me that it was good, but without first considering what the objectives are, < strong>why fasting in a certain way, or what my body is really asking for at any given moment: food, or rest from food?… What problems or symptoms present at this time?What blood glucose level do I have?… and act accordingly.

If we only start fasting “just because” or “to endure”, without clear health objectives, there may be damage to the thyroid; also if fasting is done unconsciously and with little study of each person’s conditions. Since another mistake would be to fall into a constant calorie restriction, or restrict the macro- and micronutrients that our body needs to be healthy. It should not be a question of strict schedules or “holding off hunger,” but rather being consistent with my needs and my body’s signals.Especially if we live with diabetes and our well-being depends on careful and conscious management of blood glucose, endogenous or exogenous insulin needs, metabolic and hormonal balance, among many other factors. What stage am I in, in my process of achieving normoglycemia and health?… For example, if I find myself just correcting metabolic dysfunctions, etc., and based on that I will know if there are times when I have breakfast early In the morning it is better for me; or seasons when it is better for me to eat for the first time later in the day.As I mentioned, I have talked before about intermittent fasting if you live with diabetes, where I explained that, If fasting is done appropriately, consistent with our needs and objectives, and consciously, it can be a great tool for metabolic health, restoration of damaged hormonal axes, reduction of insulin resistance, improvement of intestinal permeability. and some other goals such as fat loss and improving body composition. However, before implementing any intermittent fasting scheme, it is important that we first define what our health goals are, that we learn to listen to our body’s signals, and that Let’s first look at our context as a whole, so we can decide what feels best for me individually.

In addition, it is very important to remember that the regulation of the circadian cycle is also extremely important: before deciding if breakfast suits me and at what time, and what coherent options to choose to break the fasting period, it is essential adopt habits consistent with the circadian rhythm: do not eat at night, but live during the day and rest at night, maintain adequate sleep hygiene, do not expose yourself to artificial lights or frequencies after sunset , etc. Since the circadian cycle and exposure to sunlight during the day regulate the vitamin D synthesis system, which has an enormous influence on our hormonal and metabolic axes, on the hormones that influence hunger and satiety, etc. . So, if there is a circadian metabolic disruption, the first important step toward healthy habits is to not eat at night.
So before deciding what “your” ideal breakfast is, I would recommend asking yourself these questions:

Remember that, in this journey of knowing each other, listening to each other, and beginning to change towards coherent habits that bring me health and well-being, it is safer and more effective to do it with the help of a coherent professional, who also lives this path.

My experience and my programs:

I am Rosy Yáñez, I am a Nutritionist with a PhD, an expert in Nutrition and Metabolism, Diabetes, Low-carb Diet, effective medication and intermittent fasting.

If you want to avoid or prevent having type 2 diabetes, improve your body composition whether or not you have type 2 diabetes, or if you are a parent of children or adolescents with diabetes or you are an adult with type 1 or LADA diabetes and want to continue learning about control adequate blood glucose levels, I invite you to look more about my accompaniment programs, here</a > you will find the recording of my last masterclass only available for a few days. My programs will start again on February 7th, you can sign up now, today is the last day!…

If you have questions, Contact me HERE by WhatsApp to see if I can help you: https://bit.ly/2HSj8iy