We’re talking about intermittent fasting on December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with Rachel Stahl RD, CDE on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 6 PM, EST.

Intermittent fasting means you are reducing your window of eating that allows you to shed those deep levels of fat, belly fat + promote cellular health.

This hot trend on social media may sound like a great way to lower your hemoglobin A1c as the pounds melt off. But is it a good idea?

Several doctors believe there are much better ways to achieve a healthy weight.

Dr. Fitch says, “the most consistent way to lose weight and keep it off when you have type 2 diabetes is limiting the carbohydrates in your diet.” Eating less than 150 grams of starchy carbs a day improves blood sugar levels and helps to promote weight loss for most people with T2D, she says. Eating less than 20-50g is even better, but harder to maintain long-term, she says.

The quality of those carbs is crucial, she says. She advises eating carbohydrates with higher fiber content. Choose cauliflower, for instance, not white rice.

Despite the findings of a New Zealand study that the intermittent fasters lost some weight loss and lowered their A1c levels, the study did find a higher risk of hypoglycemia on the fasting days, points out Caroline Apovian, MD, FACP, FACN, professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine and director, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management, Boston Medical Center.  

“The reason is people on insulin and sulfonylureas really cannot safely do intermittent fasting is because of the risk of hypoglycemia,” she tells EndocrineWeb.

December’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10, 2019, 6 PM, EST. Our guests include Dr. Bart Roep of City of Hope, Rachel Stahl MS, RD, CDN, CDE, Her True Beauty founders Barbara Nicholson, Nikki Livingston and Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE.

Throughout the podcast we will be featuring music from Yolanda Adams’ album,“What A Wonderful Time” courtesy of SONY Music.

Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.” 

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