15 Comments
Feb 27Liked by Annie Fenn, MD

Grains and sweet potato sends my glucose through the roof. Any suggestions on how I can become more metabolically flexible?

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Mar 1Liked by Annie Fenn, MD

Ha ..writing back as a fellow JH person with the flu… I do wear a CGM and I can’t eat oats, rice or grains without spiking my glucose. I do put “clothes” on my carbs. I’m looking to eat less meat but not spike my glucose.

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Sorry to hear you are sick! It may be that you are uniquely sensitive to certain foods. Definitely take a look at your sleep patterns and stress levels to see if this is playing into it too, because as you know this can impact how your glucose responds to meals.

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Hi Kimberley! Try combining them with healthy fats and protein, such as almond butter stirred into oats, and liberal sprinkles of nuts and seeds. Also, you can make sweet potatoes higher in resistant starch (less likely to elicit a rise in glucose) by cooking ahead, chilling, and then eating cold or warmed up.

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Aug 6, 2023Liked by Annie Fenn, MD

What is the max for fiber? I eat a lot of veggies, berries and whole grains and it is easy to exceed 30g fiber in a day (I have to really stop myself from hitting 35+ grams). My digestion seems good and I feel good- but I don’t want to overdo it. I eat about 1400cal/day (I’m 5’7/5’8 and weigh in the high 120s if that matters).

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The upper limit of fiber is around 35 grams for women, 45 for men. No worries at all if you are consuming that much fiber and feeling good--your body (and your gut bugs) must be used it! Exceeding upper limits of these recommendations could lead to gi symptoms like bloating and loose stools. But there is a huge variation in what individuals experience.

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Aug 6, 2023Liked by Annie Fenn, MD

Thank you! I’ll keep the fiber train rolling @ the current ‘speed’ until my body asks me to slow down!

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Good plan

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I am trying to eat foods to help with my osteoporosis, but I have malabsorption problems and am learning from experts in building bones naturally that oxalates, which are in the foods I have been eating for years are full of oxalates, which bind with calcium. All your foods in your diet I have eaten for years, and yet I have terrible arthritis and aches and pains. Sweet potatoes and raw spinach , which I ate all the time are loaded with them!

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Hi Janie. Yes, I touched on that when I wrote the newsletter about oxalates. If you have GI issues like malabsorption, it is very difficult to eat fiber-rich foods.

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Apr 19, 2023Liked by Annie Fenn, MD

What do you recommend for those of us who have horrible gastrointestinal distress from eating any undercooked broccoli or cauliflower? Formerly could eat it raw, but now it must be cooked to a soft texture to avoid gas. Thanks in advance.

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I would stay away from those foods. I don’t have a workaround. But there’s no reason you have to eat cruciferous vegetables raw, cooked is fine.

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Fantastic, very informative

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Thanks Nicola!

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Thanks Deb! You can warm up resistant starches if you prefer and they will still provide benefit. Sorry I didn't make that clear.

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