Vegan and low carb? Is it possible

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tlcheung
tlcheung Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have high cholesterol and borderline high blood sugar. My Dr. is recommending a low carb diet” I am vegan and would like to remain so but all of the info I find about low carb is heavily meat based. Any suggestions or tips? And what is the nutrition ratio I should be shooting for?

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    If your doctor is recommending a low carbohydrate diet, you should talk to them about what exactly that means. You may also be able to get a referral to an RD to help you plan your diet. Is your doctor aware that you're vegan? Have you tried any other dietary changes? Is your weight in a healthy range or is your doctor recommending this diet more as a way to control your weight?

    Low carbohydrate veganism is possible. Depending on the amount of carbohydrates you can have, the diet may be somewhat lacking in variety.
  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
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    I'd suggest meeting with a dietician who works with diabetics to help you with a low-carb diet that focuses on lowering your blood sugar. Your doctor should be able to recommend one and possibly give you a referral. If you can't see a dietician (not a nutritionist!), look into foods that have a high fiber to carbohydrate ratio (which means low net carbs). You'll have to cut a lot of fruit, but green veggies, beans, and whole grains stay on the menu.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    BecomingBane wrote: »
    It's possible, but miserable.

    If your doctor suggested this, I highly suggest speaking with them. Tell them that you are vegan, etc. Ask for their advice or a referral to a registered dietitian to help you with meal planning. There's not much wiggle room in there for proper nutrition and getting it wrong could be bad for you.
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    If your doctor is recommending a low carbohydrate diet, you should talk to them about what exactly that means. You may also be able to get a referral to an RD to help you plan your diet. Is your doctor aware that you're vegan? Have you tried any other dietary changes? Is your weight in a healthy range or is your doctor recommending this diet more as a way to control your weight?

    Low carbohydrate veganism is possible. Depending on the amount of carbohydrates you can have, the diet may be somewhat lacking in variety.

    Both of these...
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    This is where net carbs come into play. Your body processes fiber differently that starches and sugars, thus many carb counting diets subtract out fiber for "net carbs."

    For cholesterol and sugar, this method will probably be fine, as the fiber is beneficial for both concerns.

    You also need to consider low carb compared to what? I am having good success with sugar control on about 25%. For me, this means no grains, no starchy vegetables and no fruit. But I don't obsess over the actual number and will occasionally have beans, as well.
  • drmarctagon
    drmarctagon Posts: 101 Member
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    tlcheung wrote: »
    I have high cholesterol and borderline high blood sugar. My Dr. is recommending a low carb diet” I am vegan and would like to remain so but all of the info I find about low carb is heavily meat based. Any suggestions or tips? And what is the nutrition ratio I should be shooting for?

    Anything's possible, your amount of options is just slimmer.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    BecomingBane wrote: »
    It's possible, but miserable.

    If your doctor suggested this, I highly suggest speaking with them. Tell them that you are vegan, etc. Ask for their advice or a referral to a registered dietitian to help you with meal planning. There's not much wiggle room in there for proper nutrition and getting it wrong could be bad for you.

    This.

    There are good vegan approaches to high blood sugar that do not require low carb (in fact, even non vegan approaches that do not). Your doctor just may have had success with low carb with other patients and for some it's easier to do than simply focusing on weight loss and a healthful diet with lots of vegetables and so on. There may be changes you can do to make your diet better given your health issues, however, and an RD who is experienced in working with vegans and vegetarians (and plant-based diets generally) would be a wonderful resource and probably have much better advice for you than a dr (who usually is not trained in nutrition).
  • Lizakabibbis
    Lizakabibbis Posts: 370 Member
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    If you look at videos on youtube there are vegans who live a low carb lifestyle - they post their menus and meal preps.
  • GabyAdamidis
    GabyAdamidis Posts: 10 Member
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    That’s me - and it’s not miserable! At all!
    It’s absolutely doable you just have to plan and prep, and be organised. I’m wheat intolerant and eat mostly vegan. Around 95% of diet is vegan with exception of eggs which I’m aiming to cut back on. I’m also lactose intolerant.

    I’ve been eating this way for a few years and it’s really not that big a deal.

    There are so many resources on the internet, and in my opinion it’s actually made weight loss and dieting a lot easier, because I have significantly less choice.

    I focus a lot on green leafy vegetables, soups and Curry’s that I can pack heaps of veggies and beans into, salads, seeds and nuts and fruit.

    You can absolutely do it!!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    blackcatfitness wrote: »
    Please look into reading the following books, as they touch what you are asking in depth:

    The China Study - Dr Thomas Campbell
    Proteinaholic - Dr Garth Davis

    Neither of those are about low carbohydrate veganism. The diet based on the China Study is a low fat WFPB diet. Davis appears to be recommending something similar.
  • gaelicstorm
    gaelicstorm Posts: 94 Member
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    You definitely need to see a dietitian.

    Are you checking your blood sugar at all? If so, that will give you an idea of how the foods you are already eating are affecting your glucose readings. Each person handles carbohydrates a bit differently due to height, weight, activity level, etc. If your blood sugar is truly only borderline, I wonder if adding in some light activity after mealtimes would be helpful enough.

    I eat low carb but I'm most definitely not vegan. Low carb doesn't have to mean that you are eating a diet heavily focused on meat and cheese. Maybe join the low carb forum here? There are bound to be others in your situation.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
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    Depending on how low you need your carbs, you could look into something like eco-atkins.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2018
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    GabyAdamidis wrote: »
    That’s me - and it’s not miserable! At all!
    It’s absolutely doable you just have to plan and prep, and be organised. I’m wheat intolerant and eat mostly vegan. Around 95% of diet is vegan with exception of eggs which I’m aiming to cut back on. I’m also lactose intolerant.

    I’ve been eating this way for a few years and it’s really not that big a deal.

    There are so many resources on the internet, and in my opinion it’s actually made weight loss and dieting a lot easier, because I have significantly less choice.

    I focus a lot on green leafy vegetables, soups and Curry’s that I can pack heaps of veggies and beans into, salads, seeds and nuts and fruit.

    You can absolutely do it!!

    The question is how "low carb" is defined. I don't see how one could meet protein requirements on keto, for example, while vegan, as so many of the best vegan protein sources (like beans) are pretty high carb. Well, if you used a lot of protein supplements, or maybe some fake meats are low carb, but it would limit you and cut out some foods that are really healthful.

    It's also a bit harder to meet nutritional requirements on a vegan diet overall -- I've been eating 100% plant based and log in Cron and have figured it out (mostly) but initially I was seeing nutritional gaps I needed to find sources of, and I eat a diet consisting of a huge variety of vegetables and other whole food plant foods (fruits, beans, tubers, grains) -- all of those but the vegetables would be a problem with very low carb.

    Thus, I think it's important to understand what OP means by low carb and suggest she see a dietitian for advice, as it's not so easy as "just cut way down on carbs, it will be fine!"
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blackcatfitness wrote: »
    Please look into reading the following books, as they touch what you are asking in depth:

    The China Study - Dr Thomas Campbell
    Proteinaholic - Dr Garth Davis

    Neither of those are about low carbohydrate veganism. The diet based on the China Study is a low fat WFPB diet. Davis appears to be recommending something similar.

    Yes, and debates about the China Study aside, I think Campbell (Thomas was a co-author, but Colin is the primary one) and Davis are not fans of the low carb approach, so I'm really confused as to why these were cited.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    The MFP group, the Low CarberDaily, has great vegan low carb resources in its launch pad sticky. You may want to take a look.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    lemurcat12 wrote: »
    GabyAdamidis wrote: »
    That’s me - and it’s not miserable! At all!
    It’s absolutely doable you just have to plan and prep, and be organised. I’m wheat intolerant and eat mostly vegan. Around 95% of diet is vegan with exception of eggs which I’m aiming to cut back on. I’m also lactose intolerant.

    I’ve been eating this way for a few years and it’s really not that big a deal.

    There are so many resources on the internet, and in my opinion it’s actually made weight loss and dieting a lot easier, because I have significantly less choice.

    I focus a lot on green leafy vegetables, soups and Curry’s that I can pack heaps of veggies and beans into, salads, seeds and nuts and fruit.

    You can absolutely do it!!

    The question is how "low carb" is defined. I don't see how one could meet protein requirements on keto, for example, while vegan, as so many of the best vegan protein sources (like beans) are pretty high carb. Well, if you used a lot of protein supplements, or maybe some fake meats are low carb, but it would limit you and cut out some foods that are really healthful.

    It's also a bit harder to meet nutritional requirements on a vegan diet overall -- I've been eating 100% plant based and log in Cron and have figured it out (mostly) but initially I was seeing nutritional gaps I needed to find sources of, and I eat a diet consisting of a huge variety of vegetables and other whole food plant foods (fruits, beans, tubers, grains) -- all of those but the vegetables would be a problem with very low carb.

    Thus, I think it's important to understand what OP means by low carb and suggest she see a dietitian for advice, as it's not so easy as "just cut way down on carbs, it will be fine!"

    The people I know who do vegan keto all include a lot of faux meat and nuts/seeds in their diet. But you're right . . . it's a diet with very little variety. Like (I think) I said upthread, everyone I know who has done it for more than a limited period of time is doing it to help with a health condition that they've been unable to address other ways.
  • 2018shauna
    2018shauna Posts: 3 Member
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    I’ve only just introduced eggs and some dairy back into my diet because I couldn’t manage a low carb and vegan diet. My head is fried from research.

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