Interesting Links for 27-03-2025

[andrewducker]

1. Pressure mounting on NICE to stop telling type 2 diabetics to eat carbs

(tags:carbohydrates diet nhs uk )

2. Scientists have been trying to model a worm for 13 years. It's going to take a while...

(tags:simulation worm )

3. Reeves rejects own government's findings of cuts pushing 250,000 into poverty

(tags:UK poverty welfare austerity labour )

4. Belfast Pride to ban political parties over puberty blockers

(tags:LGBT pride transgender )

5. How generative AI can make optical illusions. (Very good introduction to how AI image generators work in the first part)

(tags:video ai optical_illusion )

6. The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking

(tags:thinking ai )

Comments

[juan_gandhi]

Thank you!
Regarding the kinds of carbs, I have a strong impression that this is all individual. Dark bread is bad for me. Potatoes are just perfect.

[andrewducker]

Oh yes, a lot of food issues are complex. But *in general* carbs will spike insulin and won't be good for type 2 diabetics. Definitely something that different people will have to try and see what works for them.

(And my pleasure!)

[calimac]

1) What? Nobody ever told me to eat carbs! Severely limiting carbs has always been the rule; just don't try eliminating them entirely, because too low blood sugar is also bad. Rule of thumb: no more than 30g per meal, not counting fiber.

[andrewducker]

Now that's sensible advice!

[channelpenguin]

"not counting fibre" is important. Because more fibre is very good for everyone (individual gut issues allowing, of course. And increasing fibre in your diet, it's best to work up slowly)

[calimac]

It's important for the diet in general to have some fiber, just as it's important to have some carbs. But that's not the reason for not including fiber in the carb count. It's that, though fiber is technically carb, it isn't absorbed the way most carbs are, so it doesn't affect blood sugar meaningfully. Sugar alcohols also for the same reason.

I'm kind of stunned that I know something about this, but I got some useful training from my health care provider.

[andrewducker]

It sounds like you have a good one!

[calimac]

It's Kaiser Permanente, a large operation that's generally considered one of the best HMOs in US (except in mental health, at which they're curiously balky). Best is that they're a complete service outfit: they manage their own billing, and all their physicians and other health personnel are Kaiser employees, so management trusts them to make the right medical decisions: there's no outside reviewers refusing to authorize procedures as you hear so often about insurance companies doing here.

[andrewducker]

That strikes me as a staggeringly better approach than most of US private healthcare. I'm glad that they exist!

[channelpenguin]

Good explanation. I did know that but I guess I thought everyone did. Lol. I hung out with bodybuilders a lot once upon a time...

[channelpenguin]

I'm so glad I have no insulin issues at all. It sounds a pain. I can't take a lot of credit. Just good genes, good diet, good habits, mostly, but mainly good luck.

I hope they update advice so that people get something a bit more nuanced and personal.

[calimac]

Don't overdo the sugary drinks. That's probably what did me in.

[channelpenguin]

Ah. I never liked them and after about 20 never drank any. Too much alcohol, mind you! But I have that up entirely more than 20 years ago.