4 ms·

We already have one for type-2. Don't eat carbs. Really, if you have an intolerance to something... why are you still eating it?

dkirkman 13y ago
This isn't entirely snarky. The ACCORD trial was a spectacular failure (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0802743 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0802743). Nobody really knows why (as far as I know), but since high blood glucose is known to cause problems, and lowering it by giving extra insulin does not seem to help (remember that type-2's usually have high spectacularly insulin levels to begin with), we've got to consider other approaches. Avoiding carbs seems to both normalize glucose and lower insulin in type-2s, so it's not a dumb approach. On the other hand, a low carb diet tends to increase insulin resistance, so if it turns out that both the glycemia and insulin levels are not the cause of the adverse symptoms, but rather symptoms in themselves, going low carb may make everything much worse. (e.g. it might make the numbers we can measure look better, while worsening whatever metabolic abnormality is causing the diabetes in the first place)
groovy2shoes 13y ago
Not sure why you're being downvoted. This is a perfectly valid approach to managing type 2 diabetes. My mother is a type 2 diabetic and has been on a diet in which she consumes less than 30 grams of carbohydrates every day. To put that in perspective, the recommended daily consumption of carbohydrates is about 300 grams. The vast majority of American adults consume more (sometimes much more). She cannot eat bread, pasta, fruit, potatoes, or even carrots, among other things. Surprisingly, some forms of sugar substitutes can also raise blood glucose levels. But she can eat many kinds of vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy products. Just no sugar, and no carbs. The diet has been very successful. She barely needs insulin anymore, and she's at the lowest A1C level she's ever had -- even lower than when she was taking lots of insulin. As a bonus, she's returned to a healthy weight.
- penguindev 13y ago
  That's outstanding. I wonder if her doctor recommended that or she found out herself? A lot more doctors need to get educated ... or at least less indoctrinated by the drug companies. I've lost 30lbs myself in the last year being on a low carb high fat diet [with no exercise whatever]. It's miraculous. Diabetes and alzheimers run in my family, so I'm fairly certain I'll never eat bread/pasta/chips again.
  - groovy2shoes 13y ago
    It's just something she decided to do. Her doctor was more than happy to just keep pumping her full of insulin. But as it turns out, diabetics can be successful avoiding carbohydrates the same way lactose intolerants are successful avoiding dairy and people with peanut allergies are successful avoiding peanuts. It just makes sense, really.

dkirkman 13y ago

This isn't entirely snarky. The ACCORD trial was a spectacular failure (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0802743 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0802743). Nobody really knows why (as far as I know), but since high blood glucose is known to cause problems, and lowering it by giving extra insulin does not seem to help (remember that type-2's usually have high spectacularly insulin levels to begin with), we've got to consider other approaches. Avoiding carbs seems to both normalize glucose and lower insulin in type-2s, so it's not a dumb approach. On the other hand, a low carb diet tends to increase insulin resistance, so if it turns out that both the glycemia and insulin levels are not the cause of the adverse symptoms, but rather symptoms in themselves, going low carb may make everything much worse. (e.g. it might make the numbers we can measure look better, while worsening whatever metabolic abnormality is causing the diabetes in the first place)

groovy2shoes 13y ago

Not sure why you're being downvoted. This is a perfectly valid approach to managing type 2 diabetes. My mother is a type 2 diabetic and has been on a diet in which she consumes less than 30 grams of carbohydrates every day. To put that in perspective, the recommended daily consumption of carbohydrates is about 300 grams. The vast majority of American adults consume more (sometimes much more). She cannot eat bread, pasta, fruit, potatoes, or even carrots, among other things. Surprisingly, some forms of sugar substitutes can also raise blood glucose levels. But she can eat many kinds of vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy products. Just no sugar, and no carbs. The diet has been very successful. She barely needs insulin anymore, and she's at the lowest A1C level she's ever had -- even lower than when she was taking lots of insulin. As a bonus, she's returned to a healthy weight.

penguindev 13y ago
That's outstanding. I wonder if her doctor recommended that or she found out herself? A lot more doctors need to get educated ... or at least less indoctrinated by the drug companies. I've lost 30lbs myself in the last year being on a low carb high fat diet [with no exercise whatever]. It's miraculous. Diabetes and alzheimers run in my family, so I'm fairly certain I'll never eat bread/pasta/chips again.
- groovy2shoes 13y ago
  It's just something she decided to do. Her doctor was more than happy to just keep pumping her full of insulin. But as it turns out, diabetics can be successful avoiding carbohydrates the same way lactose intolerants are successful avoiding dairy and people with peanut allergies are successful avoiding peanuts. It just makes sense, really.