Low Carb Diet The Best Plan For Type II Diabetics

Is it really as simple as just going low carb? There seems to be a mountain of evidence (NOT recognized by the main stream media, the FDA and the medical community at large) that YES, it could very well be.

Here are some excerpts from another article by Michael R. Eades M.D. Blog concerning low carb diets and Type II diabetes:  /    Link to Mike's Blog

Excerpt:

I just read an article in the Family Practice News that shows once again that the low-carb diet is the Rodney Dangerfield of diets: it gets no respect. Especially not from the press.
The Family Practice News (FPN) is one of the so-called throw-away journals that are sent to physicians free of charge. The FPN is also one of the few of the zillions of these things that I get that I actually don’t throw away until after I’ve read it. Reporters working for the FPN seem to haunt the types of medical meetings I would attend if I could afford the time to attend every one I wanted to. Their reporting is pretty sharp and concise and for the most part honestly portrays the research it reports.
The December 1 issue contains an article on a poster presentation at the NAASO meeting a couple of months ago that I found interesting on a number of levels and wanted to pass along.
To set the stage, let’s go over a couple of things. First, NAASO stands for the North American Association for the Study of Obesity, which now goes by the name The Obesity Society. NAASO is the academic obesity research society. It’s members are primarily scientists working in academia on obesity research. But not all are academic researchers. They let me in. I have been a member since the mid 1980s and have attended numerous meetings.

Second, a few months ago I posted on a presentation from the last meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA) that received huge press coverage. This was the so-called study (it was actually a poster presentation just like the NAASO one I’m going to write about here shortly) that seem to indicate that the Atkins diet caused blood vessel damage. The findings of this ‘study’ were presented by the press in wide, wide coverage as an indictment of low-carb diets. As my analysis showed this wasn’t really a study, and the diet wasn’t really the Atkins diet. In fact, it wasn’t even really a low-carb diet.
In October 2007 (at about the same time the AHA meeting was taking place) NAASO had its national meeting in New Orleans. MD and I go to as many of these as we can, but we had a scheduling conflict that made us miss this one. Unlike the AHA, NAASO doesn’t publish an online compilation of the abstracts of all the presentations. You get a hard copy at the meeting, but no online resource. So, unless you’re there, you don’t really know what got presented.
A group from Duke presented a poster showing the results of their ongoing research comparing the effects of two different dietary regimens for weight loss. One of the groups of subjects were randomized to a low-carb dietary protocol – the other to a low-fat diet plus the drug orlistat (Xenecal or in OTC form called Alli).

The study, which is planned to last 48 weeks, includes 146 outpatients from the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. All have a body mass index 27 kg/m2 or greater, and 46 of the patients also have type 2 diabetes. Their mean age is 56 years (range, 48–64 years); the majority are male, and roughly half are black.
In the 6 months that the trial has been ongoing, weight loss with both regimens has been similar (10–12 kg) and so has the reduction in waist circumference.

So, we’ve got patients on two radically different diets who have lost about the same amount of weight and, presumably, from the same areas. Yet the subgroup of these patients who have type II diabetes did radically better on the low-carb diet.

After 24 weeks, the mean HbA1c among the 22 type 2 diabetes patients in the low- carb arm dropped from 7.5% to 6.8%, a significant reduction. The HbA1c in the 24 type 2 diabetes patients in the orlistat arm went from 7.6 to 7.4, and did not fall significantly from baseline.

And more of the patients on the low-carb diet were able to get completely off their diabetic meds.

More Evidence from a different site:

Link to Low Carb Ketogenic Diet

Background

The low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet (LCKD) may be effective for improving glycemia and reducing medications in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods

From an outpatient clinic, we recruited 28 overweight participants with type 2 diabetes for a 16-week single-arm pilot diet intervention trial. We provided LCKD counseling, with an initial goal of <20 g carbohydrate/day, while reducing diabetes medication dosages at diet initiation. Participants returned every other week for measurements, counseling, and further medication adjustment. The primary outcome was hemoglobin A_1c.

Results

Twenty-one of the 28 participants who were enrolled completed the study. Twenty participants were men; 13 were White, 8 were African-American. The mean [± SD] age was 56.0 ± 7.9 years and BMI was 42.2 ± 5.8 kg/m². Hemoglobin A_{1c 1c}. Fasting serum triglyceride decreased 42% from 2.69 ± 2.87 mmol/L to 1.57 ± 1.38 mmol/L (p = 0.001) while other serum lipid measurements did not change significantly.

Conclusion

The LCKD improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes such that diabetes medications were discontinued or reduced in most participants. Because the LCKD can be very effective at lowering blood glucose, patients on diabetes medication who use this diet should be under close medical supervision or capable of adjusting their medication.

It seems that the low carbohydrate regimen (under 20 grams of carbohydrate per day) is successful. In my experience and those of most people I have known (diabetic or not) find the low carb regimen difficult to stick with for the long haul. This could be perhaps because they only know about the OLD Atkins type diet which as I recall was lots of red meat, cheese, eggs etc. and got very boring and constipating after a while. The correct way to do this and stick with it, is to add lots of low carbohydrate vegetables to the mix.

(MY input): The easiest way to begin this is to eliminate any and all empty calorie, zero fiber, high sugar, high carbohydrate foods. I have posted on this blog, the carbohydrate contents of many foods and vegetables. Simply do not BUY any more doughnuts, cakes, pies, regular puddings, bread, low fiber, sugary cereals, juices of all kinds (including orange, apple, pomegranate etc. / juice is NOT a natural product but the whole fruit itself is in MODERATION. (EXCEPTION to this would be fruit blended in a Vita Mixer, where the whole fruit is used, including the fiber, pulp, and in some cases the skin etc.) Buy more green and brightly colored vegetables: Asparagus, broccoli, green beans, yellow beans, cucumbers, radishes, celery, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, green and yellow and red peppers, Brussels sprouts, kale etc. STOP purchasing packaged foods made with hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, and anything ending in (ose), high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, glucose etc. Also avoid starchy breads, rice, most breakfast cereals and pasta because of the carbohydrate content of these foods. IF you have to overeat, fill up on low carb vegetables.

READ labels and look for total carbohydrates, # grams of sugar in any form and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. You will find your shopping list will NOT contain very many pre-packaged foods.

Dan

Physicians of the Utmost Fame
Were called at once, but when they came
They answered, as they took their fees,
'There is no cure for this disease.'
Hilare Belloc

"He (Jesus) welcomed them (the crowds) and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing." (Luke 9:11b)