Blood sugar rises under 2 basic conditions. First, known as type 1 diabetes, the body stops making insulin needed for control of the  blood sugars which then rise significantly and quickly.  In the second and far more common situation known as type 2 diabetes the body’s cells become resistant to the effects of insulin (insulin resistance). Many  folks have elevated blood sugars (100 – 128 fasting) not yet at the point of definite diabetes (hemoglobin A1C over 6.4 or fasting blood sugar over 129). This is called borderline diabetes or pre-diabetes and represents another example of insulin resistance. It is critical to aggressively lower the blood sugars here before progression to full blown diabetes occurs.

Before the discovery of insulin, one of the most common dietary treatments of diabetes mellitus was a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. A review of Frederick M. Allen’s case histories shows that a 70% fat, 8% carbohydrate diet could eliminate glycosuria (sugar in the urine) among hospitalized patients.

The treatment of type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance should start with a low carbohydrate diet. A recent study in the journal Nutrition argues the following:

1. Point 1. Elevated blood sugar is the most salient feature of diabetes. Dietary carbohydrate restriction has the greatest effect on decreasing blood glucose levels
2. Point 2. During the epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes, caloric increases have been due almost entirely to increased carbohydrates
3. Point 3. Benefits of dietary carbohydrate restriction do not require weight loss
4. Point 4. Although weight loss is not required for benefit, no dietary intervention is better than carbohydrate restriction for weight loss
5. Point 5. Adherence to low-carbohydrate diets in people with type 2 diabetes is at least as good as adherence to any other dietary interventions and is frequently significantly better.
6. Point 6. Replacement of carbohydrate with protein is generally beneficial
7. Point 7. Dietary total and saturated fat do not correlate with risk for cardiovascular disease
8. Point 8. Plasma saturated fatty acids are controlled by dietary carbohydrate more than by dietary lipids
9. Point 9. The best predictor of microvascular and, to a lesser extent, macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes, is glycemic control (HbA1c)
10. Point 10. Dietary carbohydrate restriction is the most effective method (other than starvation) of reducing serum TGs and increasing high-density lipoprotein
11. Point 11. Patients with type 2 diabetes on carbohydrate-restricted diets reduce and frequently eliminate medication. People with type 1 usually require lower insulin
12. Point 12. Intensive glucose lowering by dietary carbohydrate restriction has no side effects comparable to the effects of intensive pharmacologic treatment

The complete article can be found here.

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To check out the blog of the President of the American Bariatric Physicians association, Mary Vernon, MD, click here