Atkins Diet Misconceptions: Low Carb and Diabetes
May 1st, 2009This video comes out of another myth that gets propagated out by Atkins Diet bashers that somehow we are more likely to get diabetes by following low carb. Certainly there is no shortage of misinformation on the web:
http://www.atkinsexposed.org/atkins/1…
http://www.diabetesuffolk.com/LivingW…
Part 1:
Part 2:
Some say we are dangerous for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. Some just type 1 diabetics, but it really couldn’t be further from the truth. As all people, ESPECIALLY diabetics, could benefit from controlling blood glucose levels by carbohydrate monitoring or restriction. There are two major proponents for Low Carb for diabetics:
Richard Bernstein, Type 1 Diabetic since 1946
http://www.diabetes911.net/about.php
Author of THE DIABETES DIET and Diabetes Solution
Mary Ross Vernon
Chairman of the board, American Society of Bariatric Physicians
Co-Author of Atkins Diabetes Revolution with Robert Atkins
http://tinyurl.com/cbjk76
2007 and 2008 Runner Up for Diabetic Educator of the Year Award
Mary Ross Vernon has been controlling diabetes with an Very Low Carb Diet (similar to Atkins Diet) for many years. She says both her Type 1 and Type 2 patients have benefited from carbohydrate restriction. She also notes that seeking quality physicians to handle the dramatic decrease in insulin requirements is paramount as some patients could be medication free in 3 days! See the attached quote (http://rjr10036.typepad.com/askdrvernon /2007/05/ron_of_sarasota.html).
The first video deals with case damning the existing treatment or recommendations to follow a high carb diet managed with ever increasing doses of insulin. This second video deals with the evidence for rather managing it with a low carb lifestyle. There are two great studies for advocating this method.
Dietary carbohydrate restriction in type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome: time for a critical appraisal
Nutrition and Metabolism(Lond) 2008; 5: 9.
Numerous authors including Richard Bertstein, Mary Vernon, Jeff Volek, Eric Westman
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/arti…
Conducted Multi-center trial in which 63 obese men and women were randomly assigned to either diet, 21 Low Carb, 21 Control, 21 High Carb for a one year study.
This discussion focuses on type 2 diabetes but many of the principles will apply to metabolic syndrome and possibly to type 1 as well[6,7].
1. Carbohydrate restriction improves glycemic control, the primary target of nutritional therapy and reduces insulin fluctuations.
2. Carbohydrate-restricted diets are at least as effective for weight loss as low-fat diets.
3. Substitution of fat for carbohydrate is generally beneficial for markers for and incidence of CVD.
4. Carbohydrate restriction improves the features of metabolic syndrome.
An important idea guiding current medical thinking is that clustering of seemingly disparate physiologic states, obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia and hypertension, termed metabolic syndrome (MetS) suggests a common underlying cause. A recent review showed that carbohydrate restriction improves all of these markers[24].
5. Beneficial effects of carbohydrate restriction do not require weight loss. It’s not simply a weight loss argument or due to people losing weight do they achieve the benefits.
Low-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes: stable improvement of bodyweight and glycemic control during 44 months follow-up
Jörgen V Nielsen email and Eva A Joensson email
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com…
Conclusion:
There is now little evidence for the claim that a fat-reduced diet for weight reduction has any particular value beyond caloric counting [10]. Current dietary recommendations seem to be a major part of their problem rather than being part of the solution. Carbohydrate restriction, however, reverses or neutralises all aspects of the metabolic syndrome [20,21].
