Low Carb Diet and Other Diets
By reducing or removing carbohydrates with a high glyceamic index from a diet, the changes in blood sugar levels after eating, logically ceases to exist and therefore lower levels of insulin may be needed to readjust or normalise the glycaemia.
Therefore, potentially the artificial means of treating diabetes with external medication is either not required or reliance on them greatly reduced.
It is worth noting however, this is not a step that should be taken without the advice of the diabetic team or personal GP.
It has been reported that on a low carbohydrate diet that after 3 to 4 months patients with type 2 diabetes can experience a decrease of 2 - 3% HbA1C or glycolhaemoglobin as well as levels being more stable and predictable.
In addition to a low carb diet helping treat diabetes, reducing or removing carbohydrate from the diet may also have other health benefits including increased HDL (also known as good cholesterol), lowered blood pressure, increased energy and reduced cravings for foods high in sugar.
As an additional benefit of a low carbohydrate diet, by reducing the requirement for externally produced insulin as in type 1 diabetes or the pressure on the pancreas to produce insulin as in type 2 diabetes, any side effects of medication can also be reduced and controlled.
