Low Carb Diet and Scientific Research

Low carb diets are being researched

With more information about the effectiveness of low carb diets reaching the public in recent years, more research is being undertaken to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low carbohydrate diets.

It has been said that hyperglycemia is the ‘disease of the century’ and often going unnoticed and ignored with strong coffees and sugary snacks being the cure rather than fundamental changes in diet such as the removal of bad carbohydrates with a high glyceamic index completely from the diet.

This also coincides with the world wide increase in refined foods, over the last three decades in particular the amount of ‘white products’ in the refinery process, many of the nutrients and macronutrients that are needed by the body are removed as well as the fact that more refined foods have a greater hyperglycaemic effect on the body, there is little other than harm eating these products can produce for anyone let alone diabetics.

Dr Katherine Morrison

One seminal low-carb diabetes diet was written by Dr Katharine Morrison and named ‘Low carbohydrate diets for diabetes control,’ published in the British Journal of General Practice in 2005^[8].

It reported her personal experience with her son who has type 1 diabetes, as well as the collective research with her patients, it reports that a low carbohydrate diet can:

• extend the honeymoon phase in type 1 diabetes,
• prolong pancreatic function in type two diabetes,
• reduce need for insulin,
• reduce development of glucose intolerance to type two diabetes,
• encourage high HDL and low triglycerides (good and bad cholesterol),
• reduce hypoglycaemia, optimise glycaemic control including post prandial blood sugars,
• promotes a healthy weight and
• reduces need for oral hypoglycaemic drugs.

Dr Richard Bernstein

Dr Bernstein is an engineer with type 1 diabetes who changed his career, taking medical exams, to become a diabetologist. Dr Bernstein has been one of the most popular proponents of a low carbohydrate regime and is the author of the widely popular book, ‘The Diabetes Solution’, which outlines his approach to diabetes management. ^[7]

Dr Bernstein has contributed a number of research studies including in 2008 a study into the effectiveness of low carbohydrate diets in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Nielsen and Joensson

A small study by Nielsen and Joensson, in 2008, of 23 patients following a low carbohydrate diet (20% of energy from carbohydrates) showed a marked decrease in HbA1c over a 44 months period. ^[9]

• Initial mean average HbA1c of the participants was 8.0%
• Mean average of HbA1c at 44 months was 6.8%

Over this period, the mean average loss of body weight was 7.5kg.

The study also found that amongst the low carbohydrate group, cardiovascular events were reduced compared to the control group. 2 of the 23 following the low carbohydrate diet had cardiovascular events, compared with 4 out of the 6 control group participants which did not change their diet over the study.

Diabetes UK

Within the article, the authors question the fact that Diabetes UK refuses to promote a low carbohydrate diet as a safe and effective means of controlling diabetes and makes the comment that general practitioners and medical professionals need to be the force behind its movement into becoming a respected and widely used method of diabetes management.

Low carb dieting and the future

Much of the research on low carbohydrate diets and diabetes is relatively recent, and therefore as with anything new the very long term affects cannot be fully understood.

However the introduction of the glyceamic index in 1976 has enabled people without the condition recognise the effect their food choices is having on their health and well being, for example, when consuming carbohydrates with a higher glyceamic index research suggests they have an negative overall effect on people’s health and well being many people are reporting symptoms of:

• irritability,
• tiredness,
• anxiety,
• excessive perspiration
• indigestion

And many others as a result of consuming carbohydrates which drastically change blood sugar levels which the body has to work excessively to remove which returns them to the original state which encourages them to consume high sugared products once more thus perpetuating the cycle of hypoglycaemia.

Researchers, nutritionists and GPs are suggesting that these and other such symptoms may be the result of high GI carbohydrates and the yo-yo effect of their bodies readjusting their blood sugar levels.

This may also reflect the increase in prevalence of type 2 diabetes and ever increasing numbers of people being diagnosed as obese.