Why the opposition to low carb?

[Mbaker]

If you could turn LCHF into a pill that pharma could sell it would be a number 1 product. For me the answer as to why this does not have political backing across the world is obvious; consider the impact for example on the cereal, sweet and bread aisles in supermarkets, the fast food industry and down-level suppliers such as grain farmers and high sugar fruit producers. I am aware that the argument would be for non-diabetics these areas are not a problem - I think this is rubbish, as when non-diabetics eat these foods their blood sugar often rises outside of the "normal" range also, and just looking at the general population we can see the physical impact of insulin resistance I would say on balance down to excessive carbs (as when this is limited resistance comes back and weight comes off).

On UK TV there have been quite a few programmes which have given LCHF a fair hearing and even the press have got in on the act. The change will happen from the ground up. Those of us who are using diet, exercise and intermittent fasting cannot all be wrong due to the success rates and the obvious maths - reduced carbs = lower insulin, improved insulin resistance, reduction in weight, less complications, improved fasting blood glucose and lower HbA1c in most circumstances.

I would love to hear that you have setup a private practice where you can continue to promote the "right" message and make a success of it. My wife has been so happy with what she has done for me, she is expanding her Physio practice to include weight loss and diabetic care; as a health care professional her food training concentrated on carb based performance, so she has had to reset her thinking (this is hard to do, which is also a factor for other HCP's which should not be underestimated especially as Governing bodies are given standard advice to the contrary)

 

[Art Of Flowers]

There is an obesity epidemic right now and an explosion of the numbers of people getting type 2 diabetes. The health service is straining under the pressure, but it hasn't dawned on health profession that they have been advocating the wrong diet advice for so long and this is partly to blame.

I am supposed to go on a NHS diabetes education course in a few weeks time. I am wondering if this is just going to be a waste of time if they are going to tell me to eat more carbs.

 

[Oldvatr]

"Why are many national diabetes and dietetic organisations opposed to low carb diets"

Mainly because if we all ate low carb diets, only a tiny number of these people would be needed - if indeed the remaining requirement could not be addressed by General Practice. This is why many of their organisations are funded by producers of high carb foods.

There was a thread on this forum where the sponsors of Diabetes UK (DUK, not this site) were identified, and the majority were vested interests such as soft drink suppliers and the pototo suppliers organisation. Heavy CARBers and sugarites to a T, so no I am not surprised. The other source of funding for research into diabetes is provided by Big Pharma, Even Public Health England is heavily sponsored by these same organisations,

 

[Oldvatr]

My understanding is that fructose and glucose are quite different, and are matabolised differently. Fructose is more likely to be turned into fat than glucose, and less likely to raise blood sugar as much as glucose. Fruit usually contains both glucose and fructose.

Table sugar is actually 50:50

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Table sugar is actually 50:50

If you haven't seen this, it is worth a view. It explains how glucose and fructose effects the body.
Dr Lustig: Sugar, the bitter truth

 

[low carb dietitian]

If you could turn LCHF into a pill that pharma could sell it would be a number 1 product. For me the answer as to why this does not have political backing across the world is obvious; consider the impact for example on the cereal, sweet and bread aisles in supermarkets, the fast food industry and down-level suppliers such as grain farmers and high sugar fruit producers. I am aware that the argument would be for non-diabetics these areas are not a problem - I think this is rubbish, as when non-diabetics eat these foods their blood sugar often rises outside of the "normal" range also, and just looking at the general population we can see the physical impact of insulin resistance I would say on balance down to excessive carbs (as when this is limited resistance comes back and weight comes off).

On UK TV there have been quite a few programmes which have given LCHF a fair hearing and even the press have got in on the act. The change will happen from the ground up. Those of us who are using diet, exercise and intermittent fasting cannot all be wrong due to the success rates and the obvious maths - reduced carbs = lower insulin, improved insulin resistance, reduction in weight, less complications, improved fasting blood glucose and lower HbA1c in most circumstances.

I would love to hear that you have setup a private practice where you can continue to promote the "right" message and make a success of it. My wife has been so happy with what she has done for me, she is expanding her Physio practice to include weight loss and diabetic care; as a health care professional her food training concentrated on carb based performance, so she has had to reset her thinking (this is hard to do, which is also a factor for other HCP's which should not be underestimated especially as Governing bodies are given standard advice to the contrary)[/QUOT

I agree with what you've written; especially that change will happen from the ground up. The popularity of LC forums and cases such as Gary Fettke's, Tim Noakes's, Annika Dahlqvist's and mine where LC practitioners have come under attack, have had a positive effect in increasing public awareness.

As far as my continuing practice, DAA's decision to deregister me means that I can't register to offer Medicare rebates to private clients, as DAA has control over eligibility to this scheme. I'm relying on my book and on-line program for management of T2D instead and both are going well [/QUOTE]

 

[Doriand]

I have managed to lose 9 kilos this year alone and no longer rely on quick acting and slow acting insulin as well as reducing my oral meds to just metformin once daily. All this through IF and LCHF. I will come off metformin when my BSL gets into the 4's-5's (at the moment it's sitting around 7's-8's). Later this year I'll see my doc to have a HbA1c test and will determine once and for all that I control my Diabetes totally. The sad irony is, none of this would be achieved if I followed the doctors, dieticians and Diabetic nurses advice... Jennifer, Australians (and Diabetics worldwide) need more health practitioners that are broad and open minded like yourself. A wise man once said: "The mind is like a parachute - it works best when fully opened"

 

[mackeown]

T2 is often regarded as self-inflicted and is a result of excessive eating and lack of exercise.
the 'evidence' is clear:
Carbohydrates ingested are converted to glucose to feed the cells in the body. excess carbohydrate is stored as fat for later when there is nothing eaten for a while. Our bodies were designed to perform thus for our survival.
BUT modern life means that we do not have to store fat for later use, we can eat everyday whenever we feel like and nowadays whatever we want as well. Our system has not adapted to such and the excess is stored as before for later use but is not used. All is well for a while, until something else happens - nobody knows what, but it could be an exceptional stress event - which trips the body and the reaction is T2.
It is reasonable to assume therefore that as excess carbohydrates caused the problem, that reduction of the excess could reduce the same problem (in conjunction with medication if appropriate)
The advice given to me when diagnosed (T2) was that I should make some changes to my lifestyle. I was given diet sheets (which included significant amounts of carbohydrates)
This all coincided with Prof Taylor's findings (Newcastle University) where a very low calorie intake was found to reverse T2 in the sample tested. I decided to try it for myself.....
I began to feel better within three days!

The exact mechanism that triggers T2 is not known. I know several large people (22 stone or more) who are not diabetic!
I was diagnosed when I was 15 stone.

The facts are clear, though:
10% of NHS budget is diabetes related and the figure is rising.
Pharma relies on this figure for 10% of their revenue, which is similarly rising.

It appears that Pharma funds research. if this is true, the research is unlikely (at best) to be impartial. such research funding is not available to the dietary route.

Why cannot governments look at the issue in the way that they do smoking?
Vast amounts of money are available to smokers who want to quit - a self-inflicted condition!
Yet I am sure that tobacco related illnesses do not account for 10% of NHS budget - or do they?

In UK we have a golden opportunity to exploit a key member of government and enroll them as a spokesperson for diabetes awareness and the promotion of self help - in the surety that such support will help the individuals concerned and save the NHS vast amounts which can be better spent in other pressing areas of need (within the NHS)

Expert opinion will not change until enough of us T2 get together and present a united front so that the body of evidence becomes irrefutable and will have to become part of the evidence based research that will form the new 'treatment' and maybe standard practice.

Who is with me?

 

[Granny_grump_]

Tried to send a message a few days ago to Administrators along same lines we need to stand together and get a petition to give to the government. To show how important type2 is and the importance of better control through BG meters ,and how much less money would be needed for drugs and hospitalisation if they agreed to support us. It's Our Health at Stake Not There's.i wholeheartedly agree!

 

[JRTwalker]

Sadly we live in an age where having people like us to blame for the country's failings is all too prevalent. Just think, if it wasn't for people like me sat on my fat **** all day eating pies, the foreigners would get blamed even more than they already do for the risible politicians that we insist on electing to government.
Apologies for the political rant here but very little changes when we have politicians who have an agenda to secure wealth for those already wealthy including landowners taking Millions of £ in food subsidies from public funds as well as the corporations who make a killing literally from marketing low-fat diets for the masses. Oh and I nearly forgot what they are trying to do with our valued NHS which will soon be in the hands of US corporations - this one is clearly aimed at UK readers only but as the President said, Britain First!

 

[Resurgam]

On the Diabetes UK group I sent a post explaining the working of insulin as the fat producing hormone - standard A level Human Biology information - it was deleted as being 'non factual' - against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.

 

[walnut_face]

I agree with what you've written; especially that change will happen from the ground up. The popularity of LC forums and cases such as Gary Fettke's, Tim Noakes's, Annika Dahlqvist's and mine where LC practitioners have come under attack, have had a positive effect in increasing public awareness.

As far as my continuing practice, DAA's decision to deregister me means that I can't register to offer Medicare rebates to private clients, as DAA has control over eligibility to this scheme. I'm relying on my book and on-line program for management of T2D instead and both are going well

[/QUOTE]
You might want to consider the 'Speaker circuit'

 

[fletchweb]

If you could turn LCHF into a pill that pharma could sell it would be a number 1 product. For me the answer as to why this does not have political backing across the world is obvious; consider the impact for example on the cereal, sweet and bread aisles in supermarkets, the fast food industry and ...

I still remember a nutritionist at the Diabetes Control Center near where I live tell me that I was very foolish and my lack of carbs in my diet could in fact have negative repercussions to my Intelligence. That was 5 years ago - I told her my low carb diet was a result of years of discovering which foods had the greatest and least impact levels on my |BGs. And that what I ate was from years and years (45 years in fact) of experimenting. She didn't believe one word I said - and as I was leaving I felt compelled to ask her if her Obesity was under control - but I'm not a cruel person so I said nothing and I've never been back. On a more positive note - I was just talking to a work colleague who was diagnosed with Type 2 a couple of years ago and he went on a low carb diet and he's completely off his meds - The food industry is about as ethical as any other industry when the greatest emphasis is placed on market share and profit. Oh and guess who is the major employer for nutritionist - the food industry Lol

 

[Nicksu]

I have to say when I went to see the dietician (5 months after diagnosis) she didn't bat an eyelid at my saying I had used LCHF to lose nearly 3 stone in weight. I think unfortunately its going to take time and perseverance to get the message through what works.

 

[Oldvatr]

On the Diabetes UK group I sent a post explaining the working of insulin as the fat producing hormone - standard A level Human Biology information - it was deleted as being 'non factual' - against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.

I had this same experience with a couple of my posts on LCHF and how it benefitted me.

Edit: Who needs enema's when one has a website like DUK? It is not just politicians we have to persuade. I would say that any move to raise a petition will be thwarted by DUK heirarchy, who, after all, advise all and sundry on diabetes care. I only go on their website when I get rusticated/ barred from this one.

 

[BrianTheElder]

On the Diabetes UK group I sent a post explaining the working of insulin as the fat producing hormone - standard A level Human Biology information - it was deleted as being 'non factual' - against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.

I went on the DUK website recently when I was having problems with this site. The stuff on there about diet is simply unbelievable. It is astonishing that they do not understand the harm they are doing.

 

[Granny_grump_]

Who's opposing low carbs it's certainly not me!

 

[Doriand]

On the Diabetes UK group I sent a post explaining the working of insulin as the fat producing hormone - standard A level Human Biology information - it was deleted as being 'non factual' - against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.

"There is only two things that are infinite: the universe and human stupidity" Albert Einstein

 

[Doriand]

I have to say when I went to see the dietician (5 months after diagnosis) she didn't bat an eyelid at my saying I had used LCHF to lose nearly 3 stone in weight. I think unfortunately its going to take time and perseverance to get the message through what works.

If you were in Australia the DAA would not consider your 3 stone weight loss due to LCHF as "evidence based practice". Well done on your achievements!

 

[Oldvatr]

I think the following may be of interest to our reaaders here:

http://lowcarbdownunder.com.au/events/

I have tried to get past the advertising that this site displays, but I cannot guarantee it to be ad free.