Beta cell failure in T2

Status
Not open for further replies.

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
There is low carb with weight loss and low carb without weight loss. As long as you don't replace the calories from the carbs you stop eating with calories from other sources, then of course you will lose weight. And weight loss on any diet you like can achieve remission from T 2 as long as you do it early enough after DX.
No. This is completely wrong. Read the low carb experiences of many on here. I know I have previously told you my story.

Its not the calories, it's the carb intake.

It's not the weight loss, it's the carb intake.

Gaining weight is, for some, a symptom of type 2 diabetes starting.

Losing weight, for some, is a byproduct of lower carbs while eating a satisfying diet without calorie restriction.
 

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I don't doubt for a moment that you are in remission, since you apparently lost a ginormous 8 stone a few years back.
I also lost 8 stone in a similar time frame, but I have only had a temporary remission. But I am not as strict on my diet as others, so accept this.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ziggy_w

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
<<< And weight loss on any diet you like can achieve remission from T 2 as long as you do it early enough after DX.
<<<<<<
Not proven, If that was the case then WW and Slimming World, and Cambridge Plan, and the Supersize Me Diet would all be claiming T2D Remission. The Carrot Juice and Bunny Huggers diets would also be in the medical headlines. But they are not. Not all diets will work, and one in particular falls into that category IMO, and that is Eatwell / SAD which is the government approved diet for all of us.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dr Snoddy

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Not proven, If that was the case then WW and Slimming World, and Cambridge Plan, and the Supersize Me Diet would all be claiming T2D Remission. The Carrot Juice and Bunny Huggers diets would also be in the medical headlines. But they are not. Not all diets will work, and one in particular falls into that category IMO, and that is Eatwell / SAD which is the government approved diet for all of us.
When I was still prediabetic, 11 years ago, I was on the Eatwell diets, medically supervised for 6 months, 1000 cals. I not only lost no weight, even gained about 3lbs, and progressed to full type 2 diabetes.
 

Tannith

BANNED
Messages
1,230
Im totally confused by your position again. In both the following points you seem to contradict yourself.

1. You are measuring your success, or not, by means of fbg are you not? And periodic self administered OGTT? yet you say measuring bg isn’t good enough to be classed as remission.

2. You say in your first sentence ANY method of weight loss works, but then say low carb only lowers BG and is only an alternative to drugs and doesn’t achieve remission.

What do you define as remission, other than blood glucose? How are you measuring it?
2. Any weight loss works including weight loss by low carb. But not low carb by itself. If you are doing a low carb diet but replacing all the calories lost from carbs with calories from fat or protein, in that case you have no weight loss, so all you can achieve is lower bgs without improving beta cell function. Ie you lower bg, but do it by putting less sugar into your blood but not by getting more out. Most definitions of remission ae based on HBA1C or FBG readings, so by that standard you could call it "remission". I don't, for me it has to involve repairing the beta cells so that they lower the blood sugar for me.
1. You have said before that these tests measure different things. My take on it is that they measure the same thing, ie BG, but in different contexts. HBA1C and FBG can both be brought down by putting less sugar into your blood in the first place (eg low carb). But that will not improve removal of sugar from the blood. Only the beta cells themselves can do that (by producing enough insulin for example). There are various tests available to the scientist eg C Peptide etc that measure beta cell function fairly accurately. The nearest to those that we can get in the outside world is the OGTT - although it's not perfect as it includes an element of IR. If the typical low carber does one of those, using a measured amount (75 g) of high GI glucose their 2hr post prandial bg will skyrocket. In much the same way as if they ate a high carb meal and, as they say on the forum, it "spikes them". Even if they have been doing low carb for years previously.
 

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Any weight loss works including weight loss by low carb. But not low carb by itself.
Except the facts show that:

low carbing, by itself works for most people. Many have no weight to lose, many have lost no weight, direct evidence from studies linked in replies to your own posts, and personal accounts of peoples experience with low carb and blood sugar control.

or are you saying you dont believe the facts presented to you?
 

catinahat

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,405
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Reality tv
If you are doing a low carb diet but replacing all the calories lost from carbs with calories from fat or protein, in that case you have no weight loss

This would probably be true for someone who does not have type 2
If you are T2 you have some level of insulin resistance, that means you are unable to effectively process the carbs in your meal. Therefore a good percentage of the calories in those carbs get stored as fat instead of being used for energy. So the more carbs you eat, the fatter and hungrier you get.
If you replace the carbs with protein and fats you may well be consuming more calories but because insulin isn't involved in their processing all of those calories can now be used for energy, no fat storage, no hunger and more than likely weight loss
 
  • Like
Reactions: ziggy_w and ert

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,471
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
If you are doing a low carb diet but replacing all the calories lost from carbs with calories from fat or protein, in that case you have no weight loss,
Except that thousands lose weight by replacing calories from carb with calories from fats and proteins and even exceeding them. Go on any low carb keto group and you’ll see evidence of that. There are studies that show it too. It may not happen for everyone but it very definitely does happen a lot for people highly insulin resistant. I personally almost doubled my calories on diagnosis and lost 3 stone in months. I’m sorry but you are very mistaken here
 
  • Like
Reactions: ziggy_w

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,471
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Most definitions of remission ae based on HBA1C or FBG readings, so by that standard you could call it "remission". I don't, for me it has to involve repairing the beta cells so that they lower the blood sugar for me.
So you have a personal definition that matches none of the accepted criteria. And how are you proving beta cell recovery? OGTT doesn’t measure that, at best it’s a proxy or an assumption and as you say it is widely considered a measure of IR. How do you know your beta cells have improved rather than insulin resistance lowered? Quite frankly any assertion of the kind is theoretical and far from proven. Your house of cards is all built on “beta cell failure” and as yet I still see nothing that proves this and makes it more than a theory - so the beta cell failure theory falls the rest does too. A bit like Ancel Keys and the fats/cholesterol/heart disease argument.
 
  • Like
Reactions: lucylocket61

Tannith

BANNED
Messages
1,230
Except that thousands lose weight by replacing calories from carb with calories from fats and proteins and even exceeding them. Go on any low carb keto group and you’ll see evidence of that. There are studies that show it too. It may not happen for everyone but it very definitely does happen a lot for people highly insulin resistant. I personally almost doubled my calories on diagnosis and lost 3 stone in months. I’m sorry but you are very mistaken here
"There are studies that show it too." Please provide links to these studies.
 

lucylocket61

Expert
Messages
6,435
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
"There are studies that show it too." Please provide links to these studies.
You have had, several times over several threads, links to this and other research on points raised. I suggest you do some backtracking of replies you have received.

Numerous replies, from many posters, over months of responses, repeating links to research and answers.

It's clear you are unwilling to accept facts and learn. Which is a shame, and leads to repeated circular conversation.
 

HSSS

Expert
Messages
7,471
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
"There are studies that show it too." Please provide links to these studies.
I’ve linked these and similar to you personally several times in the past. As have others. Perhaps if you had read them (you certainly never acknowledged them) then we wouldn’t be going over the same ground again and again.
 

Tannith

BANNED
Messages
1,230
So you have a personal definition that matches none of the accepted criteria. And how are you proving beta cell recovery? OGTT doesn’t measure that, at best it’s a proxy or an assumption and as you say it is widely considered a measure of IR. How do you know your beta cells have improved rather than insulin resistance lowered? Quite frankly any assertion of the kind is theoretical and far from proven. Your house of cards is all built on “beta cell failure” and as yet I still see nothing that proves this and makes it more than a theory - so the beta cell failure theory falls the rest does too. A bit like Ancel Keys and the fats/cholesterol/heart disease argument.
I can't totally prove recovery in myself only the approximate results of the OGTT, as I haven't access to a C Peptide test. However the trial participants in DIRECT did, and their increased beta cell function is described below:
"First-phase insulin secretion increased in responders after weight loss from 0.04[0.05–0.32] to 0.11[0.0005–0.51] nmol/min/m2 (p < 0.0001), whereas no change was observed in the non-responders (0.02[0.07–0.13] to 0.01[0.04– 0.05] nmol/min/m2 , p = 0.96; Figure 5A; Table 2). In the responders, increased firstphase insulin secretion was maintained during the weight maintenance phase (to 0.11[0.005–0.81] nmol/ min/m2 , p = 0.97). Between baseline and 12 months the change was highly significant (p = 0.0001). There was a gradual increase in maximal insulin secretion in responders after weight loss that became significant at 12 months (0.62[0.13–1.95] to 0.94 [0.25–2.69] nmol/min/m2 , p < 0.04 compared with baseline; Figure 5B)." https://www.directclinicaltrial.org.uk/Pubfiles/Cell Metabolism 2018.pdf
 

Tannith

BANNED
Messages
1,230
I’ve linked these and similar to you personally several times in the past. As have others. Perhaps if you had read them (you certainly never acknowledged them) then we wouldn’t be going over the same ground again and again.
No you haven't. You have SAID you have but not actually posted any. Probably because there aren't any, so how could anyone refer me to them. All I ever get referred to is anecdotal stuff from forums etc, never any scientific tests/trials.I have also searched for these myself independently and not found any. Someone did once refer me to the Virta study but when I looked it up I found that around half the participants were still on drugs like metformin and a few were even still on insulin!
 
Last edited:

bulkbiker

BANNED
Messages
19,575
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
All I ever get referred to is anecdotal stuff from forums etc, never any scientific tests/trials.

That's because anecdotal stuff from forums show that people can and are doing what you want.. just using a better/easier method.
Your issue is that you refuse to accept this evidence.
I found that around half the participants were still on drugs like metformin and a few were even still on insulin!
Many of the participants in the ViRTA study had come off insulin completely (unlike in your much loved DiRECT trial where they were excluded from the very start).
 

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I can't totally prove recovery in myself only the approximate results of the OGTT, as I haven't access to a C Peptide test. However the trial participants in DIRECT did, and their increased beta cell function is described below:
"First-phase insulin secretion increased in responders after weight loss from 0.04[0.05–0.32] to 0.11[0.0005–0.51] nmol/min/m2 (p < 0.0001), whereas no change was observed in the non-responders (0.02[0.07–0.13] to 0.01[0.04– 0.05] nmol/min/m2 , p = 0.96; Figure 5A; Table 2). In the responders, increased firstphase insulin secretion was maintained during the weight maintenance phase (to 0.11[0.005–0.81] nmol/ min/m2 , p = 0.97). Between baseline and 12 months the change was highly significant (p = 0.0001). There was a gradual increase in maximal insulin secretion in responders after weight loss that became significant at 12 months (0.62[0.13–1.95] to 0.94 [0.25–2.69] nmol/min/m2 , p < 0.04 compared with baseline; Figure 5B)." https://www.directclinicaltrial.org.uk/Pubfiles/Cell Metabolism 2018.pdf
How many more times do I have to explain that the calculation used by Taylor to demonstrate insulin response improvement is flawed. The calculation includes a direct manipulation by the body weight term, so that as the weight changes, so does the response. In a trial where the object of the the intervention is purely weight loss, then it is obvious that as this happens there will be a corresponding 'improvement' in the OGTT apparent results. It is therfore not proven by the OGTT. As we have also told you the OGTT cannot show beta cell physical recovery and all it may show is a change to pancreatic output, which could be due to other factors that were not eliminated in the trial. Again, Taylor's theories have not been proven by his experiment, and remain as theories and hypotheses.
 

Tannith

BANNED
Messages
1,230
How many more times do I have to explain that the calculation used by Taylor to demonstrate insulin response improvement is flawed. The calculation includes a direct manipulation by the body weight term, so that as the weight changes, so does the response. In a trial where the object of the the intervention is purely weight loss, then it is obvious that as this happens there will be a corresponding 'improvement' in the OGTT apparent results. It is therfore not proven by the OGTT. As we have also told you the OGTT cannot show beta cell physical recovery and all it may show is a change to pancreatic output, which could be due to other factors that were not eliminated in the trial. Again, Taylor's theories have not been proven by his experiment, and remain as theories and hypotheses.
He didn't only use OGTT he used insulin secretion tests as well.
 
M

Member496333

Guest
The plural of anecdote is data. Also a paradox is a data point that calls into question the universal acceptance of a paradigm. Real world experiences in a forum full of diabetics will always mean more to me than any science study funded by someone else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Widgets

Tannith

BANNED
Messages
1,230
That's because anecdotal stuff from forums show that people can and are doing what you want.. just using a better/easier method.
Your issue is that you refuse to accept this evidence.

Many of the participants in the ViRTA study had come off insulin completely (unlike in your much loved DiRECT trial where they were excluded from the very start).
Anecdotes aren't "evidence" You need proper trials for evidence. Showing exactly how many cals from fats & carbs people ate, what their BMRs were, how much weight (if any) they lost, what their insulin secretion rates were eg C Peptide tests. All that sort of thing. I can't find any scientific reports of such trials. I suspect none have been done. I know there are reports of low carb versus low fat weight loss diets, but found none related to T2. Unwin's stuff doesn't describe exactly what his subjects ate. Nor did they even have any OGTTs let alone any C peptide tests. Vague comments on forums to the effect "I did low carb and lost weight" are simply not evidence, even when BGs were reduced.
Because without C Peptide tests, or at the very least the more rough and ready OGTTs you can't tell the difference between bg improvement caused by lower sugar INPUT and BG improvement caused by better sugar REMOVAL by increased insulin output. The latter is what I seek, at least unless I find it is insufficient at my age/stage of T2 to lower BGs enough. Only then would I consider low carb or better still drugs if I can tolerate them as I understand some have additional beneficial effects like lowering cancer/heart risk.
 

Oldvatr

Expert
Messages
8,470
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
He didn't only use OGTT he used insulin secretion tests as well.
Yes. and this may well show that insulin output improved, but his explanation as to the causes is not necessarily correct, and it is his (and yours) explanations that i cannot say were proven by his studies. I do not dispute that the insulin response recovered, which is why i support the use of the diet itself, but the science behind it remains a mystery in my mind.

I am not sold on the notion of dedifferentiation of cells. I have noticed in my own journey that insulin response can and does recover, evem after 50 years of abusing my pancreas and liver.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.