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At last in the British Medical Journal !!

Southport GP

Well-Known Member
Verified HCP
Messages
194
Location
Merseyside
Type of diabetes
HCP
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Dear Friends as part of my efforts to get the low carb diet recognised as a viable choice for people with diabetes I have managed to get this into the BMJ-published today
It's a detailed analysis of a case of someone with type two diabetes who came off all his meds (metformin statins perindopril and aspirin ) he used a low carb-higher fat diet. There is a discussion backed up with some decent references
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/bmj.h4023?ijkey=AN2nBwW6h3wuQJK&keytype=ref

If you agree with what I have written there is an option to 'Respond to this article' which further enhances our cause
I am so proud to get this in the BMJ which I think is one of the most important medical journals in the World I hope the link works -if it does please tweet, blog or pass it on.
Also for any of you wanting something to back you up with your health professionals I hope this may show we are gaining some respectability
 
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Well done, Dr Unwin!
Low Carb High Fat - why fight it, you know it makes sense.
Sally
 
That's excellent. Congratulations! I can point my GP at this at me next review in a few weeks.
 
Soooo pleased and a big thank you (wish I'd known this 15 years ago when my husband was diagnosed..we just did what 'the doctor ordered' and so have experienced a lot of the complications due to high sugars)...BUT at least we know now!
 
Hello. I could not get the link to work properly. What is the title of the paper? Thanks
 
Thank you. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated professional ploughing the furrow.
 
Third time lucky the link worked. It's a good article with a brilliant outcome!
 
Hi @Southport GP,

A very interesting, well presented journal article. Congratulations to you. Being published in such a widely peer read respected journal is an admirable achievement. Thank you for bringing the subject of lchf to manage Diabetes to the fore.

Best Wishes

AJ10
 
It is an honour to get the chance to read an article in a medical journal that is not slighted in favour of anything but the patients interest!
The light at the end of the tunnel has turned a little brighter today!
Well done Sir!
Congratulations are indeed warranted!

I will take a copy for the wife's doctor!
 
Absolutely brilliant and very clearly put, congratulations
 
Very nice article. It should provoke some thought with respect to type 2 diabetes treatment.

I do have a couple of observations/questions:

1. Does metformin not treat type 2 diabetes? Granted, it's not very effective, but I thought it reduces insulin resistance.

2. The discussion could have included some mention that a low carb/high fat diet is not a treatment for type 2 that HCPs are trained to use on patients, nor is it part of the NICE guidelines.

3. The improvement in HbA1c was not just an improvement, but a change from a diabetic level to a pre-diabetic level - very significant, given that HCPs are trained that Type 2 is progressive.

4. Did the patient self test blood glucose levels? If so, did the patient indicate it was helpful? If not, why not?

5. Serum triglyceride of 1.1 mmol/L indicates that maybe it wasn't a diet super low in carbohydrate. Was there any estimation of how many grams of carbohydrate were consumed? Was the patient avoiding factory processed food? Can you provide a better description of what the patient ate?

6. Given that there was only slight improvement in cholesterol, why was it decided the statin could be stopped?

Thanks!
 

Many thanks for highlighting this article.

I have printed a copy which I intend to drop off at my GP surgery today, as part of my two-way education programme. Well, they don't exactly know they've enrolled, but seem to be responding well thus far to my efforts on understanding lipid profiles.

Oh yes. I can be a sneaky old bird.

Thanks again. I'm sure you must be feeling very proud, and I hope your peers are waking up to recognise the work you are doing on behalf of them and all of us who have diagnosed.
 
As regards Metformin as you read in my paper one big study thought it very helpful but another large French study really wasn't so sure Personally I would always give a patient the option of weight loss FIRST before starting Metformin I have been doing this for nearly three years now and not one patient has opted for medication. Not sure about the idea of treating diabetes I prefer the idea of controll as stopping either drugs of the diet will see blood sugars rising again.

Correct HCPs are often resistant to this approach partly because it's not in the guidelines - but weight loss is in them -and this is a valid choice for weight loss as I will show in my next publication due out this September

The drop in cholesterol is interesting in that many folk worry about a diet higher in fat Yet despite this very diet AND stopping statins the cholesterol showed (a very modest) improvement
 
Yes I feel there is a ground swell of a better understanding that 'sugar is evil' and that fats such as butter are not as bad as we thought These two give the LCHF approach a better chance
The very fact that the BMJ agreed to publish shows great progress -on top of which partly because of the world wide low carb community the article itself is currently ranked in the top 5% of published articles AMAZING !! It's being read from Argentina to New Zealand

As I mentioned at the start there is a real chance for any of you to have your thoughts published under the 'rapid responses' option that occurs by the artical This is not just for doctors and I see one person has already got one in
It's one way for your voice to be heard why not have a go ?
 
Well done & congratulations. This is really good news for those of us who were given the standard 'Eat Healthy Plate' advice from our Health providers. Now we just need NICE to pass down revised guidelines.

I just tried the site but got a message saying it was under maintenance and I should try again later.
 
Well done, what a result....

Lets hope that this is the real start of NHS changing their stance on carbs!!!
 
I congratulate you on your article. I am an english GP and I too advocate a low carbohydrate diet for weight loss and type 2 diabetes. I hate the feeling that I am risking censure for recommending a diet based on 'real food' . I know it works having lost weight on it mysef, and also feeling so much more healthy.
 
Do you really risk punishment for recommending LCHF? If so, that is disturbing.
 
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