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How to stay young - BBC1 Type 2 Element

I do worry about the comment " it certainly wont do them any harm" reducing overall carb intake ?- absolutely agree, very low carb? High fat? - the jury's out IMO
I think at the extreme ends of any dietary approach, there likely to be much more individual variation. Its fantastic that v low carb / ketogenic has worked for you but you cant assume itll simply work as well for anybody else
 
I think ND is for those diagnosed under 4 years ago, when there is an 87% chance of its working. You might try it up to 8 years after diagnosis there's still a 50% chance of its working. Much longer than that, say 10 years after diagnosis its likely your beta cells will have died. If so, all you can do is LCHF to prevent many sugars going into your body.
 
My beta cells are still working 20 years on, albeit with the help of glic ( also 20 years at same dose)
 
I do worry about the comment " it certainly wont do them any harm" reducing overall carb intake ?- absolutely agree, very low carb? High fat? - the jury's out IMO
A lot less harm than the "Eatwell Plate" advice surely though..?
 
When watching this, I thought that if Tina just stops eating all the biscuits etc that may have been enough to sort out the A1c. Otherwise breakfast may be needed to be made low carb. I don’t think large charges to her diet were needed unlike a lot of us. Her trigs did not reduce on the Newcastle Diet when they would have on a “low carb” lifestyle.

Bella, I like how HiiT was explained.
 
A lot less harm than the "Eatwell Plate" advice surely though..?
No argument there but vlcarb and hf arent even the be all and end all of carb reduction let alone of potentially helpful dietary approaches to type 2
 
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I mentioned my age to someone I met recently and she was surprised.
We have, from time to time met up with people from our youth and as a couple we seem to be wearing a lot better.
My husband does eat more carbs than me, but I have a limit of about 60gm per day, so he could be considered to be low carbing by some standards.
My sister, three years younger than me, has aged far faster, and has had grey hair for a very long time, whilst mine is still mostly dark.
I have been accused of having a portrait in the attic a few times.
 
Grey hair? I started going grey at 22. No one else in my family went grey until their late fifties. It is absolutely nothing to do with age. My father went bald in his twenties as my eldest son did. My middle son at 25 is receding but my youngest shows no signs. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.
P.S I still look younger than my younger sister who is blonde and has not one grey hair on her head.
 
I hate doing the ND. I am hungry a lot of the time and absolutely ravenous some of the time. I find it very hard. However I am so grateful to have the opportunity of reversing my T2 that I am more than willing to put up with it. After all it is only for a few weeks and the prize is so great. When I am flagging I think of all those diabetes complications I shall be missing out on!
 

You can do it! You have the right attitude

I don't post on many ND threads but I follow them - still continuously impressed at people's determination to get them done. Best of luck with yours!!
 

I agree - from my own experience the LCHF diet raced my BGs down from 95-44 in 8 weeks.
For me a great way to get BG down fast - I was FBG 6 after just a week or so.
 
BETA cells have died - how would you produce any insulin then?
 
very low carbs for me, a newbie T2, didn't work and set back my motivation to do anything at all for many months as i couldn't follow it. I hear that LC works for many ppl but we are not all the same. I am making a new start with 100gr carbs per day abd i ll give it 3 months. I find the tone of some comments about low-carb-intake "dogmatic" and for me that is off putting. Remember that science findings change all the time: what we considered beneficial in (recent) past is an anathema nowadays. So pls hold your fire.
 
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Same for me... I have had what I hope are good results by carb counting a lot more, being aware what makes me spike and then working around that, I find that I naturally have a day of far lower carbs than normal anyway on between days where I am moving to lower GI foods. Honestly it depends on what I am doing in the day and what I fancy eating!

In a few weeks I won't even have that luxury as I will be working odd hours and relying on whatever the media centre lays on for us.
 
I actually have a bit of an issue with the term 'reversing' diabetes as yes, you can change your diet to get your body working properly again - very low carb worked for me 6 years ago and I didn't count a single calorie! But if you go back to your old ways you are likely to become 'diabetic' again over time. Due to fundamental metabolic issues that are often genetic. I had this debate with my GP this morning, as they had stopped calling me for an annual HbA1C blood test as the last one was 'normal'! Fantastic! But it is so easy for carbs to creep back in and the A1C to creep back up. People find a way to eat for the long term and low carb is probably the best way to do this...
 
BETA cells have died - how would you produce any insulin then?

I think the suggestion is that for recently diagnosed people their beta cells are just 'switched off' rather than dead. Kind of like a hedgehog rolling up into the ball to protect itself. So a person may have 50% beta cell function *however* they have the potential to get back up to normal levels by clearing pancreatic fat if the other 50% of cells are dormant, not dead. With people who have had it for longer they may still have 50% beta cell function but the other half might be dead rather than switched off - in which case losing the fat would be healthier for them but wouldn't restore beta cell function.

Of course if beta cells continue to die off then you would need insulin at some point.

I forget where I read about the beta cells switching off, but I believe it was something Prof Taylor mentioned - again, we may have to wait until Direct reports back to know for sure.
 
Hi all
Now returned from Spain and I watched the show last night. It is indeed a very edited version although I accept that's to be expected. I think the following would be helpful to clarify, although I would emphasise this is general info and doesn't replace any individual medical advice:
1. HbA1c 43 prior to diet was on metformin. This was stopped and bg monitored during the weight loss stage.
2. Tina was not 'put' on an extreme diet, she chose the option she felt best suited her. The same amount of weight loss should produce equal improvements with less of a calorie deficit over a longer period i.e. it's taking in fewer calories than your body needs which is the key factor, and sustaining this until you reach your target.
3. The filming during the diet was the early stages when hunger was a major factor. As time went on Tina lost her cravings, felt great and wasn't hungry. A low calorie diet does require commitment to undertake and commitment to long term changes to keep the weight off long term, but the experience is in most cases not as bad as people expect once they get started.
4. Regarding the question of reversal/remission. Tina only had 8 weeks to make the changes and have her tests redone. It was a great change in her HbA1c in that space of time and reflected her blood glucose values without medication, but I agree this one figure should not be used on its own to determine success. Her next HbA1c test after she has transitioned to a maintenance diet will tell her more about whether the effect is sustained. The tests of Beta cell function are only done in a research setting not in routine practice. It is the initial release of insulin from the pancreas after a meal (the 'first phase' response, which is impaired by fat in and around the pancreas, and this is what can return to normal levels with sufficient weight loss. If there has been permanent damage to the beta cells (as can happen with long duration diabetes, high HbA1c etc) then full recovery of Beta cell function may not be possible, but it's hard to predict at the start how an individual will respond (hopefully results from DiRECT will shed more light on predictors for achieving remission).

5. Re LCHF diets, I favour finding a dietary approach that suits the individual in front of me, which could be very different from public health messages about diet. T his would include low carb diets, time restricted eating and med diets, all of which are evidence-based. The DUK position statement in May this year is very helpful and clarifies that carbohydrate restriction is of value in T2DM and that carb intake 'to tolerance' should be advised. It stops short of recommending LCHF not due to evidence of harm but due to lack of sufficient evidence for no harm (if that makes sense). Expert multi-disciplinary groups will be reviewing the evidence and making recommendations later this year both on defining T2DM remission and on the use of LCHF diets for diabetes.

There is no 'one best diet' that will suit everyone. Whilst I understand that individuals who do well with a particular approach want to share their success and experiences with others, there is a risk that the potential value of other approaches is not acknowledged or recognised. Dietary preferences and habits are very different, as are the challenges that people face in following any given 'set diet', as well as their motivation to do so.

In general would never advise a more restricted diet than is necessary, it makes it less enjoyable and harder to sustain long term. One of the main issues with the low carb evidence that is sufficiently high standard to be included in evidence reviews is that outcomes when compared to low fat diets are superior over 3-6 months but comparable by 12 months, probably because carb intakes in the low carb groups have crept back up - often interpreted as low carb diets aren't sustainable. I would hope with finding a level of carb restriction that maintains the metabolic benefits but does allow greater variety of food choice, along with increasing awareness among HCPs that these approaches can be supported, that long term sustainability would be improved. I think we are moving towards that.

Finding a carb tolerance level could be done in a number of ways, either by cutting right back until target weight is in sight and then gradually increasing the daily carb intake, pulling back to the tolerated level if blood glucose/weight/cravings increase. Or it could be done the other way around, gradually reducing carb portions, choosing lower GI carbs and seeing how this affects diabetes outcomes. If you lose weight and have a good HbA1c on 150g carbs per day then great, carry on at that level. If your HbA1c is still above target then try a lower intake if you prefer to try this than take medication. A diabetes dietitian should be able to give individualised advice and support on this basis, especially for anyone taking medications associated with risk of hypos as these would need to be adjusted, seek advice from your diabetes team.
 
Expert multi-disciplinary groups will be reviewing the evidence and making recommendations later this year both on defining T2DM remission and on the use of LCHF diets for diabetes.

Very interested in this statement. I would love to hear the composition of the "Expert groups" and what evidence they will be examining.. Could you elaborate please?
 
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