Fergus Craig & his Reduced Carbohydrate Diet
My Experience
I am 69, type 2 for 8 years, controlled by diet & Metformin.
I was please to read Fergus' success story, as I have got to know him through the Internet forum where he is a moderator:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/
I was however surprised & disappointed to read the comment by Azmina Govindji who in effect said, “Don't try this at home.” There is obviously a concern that increasing proteins (as in the “Atkins” diet) to compensate for a carbohydrate reduction could cause long term health problems, but that is not what we are talking about.
In my experience, this diet change has resulted in a very rapid improvement in general health & reversal of diabetic complications that were ruining my life. I strongly recommend that it is given professional consideration. “Sweet Magazine” could usefully organise a readership trial to get very wide experience.
I joined the forum in April this year, when I began to experience intense muscle pain that threatened my mobility & even my driving. I felt that my active life was over, especially as I have been playing tennis at club standard. The pain was particularly intense when I was getting out of bed. My doctor prescribed quinine for cramp, but this had no effect. I think he hoped it wasn't diabetic neuropathy & would go away. I also had the beginning of retinopathy.
I needed to do something, or accept that the progressive nature of diabetes was taking its toll. The doctor considered that my diabetes was adequately controlled with HbA1c of 6.7. My diet was then the recommended low GI, complex carbohydrate diet as recommended by the NHS & Diabetes UK. My wife, as a heart patient, was recommended to follow the same diet.
In May I started a reduction in my carbohydrate consumption, simply reducing them to a small portion – about 1/3 of my previous amount, while increasing my vegetable consumption & to a lesser extent, protein. I ceased to have a supper cereal (Weetabix or Shredded Wheat.) I eat nuts & cheese as snacks.
Immediately my overnight fasting sugars dropped from around 6.7 to around 5.7, my muscle pain started to improve & my weight began to drop. In three months I was fully active again. The pain has gone & my tennis is up to the standard of much younger players, though I won't reach Chris Hooshyar's standard. Driving now presents no problems.
Over those three months, my weight dropped from 13 st to 12 st, my chronic tiredness greatly reduced. Blood tests in August showed a reduction in cholesterol from 5.4 in January to 4.3 & improvements in the lipids profile. My cholesterol at diagnosis was 7.6, so diet alone has reduced the total by 40%. Surprisingly the HBA stayed at 6.8, but that may be early days, with my body using the lost weight to replenish the blood cells. My blood pressure dropped from 135/75 to 125/75. I take no medication for cholesterol nor blood pressure. I have reduced the metformin from 3x500 to 2.
There is an internet forum where this is discussed & both scientific considerations & experience are reported. Health professionals make their contributions. There is wide agreement on the forum that the standard advice from Diabetes UK & the NHS is in fact wrong in recommending a diet based on complex carbohydrates. This is proved by experience & regular measurements.
