Clivethedrive
Well-Known Member
Nicely put @Diamattic,I agree Dr Bernstein is a genuine man who has taken diabetes and knows how to treat and control it
I bought his book... twice lol
Everything he says makes very much sense. I feel like he took a path I would have ended up taking had he not already done so (we are both engineers, both T1D, and i have though many times that had i been diagnosed sooner i would have likely tried to get into med school - which he did)
I don't follow his diet, but a lighter version of my own. My main goal is 'keep carbs as low as possible for as long as possible -without it ruining my life' because like many his diet is very strict.
I believe he is legit, and knows what he is talking about - his age is good factor, and the fact that he has recovered from his complications help build trust. It just makes sense to take advice on diabetes from a doctor who has it.
I did not know about his complications and good for him in reversing them. I do however think it is wrong when sometimes on the forum it is said to newbies that the LCHF diet can prevent complications and it gives the wrong impression because no one can predict that as it is not known who will or will not have them whatever they do.Bernstein DID have complications. He talks openly about them in his publications.
He is left with permanent deformities in his feet as a result.
I recall him mentioning kidney and sight problems, but it is 3 years since I read the book.
Since adopting his very low carb, exercise and strict glucose control regime, he found all his other complications have improved to the extent he is symptom free in his 80s, and for the last few decades.
His perspective is that by keeping the blood glucose so low, the body can heal itself.
This is all discussed in his book Diabetes Solution.
It's quite interesting, because as you start to gain an understanding of how a pump can be used, you do something very similar, just using a single type of insulin rather than his wide array of them.He is dedicated to using his insulin in a very precise way.
It's quite interesting, because as you start to gain an understanding of how a pump can be used, you do something very similar, just using a single type of insulin rather than his wide array of them.
While ever virtually all medical research is funded or conducted by pharmaceutical companies, there will never be large scale research into methods that reduce the requirement for medication. Following Dr Bernstein's approach every diabetic would require less insulin, lower sales for pharmaceutical companies, lower profits. Who exactly would fund this research?
Dr Bernstein is an inspirational man and his honesty and integrity shine through. At his age, he cannot still 'need' to be working, purely for financial gain. I listen to his webinars often and he is a genuine, caring and committed individual.
A very low carbohydrate diet can be very enjoyable and satisfying, you just need to work at it.
Even if you do not want to go to the extremes of the tight control that he achieves and the discipline that he encourages, his 'Law of Small Numbers' makes perfect sense, as he puts it, industrial quantities of insulin are impossible to predict and control. My father was diagnosed in the late thirties, I was born in the early 50s and I was definitely brought up in a low carb / controlled carb household, I just didn't recognise it as such at the time. Strict carb restriction was the norm for diabetics before the guidelines changes towards whole grain etc. I remember my father would have none of it when his diabetic clinic told him he should have umpteen servings of carbohydrate a day.
We have a few courageous doctors, willing to challenge the status quo, Bernstein is one of them, along with Noakes, Mulhotra, Unwin and Kendrick. We should not underestimate their endeavours.
Nope - just checked my latest version of the Dr B book and pumps aren't done justice, in my opinion.
I do however think it is wrong when sometimes on the forum it is said to newbies that the LCHF diet can prevent complications and it gives the wrong impression because no one can predict that as it is not known who will or will not have them whatever they do.
The DCCT trials demonstrated that long term higher blood glucose levels drove increased complications. There isn't a huge amount of research that demonstrates that glycemic variability is also a factor, especially in micro-vascular complications. A lot of this is only just coming to light.t well correlated though - there have been numerous studies preformed that show the increased risk of complications with fluctuations in blood sugars through spikes and long term highs, LCHF is a documented method of reducing these fluctuations.
The DCCT trials demonstrated that long term higher blood glucose levels drove increased complications. There isn't a huge amount of research that demonstrates that glycemic variability is also a factor, especially in micro-vascular complications. A lot of this is only just coming to light.
At this point i dont think he will personally ever switch to a pump. He has a system that works really well for him - hes locked in. So don't expect to see his opinion on pumps change much since he wont have real first hand experience with them - but that is understandable.
It well correlated though - there have been numerous studies preformed that show the increased risk of complications with fluctuations in blood sugars through spikes and long term highs, LCHF is a documented method of reducing these fluctuations. What you are saying is the same as saying 'Smoking doesn't cause cancer - it just increases risk - who knows if they would have got that cancer anyway so why are we telling people to quit smoking now'
LCHF will certainly prevent complications IF that person doesn't already have them, however even if they do it will certainly reduce their severity, and potentially allow for healing (i don't like using the word reversed because it implies back to normal and we all know when something heals its rarely perfect again), people should be told that they do have options to reduce risk, there are many and they get to decide. LCHF is just a popular one!
Totally accept you trump my experience, in that I have none!
But if I had t1 (and pray God I never will) I would go down the low carb route - basically, why not?
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