Lisa - really nice to see another T1 who is also a biological scientist. Makes me feel my geekish approach to the whole subject is understood by others at least (hopefully...)! I find it useful to talk to other scientists about it but nothing quite like talking with someone of the same mindset AND has the experience and knowledge of what it is actually like from a daily basis to long term, to be a T1 diabetic. Its really nice to come on here and see so many people interested in the science behind it and lots of intelligent people with useful comments. We (the company I work for) mainly focus on production of novel cancer biologics but we did have an active T1 diabetes program which was quite a cool way to stop diabetes from progressing from pre-diabetes to fully. However some of the main issues with it was something I was often pointing out just due to my background of personally having diabetes rather than the science itself (which was good and quite cool). I don't personally think it would have been a good product to pursue right now, and cancer is easier for testing anyway (and more "urgent" in many ways).
Sam - keep posting articles etc and I will the same, there needs to be more of it done as it invokes great discussions I feel!
I think the big problem is that actually medical Dr's and even specialists are drummed in (even more so dieticians) the same thing that we are told from a young age. It is in our textbooks, accepted as fact. Eat a "balanced" diet. Well what is a balanced diet? Why is that 75% of your calories coming from carbs? Sheil19 has said exactly what most people believe due to what is taught - you need carbs as that is how your body gets energy. More importantly, it is how your brain functions. But this is just not true and the textbooks and government guidelines are sorely out of date and quite frankly, wrong. Yet it is still taught in schools, university, and medical training. As a nation we over-emphasise the needs for carbs. Let me be clear - I do not think healthy people should eat low carbs - but I certainly believe that a) a healthy diet would have more good fats and a lower emphasis on carbs (with few refined or simple sugars) and b) diabetics should all be recommended or taught the benefits of low carb diets as an alternative to carb counting. At the very least, we should be told from the start even as type 1's to reduce carbs levels and see how your body reacts and how your management of BG levels compares. There is mounting evidence in the literature of not only the safety but benefit and efficacy of adopting a low-carb lifestyle for T1's. Fat is not as evil as we thought, and mouse/rat models are not as relevant as we would have liked to think.
Now I readily admit that everyone is different and reacts to everything differently. That is what normal distributions teach you - there is an "average" response but by definition, there will always be people on the tails of the distribution and those who fall at various points in between. Clearly one approach does not work for all, but there are trends and average reactions. I believe that most diabetics who would adopt a low carb lifestyle would see a reduction in the variation of their BG levels, fewer hypos/hypers and more stable BG levels (assuming insulin requirements were adjusted).
As I am a scientist and hence a geek, I have to make graphs of things and do a lot of self-analysis. It is in fact, quite a terrible affliction I must say, but hopefully there are those who understand this need to over-analyse and the slightly autistic and OCD nature of such a personality.... So I have graphed the last ~100 days of BG readings where about 25 of those days has been on the very low carb diet. 2 things are clear from this data and I think the first is obvious so I do not need to expand on the fact my bloods are much more stable...but it is also worth noting taking this approach has led to increased self-monitoring. This is of course for various reasons, some of them psychological and some of it curiosity. Either way, it is always a good thing to monitor more.
I should also say that personally, these results were acheived with no insulin administered apart from the first weeked where I was taking 4-6IU basal (glargine) to account for no exercise that day. I have done a similar diet before (less well monitored) and can say for sure if I was not exercising (specifically lifting heavy weights in the 6-12 rep range as well as some cardio) that I HAD to take insulin. So for me personally, it is heavily dependent on extensive exercise. I should also point out that the highest points on the graph (after commencement of diet) were readings taken directly after exercise (often I see a rise in BG after weight training, not uncommon). Nevertheless, I find this graph fascinating.
J
