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Very low carbohydrate diets

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kairocat

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I'm Type 2 and saw an item on ITV's This Morning programme this morning which seemed to be claiming that type 2 diabetes can be reversed by more or less cutting them out of your diet and exercising a lot. It didn't give much more information than this other than to say the person concerned did a lot of cycling and outdoor activities and it said absolutely nothing about their diet other that imply it was carb free. Claimed to have reversed their diabetes, to be off all medication and lost a lot of weight.
I'm really confused about carbs and get no input from my GP other than 'lose some weight, keep taking the pills and here's your prescription. I would love to be able to reduce my medication/reverse my diabetes - is this actually possible?
I am currently on Glucophage 1000mg in morning, Gliclazide 80mg (2) twice a day + Gabapentin 300mg three times a day with Co-codamel 30mg/500mg as necessary for nerve damage, neuropathy in feet.
 
Well, I have been low carbing for about 30 years (varying amounts of carbs, but always less than the average person), and very low carbing for the last 3 years or so. Never felt better. Not on any meds. I am a type 2 with reactive hypoglycaemia as a garnish

Have a browse through the success stories on the forum, and I will tag @JenniferG because she has lost weight and reduced her meds impressively with low carbing.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Hello and welcome,

This subject has been discussed and debated many times on the forum. If you use the search box you will find some of these threads.

The answer to your question is, yes, it is possible. Lots of forum members have gone into remission/reversal whatever you want to call it, and managed to come off all medication. You are also right, it is all to do with carbs. The less carbs you eat, the lower your blood glucose will be. All carbs convert to glucose once inside the system.

It is not possible for everyone, however. Much depends on the state of the pancreas and other issues. So one size, once again, does not fit all. Always worth a try though.

A word of warning though, being in remission and off meds doesn't mean that person can start eating like he did before. If he does, he may well end up back where he started.
 
I was diagnosed in 2000 but my GP let me see if I could manage without meds. I could. This worked well until last year when I got colon cancer and the hospital insisted I took loads of high calorie drinks 'to build me up before and after the op'. The result of that was that my bg went out of control (told them it would) and in the end I had to start taking Metformin. I was furious and later told my MacMillan nurse who said it was bad news and that it had all been some sort of experiment that obviously made diabetics unwell before the op instead of doing some good. Now, a year on, I started getting very low blood sugar making me feel dizzy and decided to try to come off the meds. Went to Slimming World and started their diet 4 weeks ago. I'm gluten free and it's been very hot so I haven't felt like eating very much which has helped but I gave up on the diabetic recommended diet, ignorded all advice and have been eating home-made vegetable soup, salads, no fat fromage frais and quark and loads and loads of fruit, especially raspberries and strawberries, sometimes whole punnets at a time but hardly any carbs. Had my blood tested last week (three weeks of diet - no exercise and sitting most of the time). My cholesterol has dropped to 4, my blood pressure is well down and my blood glucose has dropped to 32 so I can come off the tablets. I have been told to test my sugar levels twice a week, randomly - the doctor gave me a new monitor and to have it tested again in three months. I'm more than pleased. I have also lost 5lbs - I'm taking it slowly but I really do believe that eating very few carbs and not every day has helped me both lose weight and the tablets. I only eat when I'm hungry though and not at meal times necessarily. So all the advice I have been given by DSNs doesn't really work for me and listening to my body and what it needs is far better. Good luck, try not to get too overwhelmed but you will get so much information that is contradictory that in the end, the stress of trying to work it all out might do more harm than good. As for exercise, for me, 'what's exercise? Does knitting count?'
 
I have eaten less than 20 carbs a day for over 25 years. The only time I don't feel well is when I eat carbs. I only eat above ground veggies and a few nuts and seeds as my carbs.
 
kairocat said:
I'm Type 2 and saw an item on ITV's This Morning programme this morning which seemed to be claiming that type 2 diabetes can be reversed by more or less cutting them out of your diet and exercising a lot.
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Just looked on the This Morning website and it looks like the item was about the father & sons who were featured in the BBC programme Fixing Dad, here is a link to the BBC website explaining more:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07m8nzd
 
I did a very low carb diet (< 20g, often < 10g) for 6 months when I was first diagnosed, and I have definitely seen an improvement in my blood sugar control.
However, I would definitely not count myself as "in remission" because although I now eat more carbs and my blood sugar behaves itself if I stick to low GI stuff, something as simple as a white bread roll sends me into double figures and beyond.
 
I watched the 'Fixing Dad' programme and I felt it was not really very helpful - it concentrated on the sons getting the father to do a lot of exercise, it hardly mentioned food at all and my friend who saw the Good Morning Programme said that the father's diagnosis was now that he is 'Carbohydrate intolerant' and not type 2 diabetic..............
I found it confusing and not helpful and to a degree misleading.
I am hoping in the future to be able to reduce if not cut out my medication but right now I still have a huge amount of weight to lose but my blood glucose readings are coming into the area that I want them to be and my doctor says he wants them to be............
Low Carb High Fat is working for me - I did reduce the carbs slowly and it did take some time to get to the 50g a day area that does work for me - I don't do anything to extreme so I do not want to go any lower carb wise, I do exercise every day - walking, dancing and a vibropower machine are my options.
In general I only eat protein rolls from Lidl's - no pasta - no rice - only a couple of new pots now and then. I have Natural Greek Yogurt for breakfast every morning.
Have a good read on this site and I agree that if you try and do it all you will end up totally confused - I tried to and ended up not knowing who to ask or what to do - I did follow NHS guidelines for a year - that got me more meds and blood glucose readings that were still in double figures...............

It is each person's choice of how they deal with their diabetes - but people here have supported me and educated me - I cannot thank them enough - I feel they have helped so much!
 
I agree about the programme "Fixing Dad". It was overhyped beforehand and failed to deliver. I felt it was more of an advert for the seminar circuit than a shining example of taming diabetes and coming back from the brink, which is what I was expecting.
 

Am curious, sorry, what is the vibropwer machine and is it good for exercise?
 
pms543 said:
Am curious, sorry, what is the vibropwer machine and is it good for exercise?
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I know how difficult it is being gluten free as well as diabetic. I also have to watch salt, (high blood pressure) and fat (cholesterol). I have given up on everything I can buy except either Warburtons or BFree bread, neither of which are full of sugar which makes stuff like Genius and the own brand bread sweet like brioche and is really horrible. I don't eat much in the way of carbs but it is so hard having multiple dietary problems. I feel for you - at least I'm not coeliac so if something creeps in by mistake it just makes me feel lousy but does no harm. I want to know what the vibropower machine is.
 
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