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Low-carb diets control diabetes
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I’m all about preventive health measures – launching pre-emptive attacks waged with superior nutrition, rather than waiting for health issues to mount and then running to the doctor for the latest drugs. Drugs certainly have a place, but if we can avoid them and rely on natural solutions and clean living, that’s always the better option. It saves money and doesn’t leave us beholden to Big Pharma.
We already know that type 2 diabetes (the most prevalent kind in this country) can be avoided by eating and living correctly – and we know that the carb-laden American diet that results in our infamous obesity rates also results in the disease’s unfortunate ubiquity. But what if you’ve already been diagnosed with the disease and are (begrudgingly) taking your daily insulin? Is it too late for diet to make a difference?
Absolute not, according to a recent study showing that eating a low-carbohydrate diet can actually reduce or even eliminate the need for type 2 diabetes medication. Scientists put two groups of patients on two different low-carb diets: a no-glycemic, ketogenic plan that allowed for less than 20 grams of carbs a day; and a low-glycemic plan with lower calories (around 500/day). Both groups saw a reduced need for insulin medication, but the no-glycemic group saw the most stunning results. 95% of the patients in this group were able to reduce medication, compared to 62% of the low-calorie patients.
The way it works is actually quite simple and intuitive. Cutting back on carbs lowers blood sugar. Lowering blood sugar reduces your weight (another benefit the ultra low-carb group experienced), which in turn lowers your blood sugar even more – the director of the study describes the effect as a “one-two punch.” Of course, they’re quick to characterize this as a “therapeutic diet for people who are sick,” but that’s missing the point (in my opinion). Treating a low-carb diet as just another form of medicine to be discontinued once the desired effect is achieved is the wrong way to go about it. “Diets” fail because of their inherent impermanence; people treat them as minor excursions, always looking to the final destination (which usually means a return to their unhealthy ways), when it should be a lifestyle choice.
Why not think about optimum health as a lifelong goal?
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