A low-carb diet can also help older people with diabetes, who are often more difficult to manage.
Following a low-carb diet holds the promise of reversing type 2 diabetes - and new research shows it can help even the most difficult of patients stop the medication.
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More than four million people in the UK have type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and poor lifestyle choices. An additional seven million have prediabetes, an undiagnosed condition, which means they are 15 times more likely to develop type 2.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when insulin, a hormone that is produced by the pancreas to convert food sugar into energy, is not working properly or the pancreas is not producing enough.
This results in abnormally high blood sugar levels, which, if left untreated, can damage organs and tissues. In turn, type 2 diabetes can increase the risk of heart disease, blindness, and circulatory problems, which can lead to amputation. Treating this condition costs the NHS approximately £ 10 billion a year.
Eating sugary foods increases blood sugar levels, as do carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes, and cereals because after being digested, they break down to form sugar.
However, as stated earlier in Good Health, losing weight even with a low-carb diet can help reverse type 2 diabetes.
Older people who have had type 2 for many years are often considered the most difficult patients to treat. This is in part because age-related deterioration of the liver and kidneys makes it difficult to take diabetes medications. This increases the risk of side effects such as hypoglycemia - low blood sugar levels that can cause confusion and dizziness, leading to a fall.
But new research, published today in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, shows for the first time that even in this challenging group of patients, switching to a low-carb diet can reverse type 2 diabetes so medications are no longer needed. ...
This diet typically involves eating less than 130 grams of carbs per day (43 grams of carbs in a large loaf and 66 grams in a 90g serving of dough). Most of the diet consists of vegetables, fish, meat, whole dairy products, eggs, nuts, and berries, all of which have a lesser effect on blood sugar levels.
The new study recruited 199 people, ages 24 to 91, from an NHS general practice clinic in Southport, Merseyside; 128 of them suffered from type 2 diabetes and 71 from prediabetes. Each volunteer followed a low-carb diet for an average of 23 months, supported by three one-on-one consultations with a therapist every year and support groups every six weeks.
About 46 percent have changed their condition, which means they no longer need insulin or other medications to keep their blood sugar levels within a healthy range.
In addition, 93 percent of people with prediabetes have returned their blood sugar levels to normal. (Typically, two-thirds of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 if they do not change their lifestyle.)
Importantly, older patients and those with diabetes for more than six years received the same benefits as younger, newly diagnosed participants. In fact, the oldest patient to refuse treatment was 91.
Participants also lost an average of 18 pounds and noticed significant reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. As a result, the diet is estimated to have saved about £ 50,000 per year for one NHS GP from its drug budget. Replicating through the NHS in England could result in savings of £ 277 million, researchers said.
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