Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows • Hacker News Board

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#141

Post by jhayward » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:29 PM UTC

dpratt71 wrote: post #28

This reminds me that we had a cat that developed diabetes. Besides the usual treatment, we changed the cat's diet "radically". Eventually the cat no longer required insulin shots, i.e. it was "cured". I remarked to my wife at the time that maybe the reason T2 diabetes is considered incurable is that it's all but impossible to get humans to radically change their diet.

It's pretty common in cats for there to be a honeymoon period after treatment begins. The lower blood sugar levels allow the still viable ß cells to resume producing insulin.

After a time, however, the process that was killing them off in the first place often reappears and insulin is required again.

The biggest factor I've seen in previous cats with diabetes - dry vs wet food. Switch from free-feeding dry to measured, timed canned portions made a night/day difference.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#142

Post by elhudy » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:31 PM UTC

manu3000 wrote: post #107

elhudy wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was under the impression that being in ketosis could be harmful to the organs of those with diabetes. Is this just a myth or were there medications that aided you?

the diet in the paper at 800cal/day is far from ketosis, so it seems one can enjoy the benefits of low cal without going to that extreme

The person I was replying to specifically mentioned that they went on a keto diet.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#143

Post by devmunchies » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:32 PM UTC

EdgarVerona wrote: post #108

arkitaip wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But what did you actually eat?

For me (lost 90 pounds, went from 10.5 A1C to 5 A1C), it was: - Removal of all beverages aside from water, unsugared coffee, tea - Removal of all rice, grains, potatoes, corn - Chicken, Pork, and Beef (in that order) became my primary food product. Sous Vide allowed for a more convenient method of food preparation that made it feasible for my schedule (throw it in in the morning, done when I get home from work) - Veg…

Do you know how your blood pressure or cholesterol changed as a result of this diet? You were basically on a high cholesterol diet, so I'm interested.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#144

Post by rhinoceraptor » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:33 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #115

throwaway0255 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My caloric intake while eating at a deficit was about 1200-1500 kcal. Maintenance is about 2200. I eat a lot of meat, poultry, fish, eggs. No restriction on fats, but I try to favor animal fats and olive oil. Unlimited vegetables. Fruit, but only raw (no dried fruit or juice), and favor berries over bananas. Nuts and cheese in moderation. If I want carbs, favor sweet potato / regular potato over grains. Generally avo…

Is dried fruit bad?

Dried fruit is basically candy. Fresh fruit has already been cultivated to be extra sweet, extra large, and extra tasty, so it's bad enough by itself. And then you concentrate it, now you can eat many multiple times more sugar in one sitting than the fruit you would see in the wild.

The only saving grace I see is that at least it still has the fiber, fruit juice discards with that and just leaves the sugar.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#145

Post by pascalxus » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:35 PM UTC

throwaway0255 wrote: post #73

pascalxus wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great Work! that's awesome you could change your diet to a healthy one. These days there's such a huge stigma against eating healthily and responsibly, especially from friends and family.

Yeah, it’s bizarre. The topic of diet has a lot in common with religion. The research is so murky and poorly conducted and everything is a contradiction, so people have a tendency to just pick a “team” and form beliefs around that. Team Vegan, Team Vegetarian, Team Keto, Team Paleo. If you’re on a different team, you’re an attack on their dietary beliefs. If you’re on any team, you’re a pain in the ass to anyone who…

Yup. And don't forget team "Eat whatever you want, cuz it doesn't matter" They're everywhere and give the rest of us weird looks when we eat Actual food. One guy was surprised to see me eating a tomato. I think, he thought it was just something that gets printed on a can.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#146

Post by devmunchies » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:36 PM UTC

fvrghl wrote: post #4

Some great documentaries about this: - That Sugar Film - Fed Up (on netflix) - Sugar Coated (on netflix)

Another movie is "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix. That one is more about going to whole foods rather than just cutting out sugar.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#147

Post by stordoff » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:40 PM UTC

Mithaldu wrote: post #129

throwaway0255 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. Pre-diabetic and all kinds of other health issues started creeping up (obesity, GERD, really bad heartburn, sleep apnea, etc). Most doctors would've just had me take medications, wear a mask that would breathe for me while I slept, and put my bed at an angle so I could sleep through the heartburn/reflux. Started calorie restricting and eliminated grains and sugar from my diet almost entirely, and all pre-diabet…

> wear a mask that would breathe for me while I slept Dude, that's a really bad misrepresentation and very unhelpful to all the people who do need one. Many of them already struggle with self-worth issues, and seeing (whether intentional or not) lies like that spread, or worse, parroted back at them by others later does not help that. It's made a lot worse by the alternative being to gamble on suffocating in your sle…

FWIW, he didn't specify the type of mask. Something like a non-invasive ventilator is far closer to "a mask that would breathe for me while I slept" than CPAP. I used one for a time due to central sleep apnea - I'd go for 10s of seconds at a time without even _attempting_ to breathe (as opposed to obstructive apnea, where you attempt to breath but struggle due to the airway collapsing).

Unfortunately it didn't help me that much (even with it, I would still not breathe properly which was reflected in my O2 sat. IIRC) and it aggravated other health issues, so I stopped using it after 4-6 months (which, when one of the first things I read after diagnosis was along the lines of "Rarely, CSA may result in sudden death", isn't a choice I made lightly!).

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#148

Post by rhinoceraptor » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:48 PM UTC

Mithaldu wrote: post #129

throwaway0255 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. Pre-diabetic and all kinds of other health issues started creeping up (obesity, GERD, really bad heartburn, sleep apnea, etc). Most doctors would've just had me take medications, wear a mask that would breathe for me while I slept, and put my bed at an angle so I could sleep through the heartburn/reflux. Started calorie restricting and eliminated grains and sugar from my diet almost entirely, and all pre-diabet…

> wear a mask that would breathe for me while I slept Dude, that's a really bad misrepresentation and very unhelpful to all the people who do need one. Many of them already struggle with self-worth issues, and seeing (whether intentional or not) lies like that spread, or worse, parroted back at them by others later does not help that. It's made a lot worse by the alternative being to gamble on suffocating in your sle…

I don't think anyone is disparaging you for needing a CPAP. The goal is to get people to a point where they don't need one.

There are many other health devices that are (likely) obviated by proper health status in life, and maybe more importantly, in utero. Two that come to mind that affect me are glasses and braces.

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#149

Post by Jach » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:51 PM UTC

lr4444lr wrote: post #76

throwaway0255 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. Pre-diabetic and all kinds of other health issues started creeping up (obesity, GERD, really bad heartburn, sleep apnea, etc). Most doctors would've just had me take medications, wear a mask that would breathe for me while I slept, and put my bed at an angle so I could sleep through the heartburn/reflux. Started calorie restricting and eliminated grains and sugar from my diet almost entirely, and all pre-diabet…

The part almost no one goes into is, so what's your diet now that you've reached the baseline you'd like to keep? Total calorie intake (estimated)? Any food or food groups you still avoid? meal timing? Is it a sustainable lifestyle change?

I've embraced the yo-yo, personally, but in my experiments with keto it usually takes me 2x to 3x the time length of the diet to put the weight back on as I revert to my prior eating habits. The longest I've maintained the diet for was about 3.5 months, though over the past year it's averaged closer to 1-2 months at a time. I suspect if I did it for longer or did it more extremely on the calorie-counting side my yo-yo peak would decrease -- I have a friend who went 5 months and lost 100 pounds, now he yo-yos too but his peak before he goes again is only +40 pounds instead of +100. The peak is similar to a baseline, in that if you do nothing different you'll probably remain there. (Of course that's the standard prediction if you look at it from a pure calories in / out model.)

Re: Radical diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, new study shows

#150

Post by specialist » Thu, Dec 07, 2017, 11:51 PM UTC

gergnz wrote: post #64

throwaway0255 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. Pre-diabetic and all kinds of other health issues started creeping up (obesity, GERD, really bad heartburn, sleep apnea, etc). Most doctors would've just had me take medications, wear a mask that would breathe for me while I slept, and put my bed at an angle so I could sleep through the heartburn/reflux. Started calorie restricting and eliminated grains and sugar from my diet almost entirely, and all pre-diabet…

While I wasn't overweight or obese I had definitely gained 10+KG a few years back, and was bordering on overweight (according to BMI, which is just one indicator, not the only one, and again, take it with a grain of salt and in moderation). For a while I completely stopped drinking alcohol, soft drink, wheat and refined sugar. Basically meat, vegies, fish, whole fruit (not juice). Lost all the extra weight within a f…

About that mousse... One mental changed that helped me was to become a foodie. Eating used to be just a chore (simple fuel). Now I cook and eat because it's fun.

Also, people are so clever now, finding recipes like your mousse has been a great joy. I now mostly prefer the more wholesome alternatives. For instance, that mousse is a huge hit, and most people wouldn't know it's non-dairy.