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Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

diabetes.co.uk

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Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#21

Post by Trasmatta »

I'm a type 1 diabetic and find these articles and studies frustrating. Or at least the way people interpret them.

> Two weeks after adopting the low carb approach insulin was no longer needed. After 18 months insulin therapy was once again required at low doses of around 16 units per day. HbA1c remained very well controlled on the LCHF diet with insulin.

So during the honeymoon period, he was able to live without insulin. This is pretty normal -- there's about a year after T1D diagnosis where the pancreas continues to produce insulin. It's common for people to be able to make it through that period with reduced insulin therapy. And then after 18 months he had to start on low doses of insulin again, even with the diet.

Low carb diets can help type 1 diabetics, but it's not a cure. Please don't go around suggesting to your T1D friends that they just need to start on keto, and can stop taking insulin.

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#22

Post by jklehm »

vbtemp wrote: post #4

I was on a low-carb diet for a while. Loved it. Felt great. Was totally fit. All my digestive problems cleared up. I would never get "hangry". By every single subjective measure my quality of life and sense of well-being improved. Then I got my cholesterol checked during a routine blood work and it was through the roof. WTF? Anyone know better than me about this?

You may be one of the unlucky "responders": https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you...

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#23

Post by Trasmatta »

entitydc wrote: post #16

Curious if they have any clearer definition of what they mean by “recently diagnosed.” Based on the article, it looks like all patients were in their honeymoon period, which certainly makes for a substantial difference from what most would think of as remission - the difference between “clinical remission” and “clinical remission in very controlled circumstances while patients were still capable of producing some ins…

Yeah, this article was frustrating because there was literally nothing surprising in it. It basically said that during the honeymoon period they could get by without insulin on a LCHF diet, and then after the honeymoon period they had to go back on insulin even WITH the LCHF diet.

That isn't news, and the title of this article is dangerously misleading.

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#24

Post by DrAwdeOccarim »

maweki wrote: post #8

So what works for cats (well-known), also works for humans. Good to know.

Interestingly, cats lack the ability to synthesize ornithine which means they need to get arginine from their diet in order to complete their urea cycle and excrete ammonia. Their obligate carnivorous diet is distinct from a human deciding to do it for fun.

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article-abstract/108/12/1944/477...

https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12917...

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#25

Post by entitydc »

Trasmatta wrote: post #21

I'm a type 1 diabetic and find these articles and studies frustrating. Or at least the way people interpret them. > Two weeks after adopting the low carb approach insulin was no longer needed. After 18 months insulin therapy was once again required at low doses of around 16 units per day. HbA1c remained very well controlled on the LCHF diet with insulin. So during the honeymoon period, he was able to live without ins…

Same feelings as you on this one - not that it isn’t par for the course with most science journalism, but it’s especially frustrating for T1 news.

Perpetually thankful that we’re only five years from a cure.

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#26

Post by jadell »

From last year (July 2019), and no follow-up. As someone who has to deal with T1D every day and carefully monitors news about research, I guarantee you no endocrinologist is counseling their patients to try this. Cutting carbs can lead to less need for insulin, but it's not a cure for T1D.

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#27

Post by ardit33 »

shipman05 wrote: post #17
vbtemp wrote: post #4

I was on a low-carb diet for a while. Loved it. Felt great. Was totally fit. All my digestive problems cleared up. I would never get "hangry". By every single subjective measure my quality of life and sense of well-being improved. Then I got my cholesterol checked during a routine blood work and it was through the roof. WTF? Anyone know better than me about this?

Low carb doesn't have to mean lots of meat, cheese, and fat. Most people would have positive outcomes from a diet that is 75% whole-food, plant-based no matter what the remaining 25% is.

Plants are mostly carbs yo...

well, some have more complex carbs... and some have more fat (avocados) and some have protein, but still "plant based diet" usually means complex carbs...

Healthier for sure, but it can't be considered 'low carb diet'

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#28

Post by PKop »

vbtemp wrote: post #4

I was on a low-carb diet for a while. Loved it. Felt great. Was totally fit. All my digestive problems cleared up. I would never get "hangry". By every single subjective measure my quality of life and sense of well-being improved. Then I got my cholesterol checked during a routine blood work and it was through the roof. WTF? Anyone know better than me about this?

Your assumptions about high cholesterol being bad are wrong, simple as that. Just as a few decades ago, the popular (even as agreed upon within medical industry) assumptions about "low fat" were wrong.

In other words, the measurement you observed was good. Your brain needs that measured value you were tested at to be high. Your health would suffer if it wasn't.

There is tons of research and discussion about this online. The argument goes along with the idea that "statins" are one of the biggest pharmaceutical scams in history, bad for brain health and part of a larger false narrative on cholesterol.

Don't change a thing, you're doing it right.

Re: Low carb diet leads to “clinical remission” in 3 cases of type 1 diabetes

#29

Post by capkutay »

vbtemp wrote: post #4

I was on a low-carb diet for a while. Loved it. Felt great. Was totally fit. All my digestive problems cleared up. I would never get "hangry". By every single subjective measure my quality of life and sense of well-being improved. Then I got my cholesterol checked during a routine blood work and it was through the roof. WTF? Anyone know better than me about this?

If your definition of 'low-carb diet' includes red meat, cheese, and butter then high cholesterol shouldn't surprise you at all.

People should really look at minimizing their intake of animal fats. Both for ethical and health reasons.

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