Comment

Comment by DiabetesDancer on June 25, 2011 at 4:44pm

Thanks, Rob, for the links and reference to Mary Vernon. I've been finding out about the hormonal approach since hearing a talk by Gary Taubes. It makes so much more sense than the calories in/calories out mechanical model.

Comment by Sweetblooded on June 25, 2011 at 10:27am

My dad's (and mine, both of us are type 1) recommended a 3000 calorie diet for him, he is not a big guy at all, he is average with muscle from his hard labor construction work all his life, she recommended 1200-1600 cals for me, I am only 5 feet tall and 125 pounds, sounds like this is too much. But to be honest we don't count our cal intake, just the carbs.

Comment by Rob Paterson on June 25, 2011 at 7:56am

Chipping in late here - hope you don't mind.

I have learned that T2D comes from insulin resistance - so the key is to think about our insulin response. This in turn traps sugars into fats and makes our fat inaccessible to our system. So it feeds on itself.

Any "Diet" that merely reduces calories misses the point. The work is to get the fat burning pathway open again. To do this we have to stop eating food that drives up our need for insulin - and that is simple carbs. In fact all carbs will do this but the more processed and simple the worse off we are.

I have my daily intake down to less than 50 grams. This is ideal to "heal" More than 150 is in the danger zone and 300 plus is trouble. Here is a neat chart for this

I eat a lot of calories a day and never feel hungry. I have lost 30 lbs and my blood numbers are like a 25 year old - I am 61. I look and feel completely different - much more energy too.

Here is the best resourceI have seen on the entire topic by Dr Mary Vernon.

Comment by albertacowpoke on June 25, 2011 at 7:43am

Diet and exercise certainly worked for me in a three months period. Going from and A1C of 8.4 to 6.5 in that time, for now, seems to work. Most of my random readings are below 7.0 now, although occasionally it is higher even after an hour of walking (about 4 miles). I also found that an hour on an exercise bike (18 miles) seems to reduce my glucose level more.

I think the thing to note is that this condition works in weird and wonderful ways and what works today, may not work tomorrow. You always have to have a watchful eye so it doesn't get away from you. A good dialogue with your doctor is also essential. Many physicians still need to be educated. We are the stewards of our own health.

Comment by DiabetesDancer on June 25, 2011 at 7:23am

A much healthier form of the 'smelt diet' has been in use by a band of First Nations people (we don't call them Indians in Canada anymore) in Alert Bay. There was a documentary made of it, called "My Big Fat Diet".
www.cbc.ca/thelens/bigfatdiet/

Comment by DiabetesDancer on June 25, 2011 at 7:18am

Thank you for the concern, Linda, but that is not what I said I was wanting to do. Plse read my comments again. The UK study was a small experiment with a specific population and an extreme intervention. Not for me. There would have to be a lot more testing before one can draw any conclusions from this regimen.
What got my curiousity going is the '30 day diabetes cure' by Ripich--an unfortunate title that may attract the ignorant (and me), but is a gradual lifestyle change process that seems to have great results for both types 1&2. I haven't tried it yet but I may.

It seems like the media headlines can really stir the pot with unwarranted claims for all kinds of preliminary and narrowly focused studies that prove nothing of the sort.

Comment by Linda G on June 25, 2011 at 6:07am

DiabetesDancer.....be careful!!! 600 calories....good Lord!!

Comment by albertacowpoke on June 25, 2011 at 5:36am

This is a great debate folks. Thanks for all your input. I see most of you think along the same lines as I do. Feedback on this study, which was only conducted with 11 people for eight weeks, is great. Love this community.

Comment by Loke on June 25, 2011 at 1:36am

Please check with your physician before doing anything like this.

Most health guidelines state that a mininum calorie intake for a woman, to keep your organs functioning, is about 1200 calories per day. About 1600 for men.

In general the study says that for T2 caused by obesity a 600 calorie diet for about two months may cure (7 out of 11 so you have a 50/50 chance). The idea came about after people who had surgery for weight loss had no more diabetic symptoms.

The impact was that fat in the pancreas and liver was reduced, which allows the organs to return to a healthy state and produce insulin at normal levels again.

Any dietician will tell you for T1 and T2 weight and exercise will impact symptoms of diabetes. The people for the initial idea were so overweight they were considered for what can be considered drastic and life threatening surgery.

Note: From what I have been able to find out this kind of diet was used before insulin to extend a T1 patients life for about 12-18 months.

My daughter is T1, but a lot of people suggest these diets as they don't know the difference between T1 and T2.

The other one I keep hearing about for a cure is no carbs and high good fat diet. The story is that the Indians never suffered diabetes because of their high fish diet. One guy swears he lived almost solely on smelt for a year and had no symptoms ever again.

Comment by DiabetesDancer on June 25, 2011 at 12:19am

Well, whatever it is called, if it is something I can do for the forseeable future and it will reduce my need for insulin by 80% and eliminate the symptoms, it seems worth a try. The 600 calorie experiment with 11 people over 8 weeks is an academic exercise dreamed up by somebody needing some publishing creds. So much for the scientific method (I know, it is a drop in the bucket; wait for the Systematic Review). I'd rather try a program that has been developed in a clinical setting over many years and has a lot more than 11 people saying it worked for them.
I don't care if it is called control, cure, reversal or miracle, so long as it is doable and makes me healthier than I am now. The important part is the results.

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