According to many
natural therapists. Combination of regular exercise with a diet low
in starchy carbohydrate( eg : grain ), low in simple carbohydrate (eg :
sugar,
fructose
and etc ) and limited fruits are the ultimate solution to type II
Diabetes (insulin resistance) . More info as below
There are others
though, with definition of "cure" from other diseases and conditions where
the term "cure" is applied who hold that, if by definition you're
considered diabetic when you are placed on medications to manage the
condition, then you are no longer a diabetic if you are able to eliminate
the need for medication through whatever means - diet, exercise, etc. -
and do not present symptoms that meet the definition of diabetes.
For the purpose of this article, let's start to consider "cure" as you no
longer meet the strict definitions established for a diagnosis of diabetes
and no longer require medication to control blood sugars and/or insulin.
I think it is also important to have a good definition, one that cannot be
considered too "loose," so let's also consider the multitude of
complications associated with diabetes that increase risk for other
problems like cardiovascular disease - so, let's make our definition of
"cure" five-fold:
improvement in fasting blood sugars to a level that indicates one is no
longer meeting the criteria to be diagnoised as "diabetic"
AND
improvement in post-prandia glycemia & insulin secretion so that
medication is no longer necessary and one is no longer meeting the critera
to be diagnoised as "diabetic"
AND
normalized HBA1C levels so one is no longer meeting the criteria to be
diagnoised as "diabetic"
AND
improvement in dyslipidemia
AND
elimination of oral medication and/or insulin injections
So, then - can we cure type-II diabetes?
If various research studies investigating dietary interventions are
correct, and we even use the strict definition we have above, than yes, we
can cure diabetes.
First, the problem - a low fat, high carbohydrate diet in combination with
regular exercise is the traditional recommendation for treating diabetes.
Compliance with these lifestyle modifications is less than satisfactory,
however, and a high carbohydrate diet raises postprandial plasma glucose
and insulin secretion, thereby increasing risk of CVD, hypertension,
dyslipidemia, obesity and diabetes.
Moreover, the current epidemic of diabetes and obesity has been, over the
past three decades, accompanied by a significant decrease in fat
consumption and an increase in carbohydrate consumption. This apparent
failure of the traditional diet, from a public health point of view,
indicates that alternative dietary approaches are needed. Because
carbohydrate is the major secretagogue of insulin, some form of
carbohydrate restriction is a prima facie candidate for dietary
control of diabetes with the potential to reverse the condition and
perhaps cure type II diabetes.
But, if we use our definition of "cure" above, does the data support the
idea that this type of dietary approach will lead to one being "cured" of
their diabetic condition?
Let's see...did this dietary approach result in:
Fasting Blood Sugar improvement? Yes
Improvement in post-prandia glycemia & insulin secretion? Not measured
Improvement in HBA1C? Yes
Improvement in dyslipidemia? No Elimination of Medications? No
By our strict definition for "cure" bove, this dietary approach will
not lead to one being cured of diabetes. The improvements above will
most certainly slow the progress of the complications, and may even
require less medication, but the individual with diabetes following this
diet will not see a cure and will be left to continue with "medical
management" of their disease and hope the worst long-term complications
can be delayed as long as possible.
What about other studies? Surely the literature has something within that
gives us hope.
Well, back in 1992, a study published -
Comparison of effects of high and low carbohydrate
diets on plasma lipoproteins and insulin sensitivity in patients with mild
NIDDM - in the journal Diabetes, provided some very intriguing
data. Researchers confined subjects to a metabolic ward for 3-weeks during
each diet to ensure compliance with the dietary interventions to compare
the standard ADA diet with a diet much lower in carbohydrate. Each subject
was crossed-over to the other diet for three-weeks to compare effects. The
two diets provided the same calories and fiber, but had significant
differences in their effect.
This study did not look at all parameters we've used in our definition for
cure, but something very alarming did happen to those following the
high-carbohydrate diet - their cholesterol was significantly impacted by
the high-carb diet! The high-carb diet resulted in a 27.5% increase in
triglycerides and a similar increase in VLDL cholesterol and an 11%
decrease in HDL. For cholesterol levels the high-carb diet was a disaster!
Are there other studies that might show improvements that meet the strict
definition of cure we've established?
In 1994 a study -
Effects of varying carbohydrate content of diet in
patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus - was
published in JAMA. In this 8-week study, researchers investigated the
difference between a high-carbohydrate diet compared with a lower
carbohydrate, high-monounsaturated fat diet. Again, the high-carbohydrate
diet was disasterous as it resulted in increased fasting plasma
triglyceride levels and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by
24% and 23% respectively, and increased daylong plasma triglyceride,
glucose, and insulin values by 10%, 12%, and 9%, respectively. Plasma
total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density
lipoprotein cholesterol levels remained unchanged. The effects on plasma
glucose, insulin, and triglyceride levels persisted for 14 weeks after the
diet was abandon.
These last two studies were done 12-years ago and during the time since,
the ADA has remained staunch in it's high-carbohydrate, low-fat
recommendation. Twelve years ago, we had the start of some very compelling
data that suggested we continue to study a dietary approach that was lower
in carbohydrate as a dietary intervention for those with Type II Diabetes.
So what happened?
Well, if we look through the literature, we find that researchers often
adjusted their study design and rarely compared the high-carbohydrate diet
to a lower carbohydrate diet again until 1998, when a study -
Utility of a Short-Term 25% Carbohydrate Diet on
Improving Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - was
published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. While this
was another short-term study, this one did look at a number of items from
our definition above.
The data from the study provides some insight into what effect a lower
carbohydrate diet had with regard to:
Fasting Blood Sugar improvement? Yes
Improvement in post-prandia glycemia & insulin secretion? Yes
Improvement in HBA1C? Yes
Improvement in dyslipidemia? Not measured Elimination of Medications? Yes
The researchers noted that "In those subjects on sulfonylurea therapy,
the improved glycemia was achieved despite discontinuation of the oral
hypoglycemic agent. "
This is our first glimmer of hope in the literature that diet
alone may indeed hold the key to cure. One would think the above
results would have sparked a renewed interest in researching comparitive
studies of high-carbohydrate versus low-carbohydrate diets for diabetics?
Fasting Blood Sugar improvement? Yes
Improvement in post-prandia glycemia & insulin secretion? Yes
Improvement in HBA1C? Yes
Improvement in dyslipidemia? Not Measured Elimination of Medications? Yes
And, get this - while this study was just six months, the researchers
noted that the improvements persisted in the six months following the end
of the study! That's ONE YEAR of measurable, real metabolic improvement in
study participants who had diabetes and through diet alone were able to
eliminate their medications!
Fasting Blood Sugar improvement? Yes
Improvement in post-prandia glycemia & insulin secretion? Yes Improvement in HBA1C? Not Measured
Improvement in dyslipidemia? Yes
Elimination of Medications? Yes
The researchers again noted that the low-carb diet affected "markedly
improved glycemic control and insulin sensitivity."
Here we have three studies since 1994 - a period of twelve years - that
show elimination of medications of those with Type II Diabetes. Yet, in
tweleve years we still have NO long-term study data because we have no
longer term studies done specifically using this dietary intervetion to
actually see if reducing carbohydrate has a lasting effect in those
previously diagnoised with diabetes who, by participating in a study, were
able to eliminate their medications because of a low-carb diet!
The above studies are publically available, so the ADA is well aware of
them. Even if, in the last twelve years they wanted to remain cautious in
their recommendations - totally understandable - why in the world have
they not committed funding to a large, well-controlled, long-term study to
investigate the long term effect of a carbohydrate restricted diet?
The last twelve years has been lost to us for data collection - it's gone,
time we cannot get back. The ADA knows the data about a low-fat,
high-carbohydrate diet does not hold promise for a cure. They have no idea
what a low-carbohydrate diet can do because they simply will not commit to
investigating the dietary approach for long-term data.
They are supposed to be the leading healthcare organization for those with
diabetes! Why are they dismissing this potential key to the cure?
