There's a prominent physician working at a hospital in Delaware who has been conducting research on low-carb diets with diabetics and heart patients. Some of his work has been featured on this site.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&highlight=Hays
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/10786a.htm

Turns out, he's an avid low-carber himself. He was featured in the following article.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/li...lth/7546269.htm

It seems that physicians with an open mind are getting it.

Thanks for posting that!

I'm not really surprised about his patients tho. I've been saying for a long time that the major increase not only in diabetes but the complications were made worse because of the ADA's looseness with carbs.

I've been a nurse for over 25 years. Back when I was in school and first working, all carbs were limited and refined carbs like flour and ALL sugars were severely restricted. Mr friend and I laugh about this all the time. a "sweet treat" for a diabetic back then was a 1 inch cube of angel food cake!

Fruits were limited and to be eaten with meals, no table sugar was allowed. Bread, rice, pasta, etc were allowed but in very small amounts and only with a meal.

BUT! We didn't see the complications we see now! The only time we saw an "adult onset" patient under 50 or so was someone with an extremely strong family history and a very poor diet. Patients with severe complications were patients that didn't follow their diet and/or take their insulin as directed.

I feel very strongly that diabetics in particular, should avoid carbs whenever possible.

I also agree with what he said about Atkins selling out with all their processed foods! How many times in his book does Dr Atkins specify that we should be eating natural foods?

I'd like to hear what he says on artificial sweeteners! I think I'll do a quick search on this guy, see if I can find anything.

NOW, we just need him to educate as many people as possible! Preferably other healthcare providers!

“The important thing here is no ketosis. We absolutely don’t want people to become ketotic, and so we said they had to have so many exchanges of fresh fruits and vegetables and we specified the ones they could eat.”


Why not?

I would suspect that the concern that is referenced pertains to the difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis.

Here's Atkins take on it:

http://atkins.com/helpatkins/faqs/f...ysis/index.html

Lipolysis and Ketosis
FAQ 1-12 of 12
What is ketosis?
Ketosis is really a shortening of the term lipolysis/ketosis. Lipolysis simply means that you're burning your fat stores and using them as the source of fuel they were meant to be. The by-products of burning fat are ketones, so ketosis is a secondary process of lipolysis. When your body releases ketones in your urine, it is chemical proof that you’re consuming your own stored fat. And the more ketones you release, the more fat you have dissolved.

If you are restricting the amount of carbohydrates you eat, your body turns to fat as its alternative source of energy. In effect, lipolysis/ketosis has replaced the alternative of burning glucose for energy. Both are perfectly normal processes.

People (and even some ill-informed doctors) often confuse ketosis, which is a perfectly normal metabolic process, with ketoacidosis, which is a life-threatening condition. The latter is the consequence of insulin-deficient subjects having out-of-control blood sugar levels, a condition that can occur as well in alcoholics and people in a state of extreme starvation. Ketosis and ketoacidosis may sound vaguely alike, but the two conditions are virtually polar opposites and can always be distinguished from each other by the fact that the diabetic has been consuming excessive carbohydrates and has high blood sugar, in sharp contrast to the fortunate person who is doing Atkins.

If he's talking about diabetics, I can see why he'd want to keep them out of ketosis. While ketones don't seem to damage *healthy* kidneys, many diabetics already have one strike against them. This is because the kidneys are highly vulnerable to damage from abnormally high blood sugar. It might not be warranted for diabetics with apparently healthy kidneys, but he probably wants to play it safe.

Really interesting article. But what's with all the red meat? What happened to variety?

I, too, agree with his comments on Atkins. I think most people don't know that Dr A actually sold the rights to the food company several years ago. I'm sure they're far more interested in $$$ than promoting a whole foods philosophy.

What happened with diabetics, I think, is they got the cart mixed up with the horse.
Since diabetics are at a high risk for heart disease, once low fat became the paradigm for avoiding heart disease, diabetics got told low fat. And we all know what that leads to.
I have heard from many open minded health care practitioners that low carb used to be the way to go for diabetics. And it still makes a great deal of sense to me.

Here, here!

My husband is a T2 diabetic, started Atkins in March of last year, lost 50 lbs +and brought his Hemoglobin A1C down to almost non-diabetic levels, from 5 meds for diabetes and cardiovascular down to 1 med (glucophage/metformin).

"My husband is a T2 diabetic"

What is a T2 diabetic? I've never heard that term?

Cindy

I'd guess T2 means type II/adult onset.

According to Dr. Bernstein, there really is no danger to diabetics or their kidneys from benign dietary ketosis. It's the high blood sugars that tear your kidneys up, not the ketones or the protein.
I've been at 30 grams of carb per day more or less constantly for the past nearly 3 years and my kidney function continues to be perfectly normal. Not bad for someone who's been a T2 (type 2, adult onset) diabetic for 10+ years.

The second article says: "he calls sugary, starchy foods "candy," including baked beans, blueberries, beer, canned fruit, cereal, chili, cottage cheese, cream cheese, grapes, milk, oatmeal, pasta, pizza, rice and yogurt."

How on earth is cream cheese in this list? Or poor old blueberries for that matter?

Val

There are several types of sweetened, fruity cream cheese out there - I guess they would count as candy. And let's face it, blueberries ARE sweet - not as bad as oranges, and one tends to eat less of them, but still...