The Street Articles

Why are carbohydrates the cause of diabetes? Diabetics are carbohydrate intolerant. Carbs cause the biggest spike in blood sugar and people who develop diabetes (2) have little to no control over their insulin sensitivity in the face of carbs. In Has carbohydrate-restriction been forgotten as a treatment for diabetes mellitus? Westman and Vernon explain that before the invention of insulin, metformin and all the other anti-diabetes drugs, carbohydrate restriction was the treatment of choice for diabetics. “The dietary recommendation for diabetes in a prominent internal medicine textbook from 1923 was 75% fat, 17% protein, 6% alcohol and only 2% carbohydrate. The recommended total daily energy intake was 1,795 Calories per day. After the discovery of insulin and oral hypoglycemic medications, experts gradually changed the dietary recommendations to include more carbohydrate intake because most experts reasoned that the medications could be used to keep the glucose in control.” T...

Is there a conclusive evidence that diabetes is directly caused by food that is high in processed sugar? No. That was never the underlying cause of any form of diabetes melitus (DM). There are several, discrete types of DM. I've listed a description of each type below along with their most common causes… Type I DM is caused by some pathology that destroys beta-cell function of the pancreas. The most common cause is autoimmune destruction following a viral infection in childhood. Type II DM is caused by insulin receptor insensitivity. The most common cause is weight gain which increases the volume and surface area of adipose tissue. This reduces the tissue's insulin receptor density. Fewer receptors per unit of cellular surface area leads to receptor insensitivity. Sedentary lifestyle also contributes as activity is required to sensitize insulin receptors on skeletal muscle. As type II diabetes progresses, it can lead to pancreatic beta-cell burn out, reducing the...

Article by George Hawkins,  Reading Recovery, Co-team Leader Year One and Languages Teacher (2012-present) I was not overweight, early 40s, and I ate a healthy diet. I had no symptoms that I noticed. In retrospect, I was often sleepy in the afternoon - scarily, when driving, but put it down to tiredness. One afternoon, my vision suddenly started to shake. The shaking went on for a few seconds. I had headaches and lethargy. So I went to my GP, who ordered a blood test. I was extremely surprised to find I had diabetes type 2 - despite the fact it was in my family. I was put on metformin, I think, 2 pills a day, but it did not make much difference. Eventually the amount was raised to 4 pills a day. As I read and learned more about the condition, I was making changes to my diet and cutting down carbs, increasing protein as best I could. My blood sugars came down and the amount of metformin was reduced. Now, a couple of years after diagnosis, my latest blood tests show sugar l...