Diabetes and Low-Carbing


When I first began writing cookbooks, it was baking with Splenda and specifically for people who have diabetes and needed to lose weight on the traditional diet. Little did I know in those days, that there is a better way. My first two cookbooks were written with some input from the Diabetes Association in Canada - mainly for the provision of the diabetes nutritional values for the recipes. Branches of the Diabetes Association across Canada regularly ordered my books for distributing to patients.

I have not said enough on my blog about Diabetes and Low-Carbing, so here is a perspective from a man who has had type 1 diabetes since the age of 6 and is now, among other things, vice president of the International Diabetes Federation. He has lived with this condition since 1957 (51 years)

Here is his perspective on low-carbing to help with his diabetes: www.diabetes-low.carb.org

I have a friend with type 2 diabetes who lost 90 lbs on Atkins (she did induction levels all the way) in 9 months, who was later declared by her doctor to be a latent diabetic and taken off all her diabetic medications. That was awesome news besides the fact that she looked and felt so much better.

Here is a testimonial by a young man who has type 1 diabetes. It is really worth reading:
D-Solve

These people I have mentioned are people who have Diabetes 1, which means they make no insulin at all and would die without some intervention. They are living proof that it is possible to live with such a serious disease and live well and long, despite that enormous challenge - largely due to adopting the low-carb way of eating. Finally, to its credit the ADA is looking at the low-carbohydrate way of eating, but its recommendations for low-carb still fall far short of what we call low-carb. I seem to remember that they suggested 130 grams of carbs per day, way in excess of some people who consume 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrate a day, some of whom don't even have diabetes!

It stands to reason that if people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes benefit from low-carbing, then surely people who don't have the condition would benefit as well, perhaps staving off diabetes forever. I think if we lived long enough, most likely most of us would eventually develop diabetes - actually I didn't say that, Ian's dad who is a retired medical doctor said that.

P.S. That photo was taken of me when I was 35 years old. I am now 51. I also weigh quite a bit more - about 15 lbs more and I'd really like to lose a few of those, but for me it's like pulling teeth these days. I love low-carbing though and I think with my Hashimoto's thyroid disease (autoimmune diseases run in my extended family) I'd be much bigger if I was not low-carbing. I kept that pretty dress, but needless to say it does not fit me anymore. :-) A more recent pic of me is in my profile and I weigh about the same today.

Jennifer Eloff
www.low-carb.us