DOES A LOW CARB DIET PREVENT COMPLICATIONS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES?

Ninety to 95 percent of all diabetics are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. People over the age of 45 are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but more and more young adults and even adolescents are now affected.

If your blood sugar levels are high for a period of time, it can damage your blood vessels and nerves and cause complications. The most common complications associated with uncontrolled diabetes include heart disease, stroke, renal failure, blindness, amputations, erectile dysfunction in men and recurrent urinary tract infections in women. These complications can seriously impair your quality of life, but you can greatly reduce your risk of suffering from these complications by keeping your blood sugar levels in check.


It is not diabetes that causes complications, but rather uncontrolled diabetes. High blood sugar levels are responsible for damaging the blood vessels and nerves in the heart, kidneys, eyes, legs, feet and every other organs of the body. 

Type 2 diabetes can be defined as an intolerance to carbohydrates. Blood sugar levels are kept within normal range with the action of insulin, which is released by the pancreas. However, although the pancreas usually secretes more insulin in people with type 2 diabetes, the cells do not respond normally to its action, resulting in high blood sugar levels. Therefore, it makes sense to reduce your carbohydrate intake to keep your blood sugar levels within the desirable range. A long-term follow-up study showed that people with type 2 diabetes following a low-carb diet were able to achieve excellent control of their diabetes, bringing their A1C from a baseline level of 8.0 percent down to 5.9 percent in only three months, according to the May 2008 issue of "Nutrition & Metabolism."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/373087-does-a-low-carb-diet-prevent-complications-of-type-2-diabetes/#ixzz1uNV5X5Su