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Tuesday 8 December 2015

A diabetic doing well ignores poor advice from dietitian.

We received this diabetics story yesterday sadly typical of so many diabetics. Fortunately this man has taken responsibility for his diabetes and has improved his health enormously. Eddie 

My aunty followed the Warrington Diabetic Clinic and dietician advice of normal low fat whole grains etc. The result has been increased medication then insulin (now around 12 items in her prescription). Following the low fat diet and all the medication is not stopping the onset of diabetic complications (retinopathy and heart disease already so far).

When my GP advised me that I was probably diabetic as my BG levels were so high, I found that I was heading down the same path. I was advised by the same Warrington Diabetic clinic to eat a 1/3 plate of carbs. The dietician also explained that the brain alone needs to 130 grams of carbs per day. My GP suggested not eating cheese of the yoke of eggs. Following the dietician advice resulted in BG levels above 15mol/l after meals.

From experimenting with different meals and testing the results I soon found I could reduce my levels to normal by reducing the carbs. After 10 weeks on a low carb diet my BG level were down to normal. They have stayed like this for over 2 1/2 years. The only medication I have ever been prescribed is for acid reflux, I have taken pantoprazole for around 20 years until I found I no longer need it on the low carb diet. So now medication free at the age of 60.

My kidney function at 57 was average for my age, 2 years later I have the kidney function of an average 29 year old. My cholesterol has also improved triglycerides down from 2.8 to 0.4. Liver function also improved.

As the previous blog explains it is not that clever to reduce some food that the body is intolerant of. If your intolerant of nuts, gluten or lactose your HCP will simple advise you to reduce (or cut out) your intake of the food making you ill.
In the case of diabetes the common sense approach appears to go out of the window and your advised to base your meals on starchy carbohydrates

I joined the Warrington Health forum in an attempt to improve the information to patients but finding great resistance from HCPs. The waiting time for diabetes education was several years as they only delivered up to 4 courses a year for T2. They have recently cut the diabetes education down to only 3 session in place of 6 they claim it was too expensive. Education for 6 sessions costs less than £100 but T2 diabetes costs around £100,000 per patient over 20 to 25 years of treatment. It is not only the diet advice which they need help with but the maths as well.

Good luck to others on Low Carb diets.

7 comments:

Galina L. said...

Another great story. Unfortunately, it is hard for most people to ignore a professional advice.

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear you are now medication free.
There is an excellent book;
McCance and Widdowson's 'The Composition of Foods' ISBN 10-85404-428-0

I recommend this book - it gives the nutritional breakdown (including carbohydrate content) for most foods and drinks per 100g.

This text is used by most nutritional professionals - but you'd be free to make your own choices about what is best to eat and drink.
Kath

JanKnitz said...

Given the quality of their diabetes education ("the brain needs 130 g of carbs per day") perhaps it's best if they don't provide their diabetes education class too often!

Crafty Green Poet said...

It astonishes me that so many government departments and health services can't work out that prevention is better than cure. It also astonishes me how much health workers still stick with 'facts' and 'treatments' that were proven to be wrong years ago

Anonymous said...

I am having to re-learn and question current diabetes advice now - after years of advising incorrectly. Thanks to your website I have learned the plight of Professor Noakes and Jennifer Elliott. We are not exposed to this on a daily basis. I am grateful for this website - it will make me a more informed professional.

The Happy Whisk said...

We must be our own advocates.

chris c said...

Maybe David Unwin from Southport should pay them a visit