Laura, thanks for chiming in with another viewpoint re: consuming carbohydrates. I have been advised to lower my teen’s carb content drastically by some on this board, who are really trying to be helpful. I have seen similar advice given to parents of much younger children. Regardless of postprandial blood sugar spikes, which various techniques are used to control, and despite the fact that you cannot control all postprandial spikes in children, a prescribed amount of carbohydrate MUST be consumed in order for the child to grow. Of course, adults can lower carbs as they wish. But must they? Those who have had Type 1 since childhood know that they can often control their blood sugars and yes, they can eat carbs. And that blood sugar will go high at times regardless of carbs consumed. Personally, I think moderation is the more sensible way to go. But it’s up to the person involved.
If you got those great results may I ask why did you stop?
That is a great result, but you following a low carb paleo diet, ,you simply adjusted your insulin. The thing that disturbes everyone about such stories as in the OP is that such claims of a “cure” of T1 simply from diet are just not true. We have had any number of people who are basically still “honeymooning” come and claim that they could eat paleo, raw vegan or whatever and “cure” their T1. Well, in the end, we all know what happens. T1 is “relentless.” You may initially have some remaining insulin production, but you “will” need insulin. These diets are no “cure.”
Personally, I follow a lot of the stuff about Paleo diets. I use much less insulin because I follow a low carb paleo like diet. I get very good blood sugar results because of it. But bottom line. I am diabetic. I am now dependent on insulin. No diet is going to fix that.
I am like you. I am well beyond denial. I already had my DKA experience dont think I can try to ignore that if I wanted to…LOL…I eat an almost low carb diet, before I knew I was diabetic I was trying to eat healthier and exercise more. When they thought I was T2 one of my doctors put me on a strict no carb diet, which I believe should be legal in all 50 states. Someone can get hurt with that diet…LOL…But since my own cut backs and that crazy diet I was on for a few months I have grown to like lower carb diets. But I always hear some whispers that low carb can be dangerous or high in fat. I am not sure why however that is why I was curious why she stopped the diet…
I also think it’s important that parents and caregivers know that children’s and adolescents’ nutritional needs are NOT the same as for adults, and so when adults talk about what works for them, it does NOT automatically apply to the youngun’s.
And when anyone talks about what works for them, you can always take the idea under consideration, but it’s really important to talk to your doc or CDE before actually doing anything, because while I’m getting to be the expert on my own diabetes, I’m certainly not the expert on your child’s.
So don’t take ANYTHING on this board as “advice” – regard it as someone’s honest experience, but rely on your medical team for decisions, OK?
I don’t recommend taking no or almost no insulin, no matter what diet you follow. At least a bit of basal insulin in necessary… in his case, I highly suspect some leftover pancreas function. This guy really should keep a close eye on his bg level, he’ll very likely need more insulin at one point or another.
However, I do think that “no grains, no dairy, no legumes” generally makes it easier to keep the bg down.
But that may not go for everyone. I’ve noticed that different foods have a different influence on different people’s bg levels.
It really may help to “avoid” foods that cause high spikes - in my case e.g. bananas, which he seems to have no trouble with.
What he describes - eating and still being on the low side after - sometimes happens to me with apples.
But I see those cases as exceptions and I doubt this is always the case with him!
Also, he exercises A LOT. So it’s not a surprise that he needs less insulin. But still he needs SOME. It is possible that he can cover a part of his insulin needs with his body’s own production, but if his bg is not high, he might not notice that he actually needs more than he takes. With his high amount of exercise, he’s able to lower his bg but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need insulin.
All in all, I wouldn’t ever call this a cure.
If anything, it’s a way that works for him but not necessarily for others.
I think you have to look at the timeline a little closer than ancient and go back to pre-historic. The key date is the agriculture revolution that changed things. The data in Anthropology studies show much healthier bones and teeth in remains of those pre-agricultural revolution(roughly 10,000 year ago) than those who started consuming grains. There is not doubt introducing grains and manipulated grains to the human physiological process changed us and not for the better. I am a Type 1 and recently started the Paleo life-style, while I do not claim it has cured me, my insulin use has gone down dramatically and I virtually use only my basal rate and that’s about it. Food consumption other than large amounts of fruit in one sitting (usually dessert) usually do not require a bolus. I think with a little research and understanding of the human body you may see the correlation between autoimmune conditions like ours and the agricultural revolution.
i agree with you about what you said about the paleo diet.my body needs insulin which i do not produce & i need food to survive & enjoy
Still testing it out…its been about 3 weeks. I still have to take insulin but definitely not as much as I would if I was eating gluten, legumes…etc I feel better overall. And I don’t over eat it or need as much food to feel full. So far so great!
Does anyone still believe you can control Type 1 without insulin (if you’re not still honeymooning)? Seriously?!?!?
While avoiding carbs can significantly decrease the amount of exogenous insulin needed, a person with Type 1 diabetes, once they are no longer honeymooning (and many people with Type 1 need insulin even during the honeymoon phase), absolutely needs exogenous insulin as they are not producing enough endogenous insulin to cover even their basal insulin needs.
For a T1—I seriously doubt it!..For a T2, combined with exercise—probably…Judith in Portland…