Diets high in meat and eggs are an effective treatment for type II diabetes

This study was published in Diabetologia 2007 Sep;50(9):1795-807

Study title and authors:

A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease.

Lindeberg S, Jönsson T, Granfeldt Y, Borgstrand E, Soffman J, Sjöström K, Ahrén B.

Source

Department of Medicine, Hs 32, University of Lund, SE-221 85, Lund, Sweden. staffan.lindeberg@med.lu.se

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17583796

This 12 week study compared the effects of a  Paleolithic "old Stone Age diet" and a consensus "Mediterranean-like diet" in 29 patients with ischaemic heart disease with either high blood glucose levels or type II diabetes. 

The diets comprised of:

(i) The "old stone age diet" tended to be lower in carbohydrate and higher in fat. Meat consumption was 47% higher, egg consumption 52% higher and cholesterol consumption 34% higher on the "old stone age diet" compared to the "Mediterranean-like diet".

(ii) The "Mediterranean-like diet" tended to be higher in carbohydrate and lower in fat. Cereal consumption was 1388% higher, pastry consumption 1200% higher, margarine consumption 1500% higher, potato consumption 51% higher and sweetened drinks consumption 194% higher on the "Mediterranean-like diet" compared to the "old stone age diet".

After 12 weeks the study found:

(a) Those on the old stone age diet lost 31% more weight compared to those on the Mediterranean-like diet.

(b) Those on the old stone age diet lowered their unhealthy high fasting glucose levels 88% more than those on the Mediterranean-like diet.

(c) Those on the old stone age diet lowered their unhealthy high HbA1c levels 4.3% more than those on the Mediterranean-like diet.

This study shows how a diet high in meat and eggs is more effective than a diet high in cereals and margarine in the treatment of type II diabetes.

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Type I diabetics have better blood sugar control on a high fat diet

This study was published in Diabetologia 1985 Apr;28(4):208-12

Study title and authors:
A prospective comparison of 'conventional' and high carbohydrate/high fibre/low fat diets in adults with established type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.

McCulloch DK, Mitchell RD, Ambler J, Tattersall RB.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2991051

This study tested the effects on blood sugar control in 40 type I diabetic adults in either a high carbohydrate/high fibre/low fat diet or a low carbohydrate/low fibre/high fat diet.

The diets comprised of:
(i) 45% carbohydrate, 34% fat, 32 grams fibre per day (higher carbohydrate diet).
(ii) 38% carbohydrate, 43% fat, 20 grams fibre per day (higher fat diet).

After 4 months, HbA1c levels were 1.8% higher in those on the higher carbohydrate diet compared to those on the higher fat diet.

This study reveals that a higher fat diet enables better blood sugar control than a higher carbohydrate diet in type I diabetics.

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High-fat, carbohydrate-restricted diets are a superior treatment option for type 2 diabetes compared to a low-calorie, low fat diet

This study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine 2003 May 22;348(21):2074-81

Study title and authors:

A low-carbohydrate as compared with a low-fat diet in severe obesity.

Samaha FF, Iqbal N, Seshadri P, Chicano KL, Daily DA, McGrory J, Williams T, Williams M, Gracely EJ, Stern L.

Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, USA. rick.samaha@med.va.gov

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12761364

This study investigated the effects of a carbohydrate-restricted diet or a calorie- and fat-restricted diet on severely obese people. The trial lasted for six months and included 132 severely obese subjects with an average body-mass index of 43 and a high prevalence of diabetes (39 percent) or the metabolic syndrome (43 percent).

The subjects were assigned to either of two diets:
(i) The subjects assigned to the low-fat diet received instruction in accordance with the obesity-management guidelines of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, including caloric restriction sufficient to create a deficit of 500 calories per day, with 30 percent or less of total calories derived from fat. (Low fat diet).
(ii) The subjects assigned to the low-carbohydrate diet were instructed to restrict carbohydrate intake to 30 g per day or less. No instruction on restricting total fat intake was provided. (High fat diet).


The study found:
(a) Those on the high fat diet lost an extra 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) compared to those on the low fat diet.
(b) The high unhealthy triglyceride levels of those on the high fat diet decreased by an extra 31 mg/dL (.35 mmol/l) compared to those on the low fat diet.
(c) The high unhealthy Hb1AC levels decreased by .6% in those on the high fat diet, whereas Hb1AC levels remained the same in those on the low fat diet.
(d) The unhealthy high glucose levels of those on the high fat diet decreased by an extra 9 mg/dL (.5 mmol/l) compared to those on the low fat diet.
(e) There was a greater increase in insulin sensitivity in those on the high fat diet compared to those on the low fat diet.


The results of this study show how a high-fat, carbohydrate-restricted diet is a superior treatment option for type 2 diabetes compared to a low-calorie, low fat diet.

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Red meat reduces colon cancer by 34%

This study was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology 2004 Nov 15;160(10):1011-22

Study title and authors:

Dietary fat and fatty acids and risk of colorectal cancer in women.

Lin J, Zhang SM, Cook NR, Lee IM, Buring JE.

Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. jhlin@rics.bwh.harvard.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15522858

Dr. Jennifer Lin, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, examined the association of intakes of different types of fat with the risk of colon cancer. She and her colleagues analyzed the diets of 37,547 women over 8.7 years.

Dr. Lin found:

• Women who consumed the most saturated fat had an 8% reduced incidence of colon cancer compared to the women who ate the least.
• Women who consumed the most cholesterol had a 21% reduced incidence of colon cancer compared to the women who ate the least.
• Women who consumed the most red meat had a 34% reduced incidence of colon cancer compared to the women who ate the least.
• Women who consumed the most vegetable fat had a 21% increased incidence of colon cancer compared to the women who ate the least.

This study shows that dietary cholesterol, animal fats and red meat give protection from colon cancer, whereas vegetable fats (margarine, sunflower oil etc.) increase the risk of colon cancer.

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Small LDL cholesterol size (caused by a high carbohydrate diet) is the highest risk factor for heart disease in type II diabetics

This study was published in Metabolism 2005 Feb;54(2):227-34

Study title and authors:

Low-density lipoprotein size and subclasses are markers of clinically apparent and non-apparent atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes.

Berneis K, Jeanneret C, Muser J, Felix B, Miserez AR.

Department of Internal Medicine and Central Laboratories, Basel University Hospital Bruderholz, Switzerland 4101. kaspar@berneis.ch

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15690318

This study investigated the significance of various risk factors in the development of heart disease in type II diabetics. The investigators measured ten different risk factors in 38 overweight type II diabetics, such as  body mass index, blood pressure, smoking, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol particle size.

Berneis found that small low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol particle size was most strongly associated with the highest risk of heart disease in type II diabetics.

Small particle sizes of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are caused by diets high in carbohydrate and low in fat see here and here.

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Professor says that low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets are the preferred method for treating type 2 diabetes

This paper was published in the Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal 2008 Aug;42(4):256-63

Study title and authors:

Carbohydrate restriction as the default treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Feinman RD, Volek JS.

Department of Biochemistry, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11203, USA. rfeinman@downstate.edu

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18609058

Professor Richard Feinman reviews the role of low carbohydrate diets in relation to treatment of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

He found:

• Dietary carbohydrate restriction in the treatment of diabetes and metabolic syndrome is based on an underlying principle of control of insulin secretion and the theory that insulin resistance is a response to chronic high blood glucose levels and high insulin levels.
• This theory has substantial experimental support.
• This theory has generally been opposed by health agencies because of concern that carbohydrate will be replaced by fat, particularly saturated fat, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease as dictated by the so-called diet-heart hypothesis. However recent data shows that, in fact, substitution of fat for carbohydrate generally improves heart disease risk factors.
• Removing the barrier of concern about dietary fat makes carbohydrate restriction the preferred method for treating type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
• Low carbohydrate, high fat diets are shown to improve blood glucose control, lower HbA1C levels and reduce the need for diabetes medication.

This review find that a low carbohydrate, high fat diet is the preferred method for treating type 2 diabetes.

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Gluten-containing foods increase the risk of type 1 diabetes in children

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 2003 Oct 1;290(13):1721-8

Study title and authors:
Early infant feeding and risk of developing type 1 diabetes-associated autoantibodies.

Ziegler AG, Schmid S, Huber D, Hummel M, Bonifacio E.
Diabetes Research Institute and Hospital München-Schwabing, Munich, Germany. anziegler@lrz.uni-muenchen.de

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14519706

Antibodies are proteins produced by the body. They are used by the immune system to detect and block the harmful effects of foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria.

Autoantibodies attack and damage the body's own healthy cells, tissues and organs. Islet cells in the pancreas produce the hormone insulin. If autoantibodies attack the islet cells then the production of insulin may be severely curtailed or stopped, so the presence of islet cell autoantibodies increases the risk of an individual developing type 1 diabetes.

The objective of the study was to determine whether breastfeeding duration, or age at introduction of gluten-containing foods influences the risk of developing islet autoantibodies. The study followed 1,610 newborn children of parents with type 1 diabetes for 5 years.

The study found there was a 300% rise in islet autoantibodies in children who received gluten-containing foods before the age of 3 months compared with children who received only breast milk until aged 3 months.

The study shows that introducing gluten-containing foods before the age of 3 months to children who have parents with type 1 diabetes significantly increases their risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

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