February 28, 2018 · 3:59 AM

Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet Beats Low-Fat Diet for Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes

Conquer Diabetes and Prediabetes, Steve Parker MD

Olive oil and vinegar: prominent features of the Mediterranean diet

I first wrote about this study way back in 2009. To recap how the study was done:

Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics who had never been treated with diabetes drugs were recruited into the study, which was done in Naples, Italy.  At the outset, the 215 study participants were 30 to 75 years of age, had body mass index over 25 (average 29.5), had average hemoglobin A1c levels of 7.73, and average glucose levels of 170 mg/dl.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two diets:

  1. Low-carb Mediterranean diet:  rich in vegetables and whole grains, low in red meat (replaced with poultry and fish), no more than 50% of calories from complex carbohydrates, no less than 30% of calories from fat (main source of added fat was 30 to 50 g of olive oil daily).  [No mention of fruits or wine.  BTW, the traditional Mediterranean diet derives 50-60% of energy from carbohydrates.]
  2. Low-fat diet based on American Heart Association guidelines:  rich in whole grains, restricted additional fats/sweets/high-fat snacks, no more than 30% of calories from fat, no more than 10% of calories from saturated fats.

Both diet groups were instructed to limit daily energy intake to 1500 (women) or 1800 (men) calories.

All participants were advised to increase physical activity, mainly walking for at least 30 minutes a day.

Drug therapy was initiated when hemoglobin A1c levels persisted above 7% despite diet and exercise.

The study lasted four years.

The bottom line for the investigators then was  that “a low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean-style diet seems to be preferable to a low-fat diet for glycemic control in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.”

Nevertheless, in 2018 the most commonly recommended diet for diabetics is still a low-fat diet.

What About Long-Term Effects?

In 2014, our indefatigable researchers published additional long-term results of this study’s participants, who were followed for a total of 8 years. That’s an incredibly long time for a diet study. Major findings;

  • Compared to a traditional low-fat diet, the low-carb Mediterranean diet postponed the start of diabetes medications by two years , and it wasn’t simply due to weight loss.
  • Complete or partial remission of diabetes occurred in 15% of the low-carb Mediterranean dieters within the first year and 5% after six years. These rates were two to four times higher than seen in the low-fat group. (Lower hemoglobin A1c at the start of the study was a predictor of long-term remission. That is, your best chance of remission is when your diabetes is relatively mild when diagnosed.)
  • Compared to the low-fat diet group, the low-carb Mediterranean dieters saw a greater reduction in Hemoglobin A1c levels.

I don’t know exactly what these successful low-carb Mediterranean dieters ate, but if you need a low-carb Mediterranean diet now, why not try mine?

Steve Parker, M.D.

Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet, front cover

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February 23, 2018 · 11:39 AM

Reinagel Ponders Whether Calcium Supplements Are Safe

 

Death in a bottle?

Death in a bottle?

Monica Reinagel is a smart and media-savvy nutritionist who brought me on board as a blogger at NutritionData many years ago. Click the link below for her surprising conclusion on calcium supplementation.

Monica writes:

“The National Osteoporosis Foundation published a new report this week, insisting that calcium supplements are safe for your heart. Two weeks ago, Johns Hopkins cardiologist Erin Michos published a paper saying the opposite.

She claims that the NOF review (which was funded by a pharmaceutical company that makes calcium supplements) omitted certain studies (such as the ones she included in her own review) that might have changed the conclusion.

These are just the latest two volleys in a five-year-long tennis match between experts on whether you should or shouldn’t take calcium supplements.  And you thought politics was divisive.”

Source: Calcium Supplements: Safe or Not?

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February 22, 2018 · 3:51 PM

Mediterranean Diet Shares Top Ranking With DASH Diet in U.S. News  and World Report

But they both have too many carbohydrates for most folks with diabetes. That’s why I created the Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet.

“Best Diets Overall are ranked for safe and effective weight loss, how easy it is to follow, heart health and diabetes help and nutritional completeness.”

Source: Best Diets Overall : Rankings | US News Best Diets

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February 21, 2018 · 11:39 AM

Soft Drinks Linked to Doubled Risk of T2 Diabetes and LADA

I enjoy an aspartame-flavored Fresca now and then

I enjoy an aspartame-flavored Fresca now and then

LADA is latent autoimmune diabetes in adults.

This new study is out of Sweden. The potential disease-inducing soft drink dose was 400 ml or 13.5 fl oz per day. In the U.S., a typical soda can is 10 fl oz or 355 ml. Surprisingly, artificially-sweetened soft drinks were just as guilty as regular beverages.

From MNT:

“The study included 2,874 Swedish adults, of whom 1,136 had type 2 diabetes, 357 had LADA, and 1,137 were healthy controls.

The team analyzed the self-reported dietary data of each adult, looking specifically at the number of soft drinks consumed up to 1 year before a diabetes diagnosis. Participants’ insulin resistance levels, beta cell function, and autoimmune response were also measured.

The researchers found that adults who reported drinking at least two 200-milliliter servings of soft drinks a day – whether they contained sugar or artificial sweetener – were twice as likely to develop LADA and 2.4 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, compared with those who consumed fewer than two soft drinks daily.

What is more, adults who consumed five 200-milliliter servings of soft drinks daily were found to be at 3.5 times greater risk of LADA and 10.5 times greater risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of whether the drinks were sugary or artificially sweetened.”

Source: Diabetes risk doubles with more than two soft drinks daily – Medical News Today

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February 14, 2018 · 3:10 AM

Actress With Type 1 Diabetes Eats a Ketogenic Diet

The Toronto Sun has an article on Halle Berry and how she has adopted a ketogenic diet to help control her diabetes. Another source suggests she’s had type 1 diabetes since 1989. A snippet:

Halle Berry credits her ketogenic diet with keeping her fit.

The Monster’s Ball star, 50, is known for her enviable physique and she explains not eating any sugars or carbohydrates – because she is diabetic – has helped her maintain her figure.

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February 13, 2018 · 12:25 AM

DietDoctor’s Low-Carb Recipe Section: Not New, But Improved

That's a guacamole deviled egg

That’s a guacamole deviled egg

They’ve always been good recipes—with all-important nutrient analysis—but they’re even better now.

From DietDoctor:

“Our low-carb recipe site is probably already the most popular one in the world, with over 100,000 daily pageviews, several hundred recipes and gorgeous images. Now we’re adding even more great functions.You can now change the number of servings for recipes – the ingredient amount will correspond to the number of servings – and you can now also choose between the US or the metric measurement systems for ingredients. All to make it simpler to use our recipes.

We’ve also added a function for members so that it is now possible to save your personal favorite recipes. To activate the latter feature you need to be logged in, so that your selections can be saved for later.”

Source: The World’s Best Low-Carb Recipes Just Got Better – Diet Doctor

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February 6, 2018 · 4:26 AM

New to Weight Training? P.D. Mangan Cuts Through the Confusion

Women, don’t worry about getting big and bulky with weight training. You don’t have enough testosterone.

I am a huge advocate of weight training (aka resistance or strength training).

Folks new to weight training, or simply thinking about starting a program, are often intimidated by the jargon and contradictory information available. P.D. Mangan clears up a lot of the confusion in a brief article.

I quote:

Misconceptions and wrong ideas abound in weight training, probably because so many enthusiastic amateurs are involved in it. In this article, I’ll try to clear up some of the misconceptions with a look at at science-based weight training.

In recent articles, we saw that brief workouts, at 15 minutes, done infrequently, at twice a week, can produce significant strength gains. We saw that compound lifts, not isolation lifts, are the most effective strength exercises, and are essential for the serious strength trainer. And we saw that hard weight lifting causes muscle damage, which necessitates recovery time.

Here I’ll focus on what science has to say about additional aspects of weight lifting (resistance training). These come from “Evidence-Based Resistance Training Recommendations” by Fisher et al.

Source: Science-Based Weight Training – Rogue Health and Fitness

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February 4, 2018 · 1:53 PM

With All the Pollutants In Fish, Is it Still a Good Idea to Eat Them?

Dead whole fish aren't very appealing to many folks

Dead whole fish aren’t very appealing to many folks

Probably so. Mercury is the key pollutant people think about when considering polluted fish. Mercury toxicity isn’t on the list of top 10 killers in the U.S., but heart disease is.

Heart disease is #1 on the list of top causes of death, followed by cancer and chronic lower respiratory tract disease. “Heart disease” is a broad category; the primary killer is heart attacks. (Following heart disease as leading killer is cancer. Sadly, suicide is tenth leading cause of death. If you’re considering it, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline now.)

Eating fish regularly seems to reduce your risk of heart attack. I favor the cold-water fatty fish like salmon, trout, herring, and sardines.

I quote the New York Times:

“Numerous studies have found that people who eat fish on a regular basis are less likely to die of a heart attack than those who don’t eat it or eat it less than once a month, and a 2006 Harvard review concluded that eating one to two servings of fish rich in omega-3s every week cut the risk of dying of a heart attack by one-third.”

Source: Why Is Fish Good for You? Because It Replaces Meat? – The New York Times

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Click for ideas on reducing your risk of cancer.

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January 25, 2018 · 10:55 PM

Mediterranean Diet Could Prevent 20,000 Deaths Per Year in Britain

 

Italian seaside tangentially related to this post

Italian seaside tangentially related to this post

The Telegraph has the details:

“Some 20,000 lives could be saved each year if Britons switched to a Mediterranean diet, according to a new study.

The Medical Research Council (MRC) and Cambridge University followed nearly 24,000 people in the UK for up to 17 years to see how their diet affected the health of their heart.

They discovered that people who followed a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish and olive oil lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 16 per cent. The researchers estimate that 12.5 per cent of cardiovascular deaths, such as heart attacks and strokes,  could be prevented if everyone switched to the Mediterranean diet. There are around 160,000 heart deaths each year so 20,000 deaths could be avoided just by eating more healthy foods.”

Source: Mediterranean diet could prevent 20,000 deaths in Britain each year 

I’ve been a proponent of the Mediterranean diet for over a decade. I’m not alone.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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January 2, 2018 · 12:29 PM

And Now for Something Entirely Different: Eyeglass Scratch Removal

I recently developed fine scratches on my eyeglasses that were so bothersome I was ready to fork over another $500+ for new glasses. Watch the video to learn how I got rid of the scratches. My glasses are more expensive than most because I need progressive lenses (different prescriptions for near and far vision) and I pay extra for light lenses.

If you have a better way to remove scratches, please share in the comment section.

PS: Another way to save money on eyeglasses is to re-use your frames when you just need new lenses. Luxottica has a near-monopoly on frames and the mark-up is incredible.

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