My father was a Type 2 diabetic for many years. I never thought much of it, I knew he "watched" his diet and didn't have sugar and he went to the doctor who prescribed him insulin and medication. Slowly over the years it got worse. He had to have eye surgeries, his feet started swelling, his kidneys got bad.
I finally decided to do some research on the topic and learned all about insulin resistance and how it's mostly an issue with the liver. I read about the Keto diet (which is high fat, extremely low carb) and discovered tons of people who it seemed to helped, so I got my parents to both try it. Within 6 months, my dad lost over 50 lbs, he no longer had to take any insulin. He went to the doctor and they were amazed at how quickly all of his levels improved. His kidney function improved.
He still has more weight to lose, but it's been pretty miraculous and I urge everyone to look into it. I've been a carbivore my whole life. I'm still young so it hasn't caught up to me, but I imagine that it probably will eventually. So I don't do extreme Keto, but I'm starting to eat much healthier now. More veggies, fewer refined carbs like bread and pasta. I also cut out soda and most meat and dairy.
Strange, only because my dad was type 2 as well, but my entire life (79-2006, when he passed from cancer), he would constantly talk and knew if he would eat right (meaning no macro-extremes, mainly) , he wouldn’t need insulin, so he knew his sugar binges weren’t good for his diabetes (his cravings ranged everywhere from twinkies and regular Coke, to piles of pasta with no flavoring but a ton of butter).
However, he was able to bring his weight and diabetes under control before he found out he had cancer, and he was able to control it with just a balanced macro diet (and he had tried everything from Atkins to acupuncture advice).
I guess I’m saying this for two reasons: 1, it’s so crazy how little we know about diet and biology regarding individuals, and 2, there might be other options for people with the diabeetus out there, but it’s crazy how calorie control works best for different people, depending on the approach.
Also, I was pretty sure that keto was primarily high protein and high fat, (though thinking about it, an 80% fat diet could still be considered keto; I just think protein is not only calorie saving, it’s muscle sparing effects are incredibly important, esp for men).
I finally decided to do some research on the topic and learned all about insulin resistance and how it's mostly an issue with the liver. I read about the Keto diet (which is high fat, extremely low carb) and discovered tons of people who it seemed to helped, so I got my parents to both try it. Within 6 months, my dad lost over 50 lbs, he no longer had to take any insulin. He went to the doctor and they were amazed at how quickly all of his levels improved. His kidney function improved.
He still has more weight to lose, but it's been pretty miraculous and I urge everyone to look into it. I've been a carbivore my whole life. I'm still young so it hasn't caught up to me, but I imagine that it probably will eventually. So I don't do extreme Keto, but I'm starting to eat much healthier now. More veggies, fewer refined carbs like bread and pasta. I also cut out soda and most meat and dairy.