A GP guide to reversing diabetes with low-carb diets
With a growing evidence base, GPs can be confident in recommending carbohydrate restriction as a safe and effective option for 'diabesity'
- Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) can be reversed through dietary carbohydrate restriction. Even very metabolically unwell obese individuals with longstanding T2DM can have significant improvements in glycaemic control.
- The 2019 American Diabetes Association Consensus statement notes that low-carbohydrate eating patterns have the most evidence for lowering blood glucose and thus decreasing the requirement for hypoglycaemic medications.
- GPs need to know how to support people who wish to use dietary carbohydrate restriction as part of their approach to managing diabetes, including how to safely deprescribe insulin and oral hypoglycaemic medications.
The concepts of diabetes reversal and remission are rarely discussed in general practice.