Low Carbohydrate Diets for Type 2 Diabetes & Weight Loss

Popular low carbohydrate diets, such as the South Beach or Atkins diets, have gained extra attention recently because researchers have discovered that diets low in carbohydrates (20g of carbohydrate or less per day) can help diabetic patients lose weight, control their blood glucose and in some cases reduce or eliminate their diabetes medications.

Diets for Type 2 Diabetes

• Diets low in carbohydrates help Type 2 diabetics because they lower blood sugar. Because carbohydrates cause blood sugar levels to spike, reducing or eliminating carbohydrate from the diet evens out blood sugar levels and gives people better glucose control. Avoiding foods like pasta, cereal, potatoes, breads and sugary foods and filling the diet with leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables and lean meats helps keep blood glucose under control. Duke University Medical Center researchers found that 95 percent of patients in a study who adopted a low carbohydrate diet no longer needed oral diabetes medicines because they had such good glucose control.

Diets for Weight Loss

• Low carbohydrate diets reduce blood sugar levels and force the body to use stored fat or protein for energy, which in turn causes weight loss. The body works more efficiently without frequent spikes and dips in blood sugar levels, and as excess weight falls off, the body becomes more efficient. This efficiency helps overweight Type 2 diabetics because as they lose weight, their glucose control slowly improves.