Can Atkins Diet Treat and Prevent Diabetes?

Why Atkins Diet helps treat and prevent Diabetes

The Atkins diet helps reduce and prevent diabetes because it lowers glucose production in the body and keeps glucose levels within the normal range.

Supporters of the Atkins diet believe that following a low carbohydrates diet, below the standard recommended amounts by the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans", is the optimal solution for patients with diabetes, as it helps maintain proper glucose levels in the body.

Furthermore, the Atkins diet can help promote weight loss. This is another beneficial factor for diabetic patients as it helps in regulating and balancing blood sugar levels further.

A study titled “Low-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes: stable improvement of bodyweight and glycemic control during 44 months follow-up” showed that following a low carb diet had beneficial effects such as reduced body weight and glycemic control, compared to a regular carbohydrate diet. It was also recorded that these changes were maintained for over 3 years while following this type of diet throughout that period of time.

Is it only Sugar that causes Diabetes or all Carbs? 

There’s a common misconception about diabetes because many individuals believe that it is mainly sugar that triggers blood sugar levels (glucose) to rise.

While this is actually true, it is not ONLY sugar that increases glucose in the blood but most carbohydrates that include starches, dietary fiber, and sugar.

And as these carbs get metabolized in the body, the liver converts them into glucose.

The misconception between Sugar and Carbs for Diabetes 

Many companies have contributed to this wrong perception by promoting bread and biscuits products as “sugar free or no added sugar - suitable for diabetes”.

This made people wrongly believe, in a way or another, that it is only the sugar that causes glucose levels to raise in the blood for diabetic patients, not carbohydrates in general.

From the low carbs diet perspective, while it is actually true that "sugar free products" might not contain sugar but they consist of carbohydrates and contain chemical additives. Accordingly, they are not a good choice for diabetic patients because at the end, they are metabolized into glucose in the blood.

Nevertheless, the main benefit of "sugar free products" is that they can help reduce calories intake which helps patients better manage their weight. This contributes to lower glucose levels. 

Accordingly, it is important to understand that sugar is only one type of carbohydrate sources and there exist many other types. Yet, most carbs are harmful for diabetes.

Furthermore, consumption of carbohydrates triggers an insulin spike in order to reduce glucose level in the body. This would lead to more hunger and more food consumption, hence contributing to weight gain.  

Carbohydrates sources include all types of grains, fruits, bread, many vegetables, and low fat dairy products. While people have always heard that fruits and grains are healthy, yet this is not the case for type 2 diabetes patients.

How the Modified Atkins Diet (MAD) works to reduce Blood Sugar

The Atkins diet works to treat and prevent diabetes by restricting carbohydrates consumption. This is because carbohydrates are converted into glucose by the liver, while fat is metabolized into ketones.

The Modified Atkins diet (MAD) is considered the most effective type of Atkins diet for diabetes because it is the most restrictive one, compared to the other types that reintroduce carbohydrates in later stages. Other types are mainly designed for weight loss and for maintaining it during longer periods of time. Check Atkins diet for weight loss.

In this regard, the MAD type is quite similar to the induction phase of the standard Atkins diet that allows only 10 to 20 g of carbs per day, while limiting protein consumption and promoting fats. It is also considered very similar to the Keto diet, however it allows higher proteins intake compared to Keto.

An additional benefit of the Modified Atkins diet for diabetes is due to weight loss. This is because losing weight for a diabetic patient can decrease blood sugar levels and help further in treating this condition. 

Research shows that weight loss can lower blood glucose levels and produce better outcome for diabetic patients.

The Modified Atkins diet helps reduce weight by allowing the following:

1-    Fat burning and satiety: the Modified Atkins diet restricts carbohydrate intake, thus forcing the body to find another source for energy in order to survive instead of carbohydrates. The alternative energy source is the body’s fat stores that can provide energy when carbohydrate stores are depleted.

When the body starts burning fat for energy such as the case in the Atkins diet, this would result in greater weight loss. Furthermore, the diet promotes satiety because of the high fat content, which is an additional contributing factor because fewer calories are consumed.
 
2-    Low insulin levels: insulin is a hormone that affects fat storage. Accordingly, when insulin levels are high, which is the case when we follow a rich carbohydrates diet, the storage of fat increases. On the other hand, when insulin levels are low, which is the case when carbohydrates are consumed in low amounts, fat storage will be reduced and the fat burning process is promoted.

The Modified Atkins Diet foods for Diabetes

The Modified Atkins diet is very close to the keto diet as it restricts carbohydrate and stresses on fat while limiting protein.

Supporters of this diet recommend it as an everlasting regimen that should be followed as a lifestyle across the individual’s lifespan for healthier outcomes.

The Modified Atkins diet promotes foods that are considered low in carbohydrates or carbohydrate-free for consumption.

These foods include:

-    Fish and seafood

-    Pork, turkey, and chicken. Focus on consuming lean meat because animal proteins are rich in bad fats such as saturated fat.

-    Eggs

-    Non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, kale, asparagus…

-    Unrefined oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil… 

-    Full fat dairy including butter, heavy cream, sour cream, and hard cheeses that are high in fat and low in carbohydrates such as blue cheese, American cheese, Swiss, cheddar, feta …

-    Herbs and spices

The Modified Atkins Diet for Diabetes: What you should Avoid

The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrates consumption and tends to eliminate many foods based on their carbohydrate content. Accordingly, the diet removes the following foods from the diet:

- All types of grains, legumes, and starches

- Sugar and alternative sweeteners

- Sugar sweetened beverages and drinks

- Most fruits and vegetables that are high in carbohydrates

- Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn

- Vegetables oils like corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil …

- Condiments including bagged sauces and mixes

- Most dairy products that are high in carbohydrates such as milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese

- Alcohol

- Reduced fat and diet products

Atkins Diet for Diabetes: precautions

Diabetic patients following the Modified Atkins diet should consult their doctor and monitor their blood sugar levels regularly to ensure they are within the normal ranges.

This is important because reducing carbohydrate intake without reducing the dose of the diabetic medication can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels). When hypoglycemia is left untreated it can cause brain damage and death.    

Another complication can happen if the body is accumulating high amounts of ketone bodies that can show up in the blood and urine because of the ketosis process taking place in the body when you consume a low carbs, high fat, and moderate proteins kind of diet. 

This is known as a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and is a serious complication for patients with diabetes. It can be life threatening and dangerous, and therefore people following an Atkins diet should always do proper monitoring and conduct regular tests to check their blood and various health indicators.

Additional precautions for Atkins Diet

There are several side effects that might come along when you follow a low carbohydrate diet such as the Atkins diet.

When there is an elimination or even restriction of carbohydrates from the diet, symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, headaches, sleep disturbances, trouble breathing, irritability and mood swings, and bad breath might occur. 

Digestive problems also happen with the Atkins diet due to several reasons such as constipation and diarrhea. Even nausea might follow as a result of inadequate fiber intake secondary to carbohydrate restriction. 

Another important factor to pay attention to is nutritional deficiencies. Certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies are prevalent when omitting a food group or certain food types. The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrates and fruits, and this increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies. 

Atkins diet for diabetes: side effects

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