Insulin and Low Carb diet

July 9, 2013 12:23 PM

Can anyone point me to research that shows that the beta cells become "lazy" and become dormant because of a low carb diet? Or even better a LCHF diet? This is pertaining to type 2 DM. Thanks! BB
posted by bright77blue to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

Here's an article about the phenomena - sometimes called hibernation - where switching to a low-carb diet can cause temporary symtoms of hyperthyroidism. In short, it's temporary and can be avoided by gradually lowering the carbs in your diet rather than going through the usual induction phase.
posted by Slap*Happy at 12:46 PM on July 9, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks Slap*Happy! My endocrinologist used the word "sleep". Glad to hear it is temporary.
posted by bright77blue at 12:54 PM on July 9, 2013

Here's a Wikipedia article with a list of references to low carb, ketogenic diets, and this 2005 reference concludes that medications were 'discontinued or reduced in most participants' with T2D, and notes the need for careful medical supervision.

A similar list is here on Reddit and I've found the www.reddit.com/r/keto subreddit to be very useful for all kinds of LCHF resources and information.
posted by scooterdog at 3:46 AM on July 10, 2013