Abstract
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by chronically elevated blood glucose (hyperglycemia) and elevated blood insulin (hyperinsulinemia). When the blood glucose concentration is 100 milligrams/deciliter the bloodstream of an average adult contains about 5–10 grams of glucose. Carbohydrate-restricted diets have been used effectively to treat obesity and T2DM for over 100 years, and their effectiveness may simply be due to lowering the dietary contribution to glucose and insulin levels, which then leads to improvements in hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Treatments for T2DM that lead to improvements in glycemic control and reductions in blood insulin levels are sensible based on this pathophysiologic perspective. In this article, a pathophysiological argument for using carbohydrate restriction to treat T2DM will be made.
Highlights
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by a persistently elevated blood glucose, or an elevation of blood glucose after a meal containing carbohydrate [1] (Table 1)
Unlike Type 1 Diabetes which is characterized by a deficiency of insulin, most individuals affected by T2DM have elevated insulin levels, unless there has been beta cell failure [2, 3]
Keeping in mind that T2DM involves an elevation of blood glucose, it is important to understand how much glucose is in the blood stream to begin with, and the factors that influence the blood glucose—both exogenous and endogenous factors
Summary
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by chronically elevated blood glucose (hyperglycemia) and elevated blood insulin (hyperinsulinemia). When the blood glucose concentration is 100 milligrams/deciliter the bloodstream of an average adult contains about 5–10 grams of glucose. Carbohydrate-restricted diets have been used effectively to treat obesity and T2DM for over 100 years, and their effectiveness may be due to lowering the dietary contribution to glucose and insulin levels, which leads to improvements in hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. Treatments for T2DM that lead to improvements in glycemic control and reductions in blood insulin levels are sensible based on this pathophysiologic perspective. A pathophysiological argument for using carbohydrate restriction to treat T2DM will be made
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