July 22, 2003
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Beaver, Utah, USA:
I am 26 years old, I just had my second child, I have had type 1 diabetes for 14 years. I am taking Humalog for meals with Lantus at dinner, and I have gained a considerable amount of weight which is not coming off. I walk two miles or more at least six days a week. Would it be safe for me to go on the Atkins’ Diet?
Answer:
am not a big fan of the high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It is not sustainable over long periods of time, but it may have some temporary benefits if weight loss is observed. However, the most controversial issue is the idea that you already have type 1 diabetes, so it is not healthy to eat large loads of protein.
The potential for problems is greatest in the kidney where high protein loads may accelerate diabetes-related changes. An additional issue is that many patients on the high-protein diet chose meats with high fat content and suffer very significant elevations in their cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
JTL
