[code_biologist]

One drug advertisement I’ve seen on Pinterest lately says “diet and exercise can’t treat diabetes” which may be true of type 1 diabetes, but last time I checked 90% of the diabetes in the US is type 2 and diet improvements should absolutely be the first line intervention.

[nradov]

Diet and exercise are extremely effective in treating type 1 diabetes. But some exogenous insulin (and other medications) are usually still required.

For type 2 diabetes, research had shown that many patients can put the condition into remission through lifestyle changes alone. Nutritional ketosis is very effective in reversing insulin resistance.

https://www.virtahealth.com/research

[UncleSlacky]

Agreed, I've just successfully reversed mine using the "Newcastle Protocol" (calorie restriction for ~12 weeks):

https://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#pub... https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/2017/dec/newcastle-diet-achi...

[GiorgioG]

You’re talking out of your ass about type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetics stop producing insulin entirely and are 100% dependent on exogenous insulin. My 12 year old son is a type 1 diabetic. He plays ice hockey, and his blood sugar will have a tendency to spike during games without having eaten anything for hours prior simply due to emotions/Adrenalin, whereas at practice he’s more likely to experience low blood sugars.

Edit: Since I can't reply to another one of your posts below, I'm going to respond here. There's a "honeymoon period" after the initial symptoms of type 1 appear that yes you will still produce some insulin, for most patients it's about a year, but after that, no insulin is produced.

Zero-carb isn't a realistic long term solution. My son was diagnosed at 18 months of age. Feeding him nothing but bacon, steak and chicken is not particularly good idea for a toddler or growing child.

[ksaun]

> Diet and exercise are extremely effective in treating type 1 diabetes. But some exogenous insulin (and other medications) are usually still required.

I think you are misinformed about Type 1 diabetes. Maybe you are thinking of some other condition?

In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas stops producing any insulin. Insulin must be administered regularly (always, not usually) or the person will die. "Other medications" aren't required.

One's diet and exercise are relevant to Type 1 diabetes treatment, but are not a treatment method.

Source: my daughter has Type 1 diabetes

[GiorgioG]

You put it much more diplomatically than I did in my response (my son has T1D)

[nradov]

I'm sorry for your daughter's condition, but I think you are misinformed about type 1 diabetes. Most patients still product some endogenous insulin, it's just usually not enough. Like any chronic condition, it's a spectrum and there are outliers at both ends. I've learned to be very cautious about using words like "always" or "never" because of the odd cases that occasionally come up.

https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00125-013-3067-x

Diet and exercise are very effective at treating type 1 diabetes, just usually not sufficient. With a minimal or zero carb diet plus the right exercise regime, some patients find that they can go much longer between insulin doses while still maintaining good blood glucose control. In particular, I think a lot of people don't appreciate the necessity of doing resistance training to build enough skeletal muscle mass as a glucose sink.

https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3349

[connicpu]

It would probably be more accurate to say that diet and exercise alone are not enough for most people with Type 2 diabetes in the US. They are still an important part of intervention. But as a practical matter, telling people who've developed Type 2 to just suddenly gain the willpower to do both of those things really isn't going to be enough to stop progress of the disease.