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An essay from my personal website.
Controlled Carbohydrates and Diabetes: A history
Diabetes is a disease in which the patient is unable to burn up carbohydrates, with the result that the percentage of sugar in the blood is increased and the patient excretes sugar in the urine. The treatment of diabetes by diet consists in limiting the quantity of carbohydrates taken in the food. The diabetic diet is so arranged that the minimum amounts of carbohydrates are taken and the necessary calories for nutrition are replaced by proteins and fats. Such foods can usually be obtained in a very large variety from the usual foods.
Textbook of Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics 7th Ed. A. S. Blumgarten, MD. The MacMillan Company 1938
What? A controlled carbohydrate diet was the recommended diet for diabetics??? Whoa! Controlled carbohydrate diets are usually sneered at by some diabetes experts and nutritionists.
Let's back up here a moment!.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body cannot properly metabolize glucose. This disease is due to one of two things: 1. The body is not making enough insulin or 2. The body is making enough insulin, however, the body is resistant to the insulin's effects.
Most people will say the single greatest innovation in the treatment of diabetes was in 1922 when Canadian researchers* isolated the hormone, insulin. Insulin, as we know, is a hormone produced in the pancreas and is responsible for controlling our blood glucose levels. After we eat a meal, our bodies digest the food and glucose is released into our blood stream. Our pancreas releases insulin to "grab" the glucose in our blood. Indeed, the discovery of insulin was great thing for diabetics. By the 1950s and 1960s, insulin was more readily available for widespread use. Today, there are several kinds of insulins available for diabetic patients.
However, before the discovery and widespread use of insulin, diabetic therapy relied on diet and lifestyle modifications. This diet based approach was rather popular and there were several diets. However, it was Elliot Joslin, a physician in Boston, Massachusetts, who brought legitimacy to the controlled carbohydrate approach. Dr. Joslin specialized in the care and management of diabetic patients. He figured out that if the basic problem with diabetics was the inability to metabolize glucose, then by restricting dietary glucose, these patients would be able to control their diabetes. His 1898 landmark book was called A Diabetic Manual for the Mutual Use of Doctor and Patient.
Dr. Joslin explained in his book that excessive sugar consumption predisposed one to the development of obesity, which predisposed one to diabetes. Moreover, he discussed the importance of physical activity and stress-relief for health maintenance. Interestingly enough, Dr. Joslin advised his patients to invest in a pedometer to keep track of the miles they walked daily, stating that knowing the miles walked is more important than how little food has been eaten.
The rest of it can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/not2latespage/gs3.html
(Now, I'm going into the ADBB Witness Protection Program, 'cuz I know the ADA will be after me.
)
Controlled Carbohydrates and Diabetes: A history
Diabetes is a disease in which the patient is unable to burn up carbohydrates, with the result that the percentage of sugar in the blood is increased and the patient excretes sugar in the urine. The treatment of diabetes by diet consists in limiting the quantity of carbohydrates taken in the food. The diabetic diet is so arranged that the minimum amounts of carbohydrates are taken and the necessary calories for nutrition are replaced by proteins and fats. Such foods can usually be obtained in a very large variety from the usual foods.
Textbook of Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics 7th Ed. A. S. Blumgarten, MD. The MacMillan Company 1938
What? A controlled carbohydrate diet was the recommended diet for diabetics??? Whoa! Controlled carbohydrate diets are usually sneered at by some diabetes experts and nutritionists.
Let's back up here a moment!.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease in which the body cannot properly metabolize glucose. This disease is due to one of two things: 1. The body is not making enough insulin or 2. The body is making enough insulin, however, the body is resistant to the insulin's effects.
Most people will say the single greatest innovation in the treatment of diabetes was in 1922 when Canadian researchers* isolated the hormone, insulin. Insulin, as we know, is a hormone produced in the pancreas and is responsible for controlling our blood glucose levels. After we eat a meal, our bodies digest the food and glucose is released into our blood stream. Our pancreas releases insulin to "grab" the glucose in our blood. Indeed, the discovery of insulin was great thing for diabetics. By the 1950s and 1960s, insulin was more readily available for widespread use. Today, there are several kinds of insulins available for diabetic patients.
However, before the discovery and widespread use of insulin, diabetic therapy relied on diet and lifestyle modifications. This diet based approach was rather popular and there were several diets. However, it was Elliot Joslin, a physician in Boston, Massachusetts, who brought legitimacy to the controlled carbohydrate approach. Dr. Joslin specialized in the care and management of diabetic patients. He figured out that if the basic problem with diabetics was the inability to metabolize glucose, then by restricting dietary glucose, these patients would be able to control their diabetes. His 1898 landmark book was called A Diabetic Manual for the Mutual Use of Doctor and Patient.
Dr. Joslin explained in his book that excessive sugar consumption predisposed one to the development of obesity, which predisposed one to diabetes. Moreover, he discussed the importance of physical activity and stress-relief for health maintenance. Interestingly enough, Dr. Joslin advised his patients to invest in a pedometer to keep track of the miles they walked daily, stating that knowing the miles walked is more important than how little food has been eaten.
The rest of it can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/not2latespage/gs3.html
(Now, I'm going into the ADBB Witness Protection Program, 'cuz I know the ADA will be after me.
)