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Key Points
• A low-carb diet is powerful for improving Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome,
High Blood Pressure, and Obesity.
• If done correctly, low-carb nutrition is healthy since it can improve blood
pressure, blood sugar, and metabolism. Consult your physician before starting a
low-carb diet to review whether medication changes are necessary.
Basics of Low-carb
• Eat: Meat, fish, eggs, most vegetables growing above ground, and natural fats.
• Avoid: Bread, pasta, rice, beans, and potatoes, and other sugary and starchy
foods. Also avoid refined, processed vegetables and seeds such as canola,
soybean, and margarine.
Eat only when you're hungry and stop when you're satisfied. Foods with protein
and fat create satiety (the feeling of being full).
OVERVIEW
Prevalence of Diabetes and Prediabetes
The prevalence of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically over
several decades in parallel with the increasing prevalence of obesity (which now is
over 40% of adults, across all ages).
Over half of Americans have
prediabetes (hemoglobin A1c 5.7–6.4%)
or type 2 diabetes (hemoglobin A1c
≥6.5% or on diabetes medication).
These numbers have tripled since 1990.
Obesity, prediabetes and type 2
diabetes are all risk factors for
cardiovascular disease (CVD), and their
increasing prevalence is now leading to
an increase in the prevalence of CVD.
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Studies of low-carb for obesity: www.phcuk.org/rcts
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Studies of low-carb for Type 2 diabetes: www.phcuk.org/t2d
