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Eating low carb lowers blood pressure and prescriptions of medication, study finds

Quote:

12 August,2019

Eating low carb lowers blood pressure and prescriptions of medication, study finds

Low carbohydrate eating leads to significant improvements in blood pressure and cardiovascular risks in people with type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.

UK scientists including Dr David Unwin discovered that over the course of two years, going low carb led to deprescription of 21.5% of total blood pressure drugs among the participants.

Dr Unwin, who helped developed the NHS-approved Low Carb Program app, conducted the study alongside UK researchers from Southport, Glasgow, Liverpool and London.

The research team said: "Our work helps highlight how this simple dietary approach may also bring additional and so far under reported improvements to the increased cardiovascular risks that people with type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance face."

The study involved 154 people with type 2 diabetes or high-risk of type 2 diabetes who were retrospectively analysed based on their diet.

"We concentrated particularly on advising a dramatic reduction in total dietary sugar, explaining that this involves not just cutting back on table sugar itself but starchy carbohydrates like bread, cereals and potatoes that are themselves made up of glucose (in the form of starch)," wrote the researchers.

The effect of low carb eating was observed for two years alongside the impact on participants’ cardiovascular risk factors, such as high blood pressure.

There were "significant and substantial reductions" in blood pressure, as well as weight, and participants who went low carb experienced improve lipid (blood fat) profiles too.

The findings existed alongside the 21.5% reduction in blood pressure medications, and the researchers now want to test their findings further in larger trials.

"This novel and potentially highly effective dietary modification, done very cheaply alongside routine care, offers hope that should be tested in a large prospective trial."

The results appear in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/201...s-91067302.html

Quote:

Substantial and Sustained Improvements in Blood Pressure, Weight and Lipid Profiles from a Carbohydrate Restricted Diet: An Observational Study of Insulin Resistant Patients in Primary Care

Abstract: Hypertension is the second biggest known global risk factor for disease after poor diet; perhaps lifestyle interventions are underutilized? In a previous small pilot study, it was found that a low carbohydrate diet was associated with significant improvements in blood pressure, weight, ‘deprescribing’ of medications and lipid profiles. We were interested to investigate if these results would be replicated in a larger study based in ‘real world’ GP practice. 154 patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance were recruited into an observational cohort study in primary care. The effects of a low carbohydrate diet sustained for an average of two years (interquartile range 10–32 months) on cardiovascular risk factors were examined. Results demonstrate significant and substantial reductions in blood pressure (mean reduction of systolic BP 10.9 mmHg (interquartile range 0–22 mmHg) (p < 0.0001), mean reduction in diastolic BP 6.3 mmHg (interquartile range 0–12.8 mmHg) (p < 0.0001) and mean weight reduction of 9.5 Kg (interquartile range 5–13 Kg) (p < 0.0001) together with marked improvement in lipid profiles. This occurred despite a 20% reduction in anti-hypertensive medications. This novel and potentially highly effective dietary modification, done very cheaply alongside routine care, offers hope that should be tested in a large prospective trial.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/15/2680/htm

Encouraging that Dr. Unwin's success in treating T2D patients has positive results in correcting other symptoms of metabolic syndrome. This is my n=1 experience as well. No more HBP. Lifestyle changes of avoiding unhealthy foods are more powerful than any medication and longer lasting. There are many vested interests who won't want this information to become common knowledge.

My experience exactly. Blood sugar, blood pressure and weight loss all trending DOWN.

When my bp creeps up, its a tell. Back to Induction to knock it down. Funny how my doctor's view of "normal" pb has changed over 20 years. 120/ 80 was fine, now it is too high. Lol 120/80 is my tell, lol. Far higher than my normal. Leading a LC life of learning taught me 120/80 is Too high , a very long time ago.....before the doctors figured this out.

And it's not just diabetes. Blood pressure medicine itself is harmful. After all, it's just lowering that set of numbers in the doctor's office, not addressing the cause of the increased blood pressure.

The more I have looked into my own health, the more astonishing it is that no one seems to acknowledge the dark side of medications, even life-saving ones. The effects of a bad diet are so systemic. Yet most of the drugs out there just shut up the patient; they don't shut down the inflammation damaging the body.

The entire attitude summed up in "You just eat what you want and balance it with insulin" has spread to psychiatry, where there are only brain chemicals and how the drugs affect them. I know from my own experience I have had to turn down the favorite trio of Lipitor-Ambien-Prozac that every middle-aged person gets handed in Western Medicine. The staggering side effects of statins, sleep drugs, and SSRIs should be better known.

It's not just the food or the drugs or the insurance: it's the whole sick system. The hubris of assuming we know enough about a complicated system to mess with it is the problem.

I think what's the most troubling is that these doctors have to know the side effects and especially combining all of those side effects but I think the insensitive from the drug companies $$$ is enough to make them keep prescribing regardless.
Ignoring the causes is the worst part!

That may be true for some doctors, but I find that my doctors and many others have no first-hand experience with the most common side effects other than what they read in their knowledge base regarding a specific medication's contraindications. Many of us including doctors are vulnerable to the Pharma machine and the information spewed. I envy people in other countries who don't have to view advertisements of pharmaceuticals. If you believed what the actors portray, you'd thing it was a wonderful world with all our symptoms, aches, pains, and limitations being corrected by a pill.

Those commercials to sell pharmaceutical drugs drives me crazy, the way they are strolling through fields of flowers, all happy and healthy because of the drugs. Then the side effects come out to kill any thought of health and welness with all sorts of life threatening conditions caused by these drugs....

Every time I read one of these studies announcing these things like it's some breakthrough, I remember reading about these kinds of results in Protein Power back in 1999. That's 20 years ago now. We've known this. It's like trying to turn around a freight train.

I frequently tell my husband, my mother, etc. that their blood pressure would be better if they would eat low carb. Yet despite my success over the last 4 years, they won't seriously try it.

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Originally Posted by CityGirl8

I think more people are listening now. Im hopeful we can turn this around.

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Originally Posted by Meme#1

I point out to my kids the loooooong list of side effects, lol. Those seem worse than the disease.

A recent ad for psoriasis makes me grumpy, as that one can likely be calmed by food change. My mom had great improvement when low carbing. Not clear if it was the effect of an eliminstion diet, or ketones that calmed the lesions. Cant begin to guess at the amount of money the thrown at treatment at treatments for her entire lifetime.

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Originally Posted by Ms Arielle

I bet they constantly gave her prednisone, some bad side effects with that stuff I've heard. I won't touch it.

Yes, use pred with care. Its over used imo. Have a fruend hurt by a miscalculated overdose.

Mothers treatment was primarily tar, and extreme doses of sunlight. And a few body peels at special hospital. And a cream. And endless debriding.

I do wish diet was looked at to decrease the severity. As its an autoimmune, I done think there is a cure, just control.

A young fellow last weekend was just telling me he was given Pred for a sore throat. He talked about how it causes mental issues, had a nickname for it, forgot what it was called.