British National Health Service approves Low Carb Program
 

http://diabetestimes.co.uk/nhs-gree...carb-programme/

WOW!! Big news, best ever.

Interesting program, but it isn't what most low carbers would consider true low carb. Guidelines are set to 125 to 150 g of carbs per day. The program okays going lower, though.

At least the UK's program has an upper limit - still way too high, but better than saying eat whatever you want, and take more insulin to cover it, like they generally do in the US. With the OK to try even lower carbs, it's possible that seeing even better outcomes with even lower carbs will eventually result in the guidelines being lowered little by little.

It makes sense that improved guideline changes are going to happen first in the UK where health care is funded by the gov't and therefore there's a vested interest in finding viable ways to reduce costs.. Unlike the US, where health care is such big business, and truly cutting costs by reducing the need for ever increasing medical care ends up decreasing business.

Definitely in the right direction: lower carb recognized and approved for doctors to support.

Needs to be more than 10 weeks----drug rehab is what...? A year?
Needs to be a life time of support..unless they find this forum for support.

This is great news and proves that feedback from people who have to live with health issues matters. People are listening, and first-hand experience trumps all eventually.

That news is quite a propos for me. I recently wrote about diabetes.co.uk in my journal, but then I thought I was mistaken about the nature of that group. Anyways, there's a bunch of forums over there, the low-carb one was started back in 2008. It's not as comprehensive as this forum here, what with all the subs about a bunch of related subjects like recipes, success stories, exercise, focus groups, and yada and yada you-name-it.

But, there's one thing they have that we don't (and probably that no other forums have either), variety in the diet types. A sort of neutrality (I kinda advocate this) with regards to nutritional approach to the same problem, specifically diabetes type 2 of course. I mean, on this forum, it's all low-carb and low-carb-ish. On theirs, it's got low-cal, veggie, low-carb, and a few more.

About that QISMET (really? how cute) certification. Basically, it's a certification for providers of self-management, i.e. I teach you how to do it yourself, and you do it. For some reason I get flashes of Tony Robbins. Anyways, this forum, it's got all of that, though maybe not as an official-like expert-like kinda thing. We do have a few with genuine expertise in that, just from their sheer mountain of experience, what with their focus mostly on helping others do it and get it right, and their stratospheric post count. You know who you are, you cheeky chicks.

My point is, give us that QISMET thing already. Not for me, I'm just some guy with an axe to grind. But for this forum and its members, and to bring in more members to help them do it and get it right too. Isn't it what the forum founders wanted to do with this after all?

About their official low-carb programme. Methinks the 125-150g/carbs/day is probably set to fit the 130g/glucose/day the brain is said to consume. Incidentally, it's also very close to the ketogenic threshold, so no worries about ketoacidosis, if that's still a thing. It's a pay-for program, I don't particularly like that kinda thing, but maybe it makes it appear more official that way. Also, it's easier to manage a pay-for program when it's prescribed by docs, cuz it would also be well defined. Then, with the NHS giving the green light as a valid treatment option, docs will be more accepting of it, patients too, all good for all involved. But then, for the rest of us who still go with unofficial options like Atkins and Wheat Belly and all that, the door is pulled wide open for others to take a peek at what we do independently, also all good for all involved.

You know the thing where we imagined some kind of integration of low-carb into official guidelines? Well, this is where it all began. The tipping point. Remember this day.

Spot on. Sadly, in the colonies keeping us sick and selling us pills is a fat cash cow :-(

In reading further into the program, it seems like it was put together by Dr. Jason Fung. He normally wouldnt advocate for such high carbs, but maybe he had to do so to get govt approval.

Definitely a step in the right direction. With any luck, it will be enough to gain further momentum which in turn can lead to variations where carbs are reduced even further.

This is outstanding. From what I've read, The UK has been ahead of the game.

Low Carb Program victorious at UK Content Awards 2018

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/201...8-95129494.html

Low Carb Program awarded CE Mark

https://diabetestimes.co.uk/low-car...warded-ce-mark/

Wow! I just looked it up and according to Diabetes.co.uk there are currently 3.5 million diagnosed diabetics in the UK. That means that approximately 1 in 10 people in the UK who know they have diabetes have ALREADY registered for the low-carb program. That is huge! And, as that 10% starts seeing the results, low-carb is ought to spread among UK T2 diabetics like wild fire.

Will be very very hard for doctors in other countries - even the U.S. - to ignore it if the UK solves its diabetes epidemic via a simple dietary change. And, even if big pharma has a vested interest in people staying sick and on medications, I do think most doctors do want to see their patients get healthier. And insurance companies for sure don't want to pay for expensive medications for their insureds if they can avoid it! So, I can imagine insurance companies starting to refuse to pay for insulin for T2 diabetics who have NOT, or will not, give low-carb a reasonable try.

Yes, we are witnessing the "tipping point." :)

This is fantastic! Great news.