I’ve heard that cutting out nearly all carbohydrates from the diet basically causes permanent remission of type 2 diabetes. Is this true?
So when you say “nearly all” that’s right...but cutting out nearly all carbs doesn’t have to be the same as low carb, or paleo/Keto, carbs can still be the main source of daily calories such as spinach, kale, romaine, Broccoli, cabbage, kimchi, sauerkraut, etc... and even higher carb foods like nuts and seeds. Those foods “are carbs” but won’t typically spike insulin and in fact many of those “carbs” will actually improve blood sugar stability/management.
Other than gestational diabetes, there is no cure for type II diabetes: once your insulin response is broken, it stays broken.
In the medical literature, when they use terms such as "improved", they often mean that "the subject no longer needs to take medication to control their type II diabetes." But it's understood that the subject must maintain a very strict diet regimen.
I think "permanent remission" is a misleading phrase. I think a better phrasing would be along the lines of "...cutting out nearly all carbohydrates ... allows the diabetic to have 'normal' results for standard blood tests such as fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c."
My doctor said to me my last check-up, "These numbers are great! If a doctor were to see these, they wouldn't be able to tell you were a type II diabetic."
Me: "I'm cured?"
She looked at me: "Make no mistake: you CANNOT afford to gain ten pounds or to go back to your old way of eating. Those days are gone. If you go back, your symptoms will return in full bloom."
My insulin response is permanently broken, diet notwithstanding. As long as I don't slam my body with too much glucose, my impaired system can manage.
Having to avoid carbs to keep low blood glucose is similar to an allergy that does not show unless you are exposed to the allergen; that is NOT remission.
I do research on the topic; there is indeed a lot of confusion online, but remission of t2dm has been possible. www.diabetesremission.org .Working my ass to disseminate well grounded knowledge on that.
Calling that a remission is far fetched though.
Whether they were actually cured is harder to say.
It sounds like you are conflating type 1 and type 2. The mechanism of the latter begins with insulin resistance.
That doesn't sound right at all. Protein produces both a blood sugar and an insulin response.
On remission: if your Type II diabetes is in the early stages, and is largely due to lifestyle, then a lower carbohydrate diet could help you lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity. If your insulin sensitivity reaches the point where your pancreas' produced insulin is adequate (even for high-carb meals), then you've beaten the disease. This is the remission they speak about.