[Marie]

And you have to realize that diabetes doesn't occur in a vacuum. This diet may have improved glycemic control for the 9 patients in the study, but at what cost long term? "Im sorry ma'am, your husband went into afib and dropped dead of a stroke from hypokalemia, but his glucose level was great" is not a trade off. I'm sorry, but cherry-picking 9 patients with functioning beta cells and then starving them while you dose them with statins does not a cure for diabetes make.

1. Why on earth would they have developed hypokalemia just by being on a low calorie diet? Just be sure to get enough potassium and you're fine. (My intake of potassium is 1200mcg/day - even when I'm on 500 calories a day)

2. Statins aren't necessary or helpful and I don't advocate their use.

3. Periodic caloric restriction is more and more being linked with *longevity* - not death.

I think that the important thing to realize is that this is caloric restriction with protein, vitamin and mineral supplements. All of the needs for micro-nutrients are being met. We can go for quite awhile on our reserves.

Our society is terrified of missing a meal and we forget that G-d designed us to do exactly that (and keep functioning) for long stretches without ill effect.

[The_Sword_of_Groo]

I’m glad you have such great control. However, sudden deprivation is not healthy for the general population, and people hit the ED every day because of problems associated with electrolyte imbalances. Read the article and you’ll see why I mentioned statins. Incidentally, just because God made us capable of surviving for extended periods on small amounts of nutritional intake doesn’t mean it is optimal to do so.