Home
Taken from Zoe Harcombe's Blog
"This is my first guest blog post. It is written by Jennifer Elliott, an Australian dietitian who has become well known this year, in the diet and health on line community, for having been de-registered by her professional body: the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA). Her case has led to her employer taking the extraordinary position that “Nutritional advice to clients must not include a low carbohydrate diet…” Even more extraordinary when you discover that Jennifer’s advice was being given in the context of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and she was merely suggesting that people with an inability to handle glucose/carbohydrate (i.e. diabetics) may benefit from consuming less of it. Here Jennifer shares her story, with links to her blogs, for those who would like to know more.
In Jennifer’s own words…
“I have been a dietitian for 35 years and for over 10 years have recommended carbohydrate restriction to clients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and insulin resistance (IR).
This was not my practice in the early days. When I graduated in 1979, the Australian Dietary Guidelines had just been released. We were taught that these guidelines were the basis of a healthy diet for everyone and for many years I believed this.
I converted my parents to a low-fat, almost vegetarian diet, with plenty of wholegrain carbs, fruits and vegetables. I was part of the new generation of dietitians who were spreading the word about healthy “complex carbohydrates”, as they were then known.
When I started a family, I took it a step further by moving to the country for the best lifestyle possible for my children; home grown/ home cooked vegetarian meals, little processed foods, plenty of outside play and TV time limited to what my now adult children refer to as deprivation levels.
Two of my children thrived in this environment – healthy, energetic and lean – but my middle daughter, Jeanne, was different. She gained weight around the tummy at an early age, seemed to have less energy than her siblings, was a mouth-breather, suffered with reflux and could be moody at times. All signs I now recognise as relating to insulin resistance (IR).
At around 12 years of age she gained a lot of weight quite quickly and by age 14 was borderline obese. And I was at loss to explain why.
I am forever grateful for what happened next. I was in the right place at the right time to meet a GP whose family situation was remarkably similar to mine: three slim, high energy, eat-what-they-like children and one with a weight problem. After hearing about the presence of IR in young, seemingly healthy children (and not just in people with diabetes as she had been taught), this GP had her daughter tested and suggested the same for Jeanne. A two-hour Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), with the addition of five insulin measures, showed normal blood glucose levels (BGLs) but a high insulin response, fitting the diagnostic criteria for IR.
Fifteen years ago, my knowledge about IR was limited to its connection with type 2 diabetes. The significance for a 14 year old with normal BGLs was a mystery to me.
The research begins"
Do use this link and go over to read more ...
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2015/10/jennifer-elliott-vs-dietitians-association-of-australia/
Have you any thoughts?
All the best Jan
"This is my first guest blog post. It is written by Jennifer Elliott, an Australian dietitian who has become well known this year, in the diet and health on line community, for having been de-registered by her professional body: the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA). Her case has led to her employer taking the extraordinary position that “Nutritional advice to clients must not include a low carbohydrate diet…” Even more extraordinary when you discover that Jennifer’s advice was being given in the context of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes and she was merely suggesting that people with an inability to handle glucose/carbohydrate (i.e. diabetics) may benefit from consuming less of it. Here Jennifer shares her story, with links to her blogs, for those who would like to know more.
In Jennifer’s own words…
“I have been a dietitian for 35 years and for over 10 years have recommended carbohydrate restriction to clients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and insulin resistance (IR).
This was not my practice in the early days. When I graduated in 1979, the Australian Dietary Guidelines had just been released. We were taught that these guidelines were the basis of a healthy diet for everyone and for many years I believed this.
I converted my parents to a low-fat, almost vegetarian diet, with plenty of wholegrain carbs, fruits and vegetables. I was part of the new generation of dietitians who were spreading the word about healthy “complex carbohydrates”, as they were then known.
When I started a family, I took it a step further by moving to the country for the best lifestyle possible for my children; home grown/ home cooked vegetarian meals, little processed foods, plenty of outside play and TV time limited to what my now adult children refer to as deprivation levels.
Two of my children thrived in this environment – healthy, energetic and lean – but my middle daughter, Jeanne, was different. She gained weight around the tummy at an early age, seemed to have less energy than her siblings, was a mouth-breather, suffered with reflux and could be moody at times. All signs I now recognise as relating to insulin resistance (IR).
At around 12 years of age she gained a lot of weight quite quickly and by age 14 was borderline obese. And I was at loss to explain why.
I am forever grateful for what happened next. I was in the right place at the right time to meet a GP whose family situation was remarkably similar to mine: three slim, high energy, eat-what-they-like children and one with a weight problem. After hearing about the presence of IR in young, seemingly healthy children (and not just in people with diabetes as she had been taught), this GP had her daughter tested and suggested the same for Jeanne. A two-hour Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT), with the addition of five insulin measures, showed normal blood glucose levels (BGLs) but a high insulin response, fitting the diagnostic criteria for IR.
Fifteen years ago, my knowledge about IR was limited to its connection with type 2 diabetes. The significance for a 14 year old with normal BGLs was a mystery to me.
The research begins"
Do use this link and go over to read more ...
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2015/10/jennifer-elliott-vs-dietitians-association-of-australia/
Have you any thoughts?
All the best Jan
