IN a letter of May 14, a number of points were made regarding advice offered by Diabetes UK.

It is vital for people living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes that the correct and most up to date information is available to them in order to manage their condition effectively.

At present, there is no cure for diabetes.

For people living with Type 1 diabetes, their insulin producing cells, which are needed to absorb glucose, have been destroyed and cannot regenerate. There is no known cause for Type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells are unable to produce enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance). There are a number of risk factors, but Type 2 diabetes is not caused by eating too much carbohydrate.

For people living with Type 2 diabetes, there is evidence to show that following an extremely low calorie diet over a set period of time can induce remission of diabetes, but there is no evidence to show that this remission remains.

Diabetes UK recognises that low carbohydrate diets can lead to weight loss and improvements in blood glucose in the short-term.

However, there is a lack of evidence on the safety and benefit from this type of diet in the long term. If people follow a low carbohydrate diet they should speak to their diabetes team to ensure they are doing so safely. Completely eliminating carbohydrate is dangerous, as it is the body’s preferred source of energy.

Our nutritional guidelines are evidence-based and developed by a working group consisting of experts in the field of diet and diabetes.

Stephen Ryan, Diabetes UK, Regional Manager for the North of England