Biography:

Lakshmi Kant Shankhdhar is a Principal of a Medical College devoted to diabetes education. He is triply Post-graduate in Medicine (MD), Nutrition (PGDND) and Radiology (DMRE). He is also heading an exclusive private Diabetes Clinic in Lucknow, India. He has received Visiting Fellowship of Harvard Medical International, International Arm of Harvard Medical School (Boston), as Life Time Achievement Award. Currently, he is a Reviewer of two most prestigious journals of Diabetes, namely Diabetes Care and Diabetes. He has presented several abstracts and faculty orations in many international conferences on Diabetes and Podiatry. He has published articles and care reports in some indexed international journals.

Abstract:

Famous UK prospective study revealed progressive deterioration of glycemic control as judged by rising GHbA1c; this led to the conclusion that type 2 diabetes was incurable due to progressive loss of beta cell function. But many recent studies showed that even old type 2 diabetes can be reversed. Roy Taylor of Newcastle University, UK could reverse type diabetes in 12% cases merely by ultra-low caloric diet (ULCD). He even went to the extent of showing that mere 1G fat loss from pancreas, as ascertained by Magnetic Resonance Imaging could reverse diabetes in even 10 year old patients. Now, he is undertaking a larger study to include very old case as old as 23 years to see if they could be reversed. His ULCD is difficult to comply and cannot be enforced on ground level as domiciliary prescription, so our team of physicians at LK Diabetes Centre, attempted to aim at achieving “partial” reversal through moderately low caloric diet, quite feasible in domiciliary practice and achieved magnificent results. We included 12 OHA failed type 2 diabetes patients, reluctant to accept insulin and found that we could avoid need for insulin in 90% cases in a three week study along with many other clinico-biochemical benefits such as betterment of hypertension, lipid, glycemic and weight parameters (BMI and body fat percentage). This was associated with 33% reduction in HOMA-IR. Since we offered patients 1000-1200 calories which was approximately half of their daily caloric intake, we called the approach as “half diet” approach for partial reversal of type 2 diabetes.