Cape Town - Tipping the scales at 153kg, a morbidly obese Brian Berkman was ready to undergo gastric bypass surgery as a last resort to solving his weight problems and uncontrollable diabetes and blood pressure.
Three years ago, Berkman decided to change his lifestyle, switching to a low carbohydrate, high fat (LCHF) diet – popularly known as the Banting diet – losing 70kg and arresting his diabetes.
While Berkman remains on blood pressure medication, he has been advised by his doctor to cease treatment for his diabetes.
Despite the seemingly miraculous turnaround, health experts have warned against stopping medication, with at least one saying it would leave patients worse off in the end.
The head of Nephrology and Hypertension at UCT and Groote Schuur Hospital, Professor Brian Reyner, said while the LCHF diet was perceived by some people as a simple diet, he cautioned that it was actually a highly complex issue and should be practised with caution.
He warned against stopping medication while on the LCHF diet, saying medication should only be stopped under strict medical supervision.
“For instance, in people with hypertension, it may take two to three months before blood pressure becomes elevated after stopping their medication and, furthermore, stopping statin therapy after a heart attack or stroke could have disastrous consequences,” he said.
Berkman attributes his turnaround solely to the Banting diet, popularised by Professor Tim Noakes.
“I decided that the only way for me to shed weight and better manage my type 2 diabetes and many other medical complaints, was to have the surgery.
“For various reasons the surgery, scheduled for March 2012, was postponed three times,” he said.
Since his diet revolution three years ago, he has dropped nearly half his weight and is on a lowered dosage of his high blood pressure medication.
He said he no longer needed the nine diabetes tablets he took daily for several years after his doctor advised him to stop medication.
“I still do a range of blood tests every three months to check that I’m on track. “I hope not to take meds for diabetes again,” he said.
Berkman is not the only person advocating going off medication while Banting.
Billy Tosh of Plattekloof lost 84kg over seven months. He had weighed 163kg and was on 2 000mg of Glucophage – diabetes medication – for seven years.
“The amazing thing was that as my weight fell off, my diabetes symptoms disappeared.
“After extensive blood tests and on the advice of my GP I stopped taking meds,” he said.
Margot McCumisky, branch manager of Diabetes SA, said while the organisation was not against the LCHF diet, “we don’t encourage people to stop taking their medication”.
“The fact is that there is no cure for diabetes. In most cases such patients end up developing serious complications such as kidney failure, amputation, strokes and heart attacks.”
Maryke Gallagher, president of the Association for Dietetics South Africa, raised concern about the long-term health risks of a restrictive LCHF diet, saying such diets were not well understood.