Are very low-carb diets safe for children? Is it something you recommend?

The effect of carbohydrate on blood sugar will be multiplied in inverse proportion to childrens’ weight. This means that the smaller they are, the greater effect a little bit of carbohydrate will have on them. It’s been shown that children with elevated blood sugars (usually due in part to high carbohydrate intake) have diminished brain volume and lower IQs.

We also see is that kids initially on the ADA diet have fallen off their growth curve. Once we put them on a low-carbohydrate diet and normalize their blood sugars, they tend to come back to their old pre-diabetes growth curve.

Dr. Richard K. Bernstein is a long-time advocate for a low-carb approach to the management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Diagnosed 60 years ago with type 1, Dr. Bernstein pioneered the concept of reducing insulin use and blood sugar levels by reducing carbohydrate, rather than protein and fat, intake, a now accepted approach that the diabetes establishment resisted for years. The Long Island-based  physician, whose practice treats only patients with diabetes and prediabetes, has published four books on diet and blood sugar control. His Diabetes Solution website has extensive information on his personal history and diabetes management philosophy.