RT Journal
A1 Feudtner C
T1 IDeas, ideals, and innovation in the history of diabetes
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2011
FD March 1
VO 165
IS 3
SP 195
OP 196
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.7
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.7
AB 
What a difference a century makes. In 1911 when a child was diagnosed with diabetes, the prognosis of life expectancy was typically measured in hours, days, or at most, weeks. Treatment was widely viewed as futile. By 1920, several dietary therapies had been developed including, most famously, the so-called starvation dietary regimen promoted by Frederick Allen, MD. While each diet advocated different proportions of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, all of them greatly restricted the intake of calories, so much so that the children who adhered to any of these diets and lived for months or perhaps a few years became greatly emaciated.