I was actually thinking of doing a long well structured and scientific blog post on this as it is something I have been thinking about for some time and just wanted to see what everyone's thoughts were.
Of course I am not a doctor and I am not saying that doing a certain diet should be considered a treatment nor that you should start a diet or life-style change without giving it proper thought etc. Please do not see the below as me giving medical advice, as with everyone on this blog, it is just some research I have noticed and wanted to share.
We know from the various publications and research out there that insulin / diabetes and IGFs have an impact on DD (I have posted about this before see links below) and also that TNF is currently being looked into for clinical trials (https://ridd.octru.ox.ac.uk/). Would also say that with the later age of onset there is a higher chance that patients will have diabetes or at least early stage metabolic syndrome, it is also my understanding that TNF increases with age as well.
http://ledderhose.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/calorie-restriction-to-help-dupuytrens.html (pictures seem to be gone!)
It is now fairly well established that a low carbohydrate diet can be used to control type II diabetes and actually, in some cases, can keep it under control without the need for insulin (should be monitored by a doctor). Low carb diets are also low GI as all high GI food would defeat the point of the life-style. Low GI diets have been shown to decrease TNF e.g. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21525252 and I have seen articles suggesting that many tumours rely on glucose and that a low carb diet is being tested as an assisted therapy to be used alongside other cancer treatments. Note that it is not as a treatment in its own right but rather to see if other treatments can be more successful when the patients diet is changed.
Given the above is it reasonable to suggest that a low carb, low GI diet could be used to try to delay the progression of DD/LD or as an adjunctive therapy with other treatments? Who knows as the study pool is limited enough already and finding patients willing to alter their diet may not be easy. I have also not, yet at least, researched this extensively.
I have also had quite a few comments from various people that undertaking a LC and or LGI diet has helped their condition. I am not suggesting for 1 second that a) it would work for everyone (potentially anyone) b) that a low carb diet itself is for everyone c) that everyone should go to the same level of carb intake as me and I also understand that I am probably biased but I personally do think that a low carb diet could increase the quality of life of many patients.
Maybe, depending on how this is received, I think it would perhaps be interesting to do a small survey on the patient community to see whether patients have noticed any impact of diet on their conditions. Again if results are good perhaps I could try and conduct a larger scale survey and get in touch some experts in various fields to gauge their interest.
Ultimately it is up to you to get all the information you can to find out what is the right treatment for you, of course this information should be gained from medical professionals and publications.
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