Pavy was a leading expert in
diabetes, and spent almost 20 years trying to disprove
Claude Bernard's theory of the
glycogen-
glucose metabolic cycle. His 1862 paper "Researches on the Nature and Treatment of Diabetes" was, for many years, the definitive guide to the condition. Pavy studied carbohydrate metabolism and dietetic treatment for diabetes. In 1873, Pavy authored
A Treatise on Food and Dietetics, which recommended almonds and nuts as bread substitutes, and promoted a
low-carbohydrate diet to treat diabetes. His diet allowed all kinds of butcher's meat (except liver), cheese, eggs, fish and some green vegetables. All sugar was forbidden, including all kinds of fruit, pasta, and potatoes but he allowed spirits and wines that had not been sweetened. ==Selected publications==