According to a recent small study, sticking to a low-calorie diet for just two months may be enough to reverse type 2 diabetes.
Do you think this idea sounds too good to be true? Maybe it is, but there is actually some science behind it.
Researchers at Newcastle University, Lagos University, and the University of Glasgow carried out the study. They found that it might be beneficial for a person with type 2 diabetes to go on a very low-calorie diet of approximately 600 to 700 calories a day for eight weeks followed by a less extreme weight-control diet for the following six months. The study indicates that this sort of dieting routine could lead to a significant improvement in blood glucose levels.
Type 2 diabetes is typically viewed as a long-term condition that is not reversed easily in most cases. In fact, most doctors will tell patients that there is no cure, but it can be easily managed with the proper diet, exercise, and medication.
In the study, the volunteers followed a strict, low-calorie diet that mainly consisted of three diet shakes and non-starchy vegetables. After the eight-week period, participants gradually transitioned to a more lenient weight-control diet. Researchers measured their blood glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, glucose production levels, insulin production, fat levels in the pancreas and liver, and weight throughout the study.
The results of this study are very encouraging. However, a lot more research is needed because the study was rather small. It only involved 30 people with type 2 diabetes, and out of those 30, only 12 showed these positive results.
The takeaway here is not that you should go on a crash diet and limit your caloric intake for a couple of months just because you think it could reverse your type 2 diabetes. However, this preliminary research does tell us that our overall weight, what we eat, and our levels of fat storage may have an even more direct effect on whether or not we actually develop type 2 diabetes.
If you have type 2 diabetes and are overweight, you need to speak to your doctor about the proper avenue of treatment and management of your disease.
A healthier diet combined with more exercise and smarter lifestyle choices can help you manage your type 2 diabetes more effectively, lose weight, and lead a longer, healthier life.
