There is revolutionary news for diabetics today! A study conducted in the UK has shown that people who have had obesity-related type 2 diabetes for years have temporarily kept their blood sugar levels at normal levels by keeping to an extreme, low-calorie, diet for a two-month period. This discovery may overturn the long held assumption that type 2 diabetes is a lifelong illness. It has also elicited interest from thousands about what constitutes this new low calorie diet for diabetics.
A New Low Calorie Diet for Diabetics
The results of the limited study on the low calorie diet are far from definitive but they demonstrate the possibility that full recovery from type 2 diabetes may actually be possible not through medication but through diet. How was this done in the study? The calorie intake of the people participating as research subjects was slashed down to 600 calories a day. This went on for a two-month period. At the end of the two months, the 11 people who participated were, at the time of testing, free of diabetes.
The study was conducted on 11 people with type 2 diabetes, which is also referred to as adult onset diabetes. The study was conducted on 11 people with type 2 diabetes, which is also referred to as adult onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, caused by too much glucose in the blood is strongly linked to obesity. This makes it different from type 1 diabetes, which usually develops in children whose bodies are unable to make the hormone insulin used to convert glucose from food into energy.
Low Calorie and Low Starch
The research was presented at the American Diabetes Association conference. It showed how an extremely low-calorie diet, consisting of diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables, prompted the body to remove the fat clogging the pancreas and preventing it from making insulin. Volunteers for the study were closely supervised by a medical team and were matched with the same number of volunteers with diabetes who did not get the special diet. After seven days into the study, the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of the study group had returned to normal. MRI scans also showed that the fat levels in the pancreas had returned to normal. Soon after, the pancreas regained its ability to make insulin.
After the eight-week diet the volunteers returned to normal eating which meant a higher calorie count. However, they had advice on healthy foods and appropriate portion size. Two months later, seven volunteers of the ten who were retested stayed diabetes free.
Feasibility of Following a Radical Low Calorie Diet for Diabetics
The theory behind the study is that type 2 diabetes could be reversed in just four months by simply following such a low calorie diet. According to the study conducted, people who specifically reduced their calorie intake to 600 per day experienced greater improvement in the condition than that offered by any medication. However, the question remains, “How possible and how is it for people with diabetes to undertake this two-month diet without close medical supervision?”
Most professionals who often stand by the 900 to 1400 calories per day limit have traditionally described the calorie count used in the study as unhealthy. It can be assumed that this low level of daily calorie intake would have implications on energy levels. Furthermore, there would of course be a need for constant monitoring to see if any side effects are manifesting.
New Hope
Regardless of how tentative the study results may be, they give new hope to the growing number of diabetics that they can be cured of the disease. It also means that if the studies are validated by further research and more clinical trials, there is a possibility that people can go on to live normal, healthy lives without fear of the other diseases that come with diabetes.