Sources: BBC Health News; Journal Diabetologia; NDIC (National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse)
A Newcastle (UK not Delaware) Research Team has found that an “extreme” eight-week diet of 600 calories a day can reverse Type 2 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease. The low-calorie diet reduced fat levels in the pancreas and liver, which helped insulin production return to normal. Of those in the study, 7 out of 11 people were free of diabetes three months later. Experts suggest that more research is needed to determine if the reversal is permanent. If it is, this could be significant.
Type 2 diabetes affects 2.5m people in the UK. In the US, 1.9m people aged 20 and over were newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2010. Type 2 diabetes develops when the body fails to produce enough insulin or the insulin that is made by the body doesn’t work properly. Either situation leads to a build-up of glucose (sugar) in the blood and can cause dizziness, fatigue and nausea. Long term diabetes can cause a number of serious health problems including circulatory, organ and nerve damage.
The 11 participants in the study were all diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the 4 years of the diet. They cut their food intake drastically for two months, eating only liquid diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables. With fat loss, even after only the first week, pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of all participants had returned to normal. MRI scans of their pancreases also revealed that the fat levels in the organ had decreased from around 8% – an elevated level – to a more normal 6%. Within 3 months following the diet, the majority of those studied were disease free.
“It offers great hope for many people with diabetes,” says Professor Keith Frayn of the University of Oxford. Professor Roy Taylor, director of Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University and lead study author, said, “Although this study involved people diagnosed with diabetes within the last 4 years, there is potential for people with longer-standing diabetes to turn things around too.” Dr Ee Lin Lim, also from Newcastle University’s research team, adds, “It’s easy to take a pill, but harder to change lifestyle for good. Asking people to shift weight does actually work.”
While this was a very small study and many will find the drastic diet difficult to manage, the potential for dietary (vs. medical) reversal of diabetes could offer hope to the millions suffering with Type 2 diabetes. Obviously, a diet such as the one in the study, should only be undertaken following consultation with your doctor.
Post: David M. Schwadron, Esquire