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Study Examines How Very-Low-Calorie-Diets Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

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Study Examines How Very-Low-Calorie-Diets Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

For decades, research has indicated that Very-Low-Calorie-Diets (VLCD) can help reverse the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. This is demonstrated by one study published in Diabetes Care as far back as 1998!

During this study, researchers divided volunteers into three groups and put them on a 20-week diet. Two groups were on VLCD, one of which restricted calories five days a week and the other, one day a week. At the end of the 20-week period, it was found that more participants in the five days a week VLCD had normal HbA1c levels.

It is becoming more accepted that fasting and VLCD can help control some or many aspects of diabetes. Recently, another group of researchers took a look at how these diets actually work on the body.

The Yale Study

The Yale study, published in Cell Metabolism in November 2017, looked at how a VLCD is able to reverse type 2 diabetes in mice. They put diabetic mice on a 3-day VLCD that equaled a quarter of their typical calorie intake.

During their 3-day diet, the researchers tracked several metabolic processes that normally occur within the liver in the mice. At the end of the diet, the researchers found that three major metabolic processes were affected in the liver.

  • The liver experienced a marked improvement in insulin sensitivity, perhaps by decreasing the amount of fat in this organ.
  • The VLCD also decreased the conversion rate of glycogen to glucose in the liver.
  • The VLCD also decreased the conversion of lactate and amino acids into glucose.

All of this occurred within a very short period of time. It indicates that there may be potential for drugs that can target these same processes in humans to treat hyperglycemia very quickly. Of course, further research needs to be done on volunteer patients to confirm that the VLCD acts the same way on a human body as it does on a mouse.

References

The effect of short periods of caloric restriction on weight loss and glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. URL Link. Accessed November 12th, 2017.

Mechanisms by which a Very-Low-Calorie Diet Reverses Hyperglycemia in a Rat Model of Type 2 Diabetes. URL Link. Accessed November 12th, 2017.

Study reveals how a very low calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes. URL Link. Accessed November 12th, 2017.