Intermittent fasting vs calorie restriction: Which diet reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes more?

From indianexpress.com

While a calorie-restricted diet is good for adolescents keen on weight loss, intermittent fasting ensures that calories don’t pile up in the body and is good for those at risk of diabetes, says Dr Atul Luthra, Director and HOD, Fortis C-DOC, Centre of Excellence for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram

Is time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting better at controlling Type 2 diabetes than following a low calorie diet? A recent study published in the ‘Nature Medicine Journal’ seems to indicate that time-restricted eating had a modest effect on post-prandial glycemia after six months than calorie restriction in adults at a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Explaining the study, Dr Atul Luthra, Director and HOD, Fortis C-DOC, Centre of Excellence for Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, says that the process of fasting has always been known to flush toxins out of the body. However, early time-restricted eating along with intermittent fasting is better than total caloric restriction because the former compresses the meal timing and prevents a late evening binge.

Early time-restricted eating or calorie restriction, which is better for reducing the risk of diabetes?

I would like to share two historical facts. Religious fasting has been practised over centuries for body cleansing and ridding it of toxins. Our forefathers followed the circadian rhythms for eating, prioritising heavier food intake in the early part of the day and finishing all meals by sunset. Now we talk of similar concepts and call them either intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating or calorie restriction.

Time-restricted eating means eating or energy intake within a specific time window or compressed meal timings. On the other hand, we have a continuous caloric restriction known as CR, where you restrict the total number of calories you consume in the day, bringing it down to 70 per cent of your normal allowance without any restricted timing.

Which diet is good for whom?

Both are good strategies but we have to understand what is good for whom. Caloric restriction is basically a method of reducing the intake of calories and burning them more through physical activity and exercise. The purpose could be weight management, changing the body composition or reducing the fat mass. So caloric restriction can be used for weight management, fat burning and change in body composition.

Intermittent fasting is for a subset of people who have a high risk of diabetes in the future, either due to genetic factors or because of certain clinical parameters. Why does this work? That’s because our basal metabolic rate drops in the evening and we tend to burn lesser calories. As our activity level decreases during this time of the day and our unspent calories get stored, insulin resistance goes up. Also, we have more cravings in the evening because of a change in our nutrient-signalling pathways. So leptin, the satiety hormone, goes down and ghrelin, the appetite-stimulating hormone, goes up. With metabolic rate and exercise levels dipping, nutrient cravings increase and insulin resistance becomes higher, factors not conducive for diabetics. So if you compress the meal timings within a specific window of eight hours or so, having your first meal at 10 am and your last meal at 6 pm, commonly known as time-restricted eating, you can avoid a late evening calorie load from building up.

The other method is alternate day fasting where one day you have ad libitum food and the other day you just take 30 per cent of your normal calories, that too in a four-hour window.

Which diet is better for diabetic patients?

As far as diabetes prevention or glucose metabolism is concerned, definitely time-restricted eating is better than total caloric restriction in suppressing insulin resistance factors. So, diabetes patients should avoid eating late in the evening. This not only applies to people who have diabetes but also people who are predisposed to developing diabetes later or are pre-diabetic.

What about those who want to reduce weight? Which diet should they follow?

For someone who is an adolescent, has no diabetes or cholesterol issue but just wants to lose weight, they must focus on total caloric restriction. The caloric intake is determined by your body weight and your activity level. Once you figure that out, you have to take only 70 per cent of your required calorie count. This will help in weight management, body composition and fat mass as well as inch loss. Caloric restriction is basically to create a positive balance towards expenditure rather than intake of calories.

Which age group needs caloric restriction the most?

I would advise it for adolescents because they have very bad dietary habits, are into high fat, low-fibre fast and processed foods. They should have more protein, complex carbohydrates and less of simple sugars and saturated fats.

Middle-aged people are prone to diabetes and should go for time-restricted eating. For older people, the caloric restriction works because they tend to gain weight.

What about those who have no option but to stay up late at night, eat late but want to lose weight and not develop diabetes?

Then you follow that old principle: Eat breakfast like a king, have lunch like a commoner and dinner like a beggar.

What are the negative impacts of these diets?

When we talk of intermittent fasting that involves restricting meals between 10 am and 6 pm, then the practitioner can feel fatigued late in the evening. One might also report sleep disturbances, develop constipation and midnight cravings for food. For diabetics, managing medication, which has to be taken twice a day at a gap of 12 hours, can become a problem.

Suppose a diabetic takes a tablet at 6 pm but without any meal after that, the person’s sugar levels can drop. So, matching the intake of medication with meal patterns is a tough discipline to follow.

https://indianexpress.com/article/health-wellness/intermittent-fasting-vs-calorie-restriction-type-2-diabetes-8555512/

Eating Habits You Must Follow If Diabetes Runs in Your Family

From eatthis.com

Change your diet and you’ll likely improve two key risk factors for developing insulin resistance 

If diabetes runs in your family, you are more likely to have prediabetes and develop diabetes, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And if you have more than one relative with diabetes, you have an even higher risk of developing the disease, based on a study published in Diabetologia.

The good news is that your fate isn't set in stone even though there is a diabetes diagnosis in the family. Being physically active, adopting a healthy diet, and losing weight are all things you can do to significantly lower your risk.

We assume you know what to do to get more exercise—walk more, run more, bike more, swim more, etc.—so read on to learn about the best eating habits to follow if you'd like to keep diabetes out of your future. Read on, and for more on how to eat healthy, don't miss The #1 Best Juice to Drive Every Day, Says Science.

1

Eat more plants.

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A key eating habit for diabetes prevention is enriching your diet with more plant foods. "The big mistake people make is thinking they should avoid carbs, says certified diabetes care and education specialist Kim Rose, RDN, CDCES. "That's a misconception."

Skipping all carbs will undermine your efforts and can actually trigger blood sugar rushes when your cravings get the better of your willpower. "You need to space your carbs throughout the day, so you have a steady source of energy and eat quality complex carbohydrates high in fibre from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds," she says. "Aim for three grams of fibre or more per serving."

A 2017 study in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology found that eating a plant-based diet of high fibre foods like beans, oats, sweet potatoes, fruits, and whole grains was more effective at improving blood sugar control than a traditional diabetes diet that focused on limiting sugars and carbs. Study participants who consumed an average of 40 grams of dietary fibre per day eating primarily plant-based foods saw the greatest success in improving insulin sensitivity.

2

Limit fast-food and restaurant eating.

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Forget about sugars and carbs for a minute and let's talk calories. Even when you get rid of the bun, a fast-food or sit-down restaurant hamburger is high in calories and while it may not send your blood sugar soaring when you eat it, it could indirectly boost your diabetes risk. "Over time, excess calories can result in weight gain and weight gain can lead to insulin resistance," warns Rose. So, make a habit of considering calories, not just carbs and sugars when you eat out.

3

Eat lunch outside.

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Vitamin D is believed to help improve the body's sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. Studies have linked people who have low levels of vitamin D to being at greater risk for type 2 diabetes.

But adding D to your body isn't as easy as drinking milk fortified with vitamin D and eating a lot of fatty fish. It's hard to get vitamin D from food, which is why you might make a habit of eating your sardines outside at lunchtime on a sunny day to bring in the so-called "sunshine vitamin" into your skin.

A review in the medical journal Diabetes Spectrum points to research suggesting that 5 to 30 minutes of sun exposure on the skin of the face, arms, back, or legs (without sunscreen) at least twice a week is what's needed for vitamin D synthesis in adequate amounts to improve blood sugar control and decrease diabetes risk.

4

Find a clean, sweet replacement.

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If you have a sweet tooth, you may make a habit of reaching for a cookie or a scoop of ice cream after dinner. The problem with those treats is they are full of simple carbohydrates that rush the bloodstream, spiking blood sugar and the release of insulin. That's because these sweets don't contain fibre. Fibre slows the absorption of those sugars, keeping blood sugar levels in check.

The good news is that you don't have to fight your sugar cravings —just replace your typical dessert with a clean, sweet treat like fruit because it contains fibre and nutrients. Make it more candylike by freezing red seedless grapes, dipping bananas into dark chocolate, and freezing them, or cutting up watermelon into chunks and keeping them handy in the refrigerator.

When you add a healthy treat that's sweet, you tend not to long for the snacks you're eliminating, says registered dietitian nutritionist Grace A. Derocha, RDN, a national spokesperson with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

https://www.eatthis.com/eating-habits-type-2-diabetes-runs-in-family/

Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes?

From verywellhealth.com

If you’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you may wonder, can diabetes be cured? Or can diabetes be reversed? Type 2 diabetes cannot be cured. However, you may be able to control your diabetes to the point of remission.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body no longer uses insulin properly. It is the most common form of diabetes.

Through lifestyle interventions such as weight loss, diet, and exercise, it is possible to reach blood sugar levels below the diabetic range. For some people, opting for bariatric surgery may be the best choice for reaching this state of remission.

Remission

The American Diabetic Association defines remission in three stages. Partial remission is achieved by a year of sustained HbA1c levels at sub-diabetic levels, at 5.7% to 6.4% without medication. Complete remission is one year of normal glycaemic levels at less than 5.7% without medication. Prolonged remission is defined as achieving complete remission for at least five years.

With intense lifestyle modifications, studies have shown that remission from type 2 diabetes is possible. Achieving weight loss while living with type 2 diabetes is one of the biggest indicators of people who will control their blood sugar enough to reach a state of remission.

To help you on the path to reversing diabetes, it’s important to understand the factors that can improve your health with type 2 diabetes. Learning how you can implement each factor, like weight loss and diet, into your life can help you move closer to achieving remission.

Weight Loss

The benefits of weight loss for those living with type 2 diabetes or those who have been told they are pre-diabetic or have metabolic syndrome are well known.

Weight loss has been shown to greatly affect type 2 diabetes. In one study, over half of the patients who were given specific guidelines on how to lose weight, mainly through dietary interventions, achieved remission. Those who lost the greatest amount of weight compared to their starting weight fared better.

Losing approximately 10% of your weight can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes if you are pre-diabetic. If you have type 2 diabetes, weight loss of 10% or more improves blood sugar and reduces the need for glucose-lowering medications.

One study, the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), showed that achieving substantial weight loss through a well-developed program can help people reach long-term remission of diabetes.

To achieve weight loss, you may need to change your diet or increase physical activity or exercise.

Diet

Diet is an integral part of your overall health, especially when living with type 2 diabetes. Some people are able to manage blood sugar by replacing refined with whole grains, reducing added sugar, and following a standard exchange diet. Others have more success with stricter diets.

Low-Calorie Diet

Studies have shown that low-calorie diets can reduce fat mass, which improves markers of type 2 diabetes such as blood sugar.

A low-calorie diet consists of reducing daily caloric intake by 25-30%.

Before starting a low-calorie diet, it is best to talk to your doctor or a dietitian who can advise you on the most effective way to reduce calories.

Your doctor will consider your current weight, daily energy requirements, and any other diseases you may have, along with current treatment plans for diabetes and other diseases.

Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet consists of eating a low carbohydrate diet with relatively high amounts of protein and fat. A standard keto diet contains 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10% carbohydrates.

The keto diet has been shown to produce rapid and sensible weight loss along with an improvement in biomarkers in type 2 diabetes, such as a lower HbA1c. If you are interested in starting a keto diet, it is best to talk to your doctor.

In a study where adults were provided an individualized program and support to complete the ketogenic diet program, patients did quite well. They experienced weight loss, had better control over their blood sugar, and significantly decreased their need for medications.

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting consists of limiting food intake to certain time periods in the day or alternating days in which you drastically reduce your calories.

For example, some people will only eat within a window of eight hours a day and fast the other 16 hours. Others practice intermittent fasting by choosing to fast completely on one day a week or drastically reducing their calories two days a week and eating normally the other days.

While intermittent fasting was not as effective as a low-calorie diet in reducing overall weight, it was comparable in reducing visceral fat, fasting insulin, and insulin resistance. In the few studies that have been done on intermittent fasting, the results are promising for reducing weight and insulin requirements.

Long-term benefits still need to be studied, but with proper medication adjustments and self-monitoring for blood glucose levels, intermittent fasting can be safely implemented into your diet. To get the most benefits from intermittent fasting, it is best to consult with your doctor. Your doctor or other healthcare professional can help you safely and effectively begin an intermittent fasting program.

If you take anti-diabetes medications, including sulfonylureas, you may need to adjust your doses on the days you fast to avoid hypoglycaemia.

Exercise

Exercise in and of itself has great benefits on glycaemic control. Incorporating exercise into your daily life has been shown to improve many aspects of your health, including insulin sensitivity.

In a review of several clinical trials, it was found that exercise considerably lowered HbA1c even if there wasn’t weight loss.

10,000 Steps a Day

Achieving 10,000 steps a day has been associated with weight loss, which has been shown to improve the chances of reaching remission with type 2 diabetes. In a small study, HbA1c was lower in a group that was prescribed 10,000 steps a day.

Aiming to hit 10,000 steps a day is a great goal to have when starting to exercise. However, hitting this goal might not be as easy as imagined. If you are just beginning a walking plan, you may consider adding just 100 extra steps a day for a week. Then the next week, you might add 200 per day.

Try increasing your daily steps each week until you reach the 10,000 step mark. Setting small attainable goals can help you reach your bigger goal.

30 Minutes Moderate Exercise

Studies have consistently shown that moderate exercise for 30 minutes or more, three or more times a week for eight weeks or more, improves glycaemic control markers, such as insulin resistance and blood glucose.

While there is some evidence that higher intensity exercise may produce even better results, it is often harder to stick to these more aggressive plans.

When they are just beginning an exercise routine, some people find that higher intensity exercises, like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), may be too much for them to handle. Finding a moderate exercise that you can do consistently is better than going all out once a week and then becoming sedentary.

Exercise is considered moderate when you begin to feel challenged. You might feel a little sweaty, and your breathing rate will increase. You shouldn’t be completely out of breath, but you should also feel like you’re putting some effort into your movements.

One great way to monitor the intensity of your exercise is to check your heart rate. This can be done with a heart rate monitor or by counting heartbeats for six seconds and multiplying by 10. With moderate exercise, your heart rate should be around 64% to 76% of your maximum heart rate.

Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric surgery is surgery that reduces the size of or restricts your stomach. These procedures have proven to lead to significant weight loss and remission of type 2 diabetes within days or weeks of surgery.

Clinical trials have shown that bariatric surgery can put 33% to 90% of people with type 2 diabetes in remission. While this is a significant statistic in the improvement and remission of type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery is not for everyone.

Surgery comes with its own complications and risks. Talk to your doctor to find out if surgery is right for you.

A Word from Verywell

Although there is no cure for type 2 diabetes, you can do much to take control of your health. Losing weight, eating well, and staying active can help you lead a long healthy life with type 2 diabetes.

Through lifestyle modifications, you might even be able to put your diabetes in remission so that you no longer require medications. In some cases, bariatric surgery might be your best option for achieving remission.

To achieve these big lifestyle changes, you might find that taking small steps to improve your diet or lose weight can help prevent you from becoming overwhelmed.

Seeking the help of your doctor and other health professionals, like a dietitian or a physical therapist, can give you structure that’ll help you create and maintain these lifestyle changes. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and guidance.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/reverse-diabetes-5116687

Artificial sweetener saccharin doesn't increase diabetes risk, researchers say

From phillyvoice.com

Health experts emphasize that moderation is key when adding sugar substitutes to your diet

                          Eiliv-Sonas Aceron/Unsplash

Artificial sweeteners like those used in diet sodas, teas and fruit drinks, should only be consumed in moderation. They are not a magic bullet for weight loss, the Mayo Clinic says.

Many people turn to artificial sweeteners to reduce their sugar consumption and cut calories, reducing their risk for obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Yet, some research has suggested too much reliance on sugar substitutes actually can increase the risk of these conditions.

The conflicting research on the safety of sugar substitutes often raises more questions than provides answers. It is well-documented that a diet high in sugar can contribute to the development of obesity, heart disease and diabetes, but it is less clear whether artificial sweeteners are associated with similar risks.

Saccharin and diabetes

A new study led by researchers at Ohio State University offers some clarity, at least on the issue of the risk for type 2 diabetes.

They focused solely on saccharin, one of the six types of artificial sweeteners approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They found it doesn't lead to the development of diabetes in healthy adults, contrary to what some previous studies found.

"It's not that the findings of previous studies are wrong, they just didn't adequately control for things like underlying health conditions, diet choices and lifestyle habits," said George Kyriazis, assistant professor of biological chemistry and pharmacology at Ohio State.

"By studying the artificial sweetener saccharin in healthy adults, we've isolated its effects and found no change in participants' gut microbiome or their metabolic profiles, as it was previously suggested."

Previous studies have suggested the consumption of artificial sweeteners is associated with metabolic syndrome, weight gain, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. 

"These findings have raised concerns that consuming them may lead to adverse public health outcomes, and a lack of well-controlled interventional studies contributed to the confusion," said Joan Serrano, a researcher in the department of biological chemistry and pharmacology at Ohio State.

The randomized, double-blind clinical trial included 46 healthy adults ages 18 to 45 with a body mass index of 25 or less. The participants were assigned to either take a capsule containing the maximum acceptable daily amount of saccharin, lactisole — a sweet taste receptor inhibitor, saccharin with lactisole, or a placebo every day for two weeks.

The maximum acceptable daily amount of saccharin is 400 milligrams per day, an amount far higher than what the average person consumes, the researchers said.

The study excluded people with acute or chronic medical conditions and those taking medications that could potentially affect metabolic function. This included people with diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease or a history of malabsorption. It also included people who had bariatric surgery and pregnant or nursing women.

For 10 weeks, the researchers also tested the effects of an even higher dose of saccharin in mice that genetically lack sweet taste receptors, finding the same results. The artificial sweetener didn't affect glucose tolerance, or cause any significant gut microbiota changes or apparent adverse health effects.

They next will study the other FDA-approved sweeteners individually to see if there are any differences in how they're metabolized or whether there are any potential long-term adverse events. The study's findings were published in the journal Microbiome.

Do your research

The use of artificial sweeteners has risen sharply over the last decade as more attention has been focused on the dangers of eating too much sugar. Other FDA-approved sugar substitutes include sucrose, aspartame, sucralose, advantame and acesulfame-K.

Both the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association cautiously recommend the use of artificial sweeteners in place of sugar to combat obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes — all risk factors for heart disease. However, there is still much unknown about the long-term effects of using these sugar substitutes.

Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity and weight loss specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, warns that people sometimes consume more calories than they planned because they thought, for instance, that drinking diet soda meant they could indulge in other ways — like eating an extra slice of cake.

He also said that artificial sweeteners can change taste buds over time so that people crave sweet food and drink even more, making healthy choices like fruits and vegetable less appealing.

The Mayo Clinic emphasizes that sugar substitutes aren't a magic bullet for weight loss and should be used in moderation. Each type comes with its own benefits and risks, so do your research before choosing one.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/artificial-sweeteners-side-effects-saccharin-diabetes-risk-/

A very low-calorie diet helped diabetes patients control their blood sugar without medication

From insider.com

A very low-calorie diet has been shown to help patients with diabetes control their blood sugar, according to new research from the University of Pittsburg Medical.

After 6 months, 12% of participants were in remission, meaning they could manage their blood sugar without medication.

This diet was particularly helpful for patients who lost the most weight, the researchers found. A follow-up study is planned to determine the long-term effectiveness of the program. 

A low-calorie diet may help patients with diabetes control their blood sugar without medication, and even reach remission, according to new research presented at the virtual ObesityWeek conference November 2 to November 6. 

Strictly reducing calories may work to help diabetes patients by improving insulin sensitivity and reducing stress on the pancreas, the organ that produces insulin, according to Evan Keller, a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh who led the research.

The study tracked data from 88 patients with diabetes who successfully completed the university's weight loss program. Patients consumed 600-800 calories a day for three months, in the form of high-protein meal replacement shakes. They then gradually reintroduced other foods, while maintaining a calorie deficit and avoiding foods that spike blood sugar, such as processed or sweetened foods. 

By the end of the program, 12% of the patients had their diabetes in full remission, meaning they were able to control their blood sugar without using any medications. Another 11% of patients were in partial remission, and were able to use less medication. 

"We found the program is effective at achieving diabetes control on or off medication," Keller said in the presentation. 

Patients who lost the most weight saw the greatest benefits for their blood sugar control, he added. On average, patients lost 17.3% of their starting body weight by the end of the program. But patients in the highest weight loss group had significantly more improvements in blood sugar control than patients who the least amount of weight. 

Keller said these results are promising, but the next stage of the research aims to follow up with the patients for a 12-month period after the diet program to assess its effectiveness over time. 

"People want to see the long-term data and see if this diabetes remission is really sustaining itself," he said. 

This type of very low calorie diet is sometimes referred to as a fasting-mimicking diet because has similar effects to abstaining from food entirely. Previous studies suggesting that limiting calorie intake through fasting can also help diabetics manage insulin sensitivity and blood sugar.

In a case study from July, a 57-year-old woman was successfully able to manage her diabetes without medication through a combination of fasting, calorie restriction, and a ketogenic diet. 

The patient in this study consumed 1,500 calories a day, four days a week, and fasted regularly, sometimes for 42 hours at a time. 

Four weeks into the diet, the patient was able to stop taking medications such as metformim, an antihypertensive and a statin, while still being able to control her blood sugar levels.

Four months into the program, her blood sugar levels had significantly improved, even without the medications.

Extreme calorie restriction should only be done with professional supervision

While these results are promising, diets that severely limit calories for an extended among of time can be risky. Severe calorie restriction can lead to muscle loss and fatigue, along with feeling of cold, hungry and irritable.

In extreme cases, it can even lead to serious health consequences, such as irregular heartbeat, dizziness, dangerously low blood pressure, and even unconsciousness, which can potentially cause injury or death. 

Intensive calorie restriction can also be harmful for people with a history of disordered eating.

As a result, anyone interested in trying a very low calorie diet should consult a medical professional, and routinely follow up to make sure the diet is done as safely as possible. 

https://www.insider.com/study-low-calorie-diet-helped-control-diabetes-without-medication-2020-11

Simple Type-2 Diabetes Treatment With Low Calorie Diet is So Effective

From goodnewsnetwork.org

A “breakthrough” treatment plan for type-2 diabetes has the British National Health Service (NHS) bustling as they position themselves to adopt a new standard of treatment.
The course of treatment consists of a liquid diet of 800 calories to be taken as a soup or shake daily for a set amount of months depending on the time since the patient developed type-2 diabetes.

The breakthrough research arose out of Newcastle University which seems to have stuck a pin in many of our assumptions about type-2 diabetes—as well as proven almost beyond a shadow of a doubt that type-2 diabetes is actually reversible, especially in newer patients.

The treatment is basically a prescription for a reduction in calorie intake—a potential intervention that has shown incredible results for many different conditions.

The Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial, (DiRECT) recently published these findings as a means of demonstrating the massive potential of DiRECT as a general treatment plan.
One-third of all people taking part in the trial were free of diabetes at 2 years. Around three quarters of everyone who was in remission at 1 year stayed in remission at 2 years. Furthermore, the group who embarked on rapid weight loss had fewer serious medical problems in the second year of DiRECT.

The Nature of the Beast

Official statistics from the NHS place the number of Brits with type-2 diabetes at 4 million, and rising. Meanwhile, in the United States, the CDC reports that 1 in 10 Americans—roughly 30 million people—have diabetes, 90% of which is type-2. Many people also go undiagnosed for years.

Recent studies carried out by Professors Mike Lean and Roy Taylor of Newcastle University showed that type-2 diabetes is triggered by fat spills. These fat spills, which came from the liver, travelled to the nearby pancreas where it wreaked havoc in the efficiency of the organ to produce insulin.
Insulin is needed to command your cells to absorb excess carbohydrates circulating in your body after a carb or sugar-dense meal.

“The liver fat, astonishingly high in type 2 diabetes, falls to normal,” explains Dr. Taylor in an interview with Medscape. “The pancreas fat comes down gradually, gradually, and the pancreas recovers gradually, gradually. And that’s amazing because we always thought that the pancreas had to go downhill inevitably in type 2 diabetes.”

In April 2020, the NHS will begin trials with a liquid diet as per the DiRECT research with 5,000 participants helping to test whether the program can benefit the public. If the trials are successful, the breakthrough diet will become the new standard of care in a remarkably rapid frame of time for the chronic ailment that’s been causing amputations, blindness, and heart complications for decades.

The widely-taken drug Metformin has been the standard of care for the treatment of diabetes in France since 1957 and in Canada since 1972. Illustrative of how long it can take to approve a treatment in the U.S., Metformin didn’t receive approval by the FDA until 1994, even though 5.8 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 1980.

Like all professional men and women of science, Taylor feels more research is needed before the liquid diet intervention is widely prescribed.

“We need to follow up this group,” said Taylor. “We follow them up for a total of 2 years in the proper randomized controlled trial.”
“We have funding to follow up the intervention group participants for a total of 3 years. And we’ve applied for further funding because we need to see what happens to these people as time goes on.”

But, he admits it is “heart-warming” hearing all the stories about remissions. “It’s all about the individual and all about helping people back to this state of relative health and happiness. And that does seem to be happening in quite large numbers of people who are able to do it.”

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/simple-new-type-2-diabetes-treatment-may-be-new-standard-of-care/

Cutting only 300 calories a day can cut your risk of diabetes and heart disease, study finds

From abcnews.go.com

It’s no secret -- watching what you eat can help keep your heart healthy.

But new research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology has reached a surprising conclusion: even those of us with a healthy weight might benefit from cutting out a relatively small number calories from our daily diet.

“We wanted to investigate the effect of calorie restriction on disease markers in healthy, young humans,” Dr. William Kraus, preventative cardiologist and lead author of the study, told ABC News. “We found that a small calorie reduction -- around 300 -- appears to be beneficial to the heart.”

Researchers studied two groups of healthy people, all under 50 years old, over a period of two years. One group of 71 people continued a normal, unrestricted diet. The other group of 188 people underwent calorie restriction. In the beginning, the second group was asked to cut 25% of their daily calories.

“We didn’t alter the proportion of carbohydrate, fat or protein -- we just reduced the calorie content,” Kraus told ABC News. This was done by teaching study participants the essentials of calorie restriction, such as calorie counting and portion size.

People were asked to maintain the diet over two years, but the average person in the calorie restricted group managed to cut down only 12% of their calories, equivalent to roughly 300 calories per day.

That’s a modest decrease -- just a fraction of the 1,600 to 2,400 recommended daily calories for women, and 2,000 to 3,000 recommended calories for men.

Three hundred calories is equivalent to a slice of apple pie, 30 potato chips or “cutting out a snack after dinner,” Kraus told ABC News.

Even with this limited reduction, there were striking benefits: people lost over 11 pounds of fat and had reduced levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), increased levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and lower blood pressure. They were also more sensitive to insulin, a key blood sugar hormone, potentially reducing the risk of diabetes.

“Clearly what surprised us was the magnitude of response in people that already have normal parameters, are young and have a normal weight,” Kraus told ABC News.

Researchers found that even in young, healthy adults, a moderate calorie restriction can improve cardiovascular risk factors with a potential long-term benefit for heart health.

The next step is exploring why the benefit is so big.

“We expected some improvement in their biological parameters because they were losing weight,” Kraus said to ABC News, “but the weight loss only explained 25% of the improvement.”

Dr. Kraus has some theories about where the remaining 75% comes from.

“The effects of calorie restriction on DNA methylation is something we want to study in the future,” Kraus said. Methylation is a type of chemical modification made to DNA in response to environmental changes -- including nutrition -- which alters how genes are expressed.

Dr. Frank Hu a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard, called the study “ground-breaking in several respects,” but remained cautious.

“One practical challenge of translating calorie restriction is reliably counting daily calories and establishing optimal levels of calorie restriction,” said Hu.

He added that calorie counting alone is “unlikely to curb the global obesity epidemic.”

“Creating a healthy food environment and changing social norms…can make it easier for individuals to achieve and maintain a healthy weight,” Hu said.

Nevertheless, inexpensive and effective methods like calorie restriction could be invaluable in addressing some of issues surrounding the obesity epidemic.

The bottom line according to Kraus: when it comes to cutting down on calories, “anything is better than nothing.”

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/cutting-300-calories-day-cut-risk-diabetes-heart/story?id=64281135