A new study finds that intermittent fasting could be an effective early intervention for people with type 2 diabetes as an alternative to drug therapy.
Intermittent fasting may help improve blood sugar levels, lose weight and lower blood pressure in people with early-stage type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.
In the trial, around 400 participants from China either took the antidiabetic drugs metformin or empagliflozin or followed a 5:2 intermittent fasting plan (fasting for two non-consecutive days a week and eating their usual breakfast and lunch and a meal replacement for dinner on the remaining five days).
By the end of the 16-week study, blood sugar levels in participants following the 5:2 diet had fallen by 1.9 percent, compared with 0.3 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, in those taking the drug.
Additionally, the researchers reported that 80 percent of people who followed the 5:2 diet went into diabetic remission, meaning their blood sugar levels returned to the non-diabetic range without the need for medication. International Expert GroupStandards of.
The findings, published in the journal JAMA Network OpenFor overweight people recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, lifestyle interventions may be more effective than drug therapy, according to researchers from nine medical centers in China.
“We are convinced that weight loss through fasting protocols and lifestyle changes is very important and should always be the basis,” Dr. Alexandra Kautsky-Wiler, head of the department of endocrinology and metabolism at the Medical University of Vienna, told Euronews Health, who reviewed the findings but was not involved in the study.
One in ten adults worldwide, or 537 million people, have diabetes. International Diabetes Federation.
Type 2 diabetes is linked to obesity and physical inactivity, and while medications such as insulin and weight loss pills can help patients manage the condition, research shows that diet and other lifestyle changes are key to reducing health risks.
“At the moment there are so many new medications, including weight loss medications and the diabetes medications Ozempic and Wegovy,” Kautsky-Wiler said.
“Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong, chronic disease, so in the long term it's best to treat it with diet, combined with medication if necessary.”
Of note, the trial was funded by Beijing Metabolic Control Technology Co., which makes the low-calorie meal replacement products used in the study, but the researchers say that did not influence the results.
He also said more research is needed to know whether the improvement in blood sugar levels was due to weight loss or the 5:2 fasting method itself, and what the long-term outcomes of lifestyle interventions for diabetes management are.
the study From the UKFor example, researchers found that although many people with type 2 diabetes initially lost weight and went into remission, only 13% remained in remission after five years.
Still, people who have had diabetes in remission for 12 years are at lower risk of heart and kidney complications compared with people who have never been in remission.
Because weight gain and type 2 diabetes are difficult to control, a two-day intermittent fasting plan may be easier for patients to stick to than more drastic dietary changes, Kautsky-Wiler said.