Low carbohydrate diet improves diabetes
A low-carbohydrate diet helps improves control of blood sugar levels in obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.
A low-carbohydrate diet helps improves control of blood sugar levels in obese individuals with
type 2 diabetes.
In fact, the diet allows some patients to reduce or eliminate their medication. Carbohydrate restriction is at the heart of a diabetic diet. A very low carbohydrate diet causes the body to use protein to provide energy, which produces ketones, and it is therefore called a ketogenic diet. Another dietary approach is to use foods with a low glycaemic index (that don't cause a rapid rise in blood sugar), and to cut back on calories.
Researchers from America compared the effectiveness of the two diets in 84 obese patients with type 2 diabetes, who were assigned to a low carbohydrate (less than 20 grams per day) ketogenic diet or to low-glycaemic reduced-calorie diet for 24-weeks. Those on the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet had no restrictions on their daily calorie intake. Both groups received group meetings, nutritional supplementation, and an exercise recommendation. The main outcome was glycaemic control, measured by haemoglobin A1c (this test indirectly indicates the average blood sugar levels of the previous 3-4 months).
It was found that the participants on the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet had greater improvements in HbA1C, a measure of long-term blood glucose control, than those in the low-glycaemic reduced-calorie diet group. Those in the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet group also lost more weight and had an increase in good HDL cholesterol compared with those in the other diet group.
It was possible for 95 percent of those in the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet group and 62 percent on the low-glycaemic reduced-calorie diet to eliminate or reduce their diabetes medications.
The researchers concluded that lifestyle modification using low carbohydrate diet is effective for improving and reversing type 2 diabetes.
Nutrition and Metabolism
March 2009
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