Diet helps 70% of people with type 2 diabetes REVERSE their deadly condition
A DIET has helped 70 per cent of people in a trial reverse their type 2 diabetes.
It meant they had the potential to come of the treatment for their lifelong condition.
The trial was the first to look at a calorie controlled diet in people with type 2 diabetes who are already slim.
Obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, but 10 per cent of sufferers have a lower body mass index (BMI).
While type 2 diabetics are frequently being told to lose weight in order to manage their condition, it leaves those who are slim with seemingly less options.
Professor Roy Taylor, of Newcastle University, said: “This is very good news for everyone with type 2 diabetes, not only pointing the way forward for effective return to health but also challenging the misconceptions clinging to the condition.”
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His previous landmark research showed it was possible for those with type 2 diabetes who were overweight to go into remission through careful weight loss.
It helped drive the rollout of a free NHS Soup and Shake diet plan to thousands of people in England.
The research revealed that shedding fat from inside the pancreas and liver – the two key organs involved in blood sugar control – was key to remission from type 2 in people living with obesity or overweight.
The latest study, the ReTUNE trial, looked at whether it would work for 20 slimmer diabetics – with a BMI at or just above the healthy range, below 27.
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Participants were put on a strict 800 calorie per day diet for two to four weeks, consisting of formula meal replacements and non-starchy vegetables.
It was followed by a 4-6 week weight loss maintenance period which involved the gradual reintroduction of normal foods.
This cycle of weight loss and maintenance was repeated up to three times, until participants lost between 10 and 15 per cent of their bodyweight.
After each cycle, the research team measured the amount of fat in the participants’ pancreas and liver and looked to see how remission was produced.
After 12 months, participants’ BMI averaged 22.4, down from 24.8. This meant they were still in the healthy weight range.
Some 70 per cent had gone into remission and half had done so after only one weight loss cycle.
An average weight loss of around eight per cent of bodyweight was required for remission.
The key was losing harmful fat from the liver and pancreas, the study found.
Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, called the research “game-changing”.
David Childs, of Cleadon, Sunderland, took part in the study and is now in remission.
He was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 48, when his BMI was 27.
But he had never suspected that would be the cause of his symptoms - headaches, failing eyesight and fainting.
After successfully taking part in the trial, he said: “My declining health scared me, it is what prompted me to take action and make choices so that I can live a full, healthy life with my family.
“I exercise and eat right, and I am determined that I’ll stay in remission.”
Diabetes is estimated to cost the NHS £10 billion a year, with treatment making up one in 20 prescriptions written by GPs.
It’s projected that the number of people being treated for diabetes will grow, as will linked complications like heart attack and stroke.
Two major trials led to the creation of the NHS Low Calorie Diet Programme.
The programme was first rolled out in September 2020 to seven NHS trusts, and expanded to 11 more areas in January.
Early data from the NHS programme shows participants each lose 7.2kg (over one stone) on average after one month, and 13.4kg (over two stone) after three months.
Meanwhile, around half a million overweight adults have taken part in the NHS Diabetes Prevention programme since it was launched in 2016.
And new stats reveal that, with the average successful participant shedding half a stone [3.3kg], an estimated 18,000 fresh cases of type 2 diabetes have been prevented.
Diabetes UK says that low calorie diet plans can be challenging for most people.
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It doesn’t offer an 800-calorie per day meal plan because it says these are achieved by having meal replacement products like soups and shakes which are nutritionally balanced.
It says: “If you chose to try a low-calorie diet, speak to your GP or nurse first, especially if you use medications like insulin.”