By John Salak –
Those battling type 2 diabetes may want to consider a low-carbohydrate diet, as cutting carbs may offset diabetes. New research indicates that a reduced-carb approach specifically helps individuals better manage the disease and may even reduce or eliminate the need for medication.
The study is potentially great news for the estimated 40 million Americans who already have diabetes and the almost 100 million people labeled as prediabetic, as WellWell noted in a story on fasting’s positive impact on diabetes. The vast majority of these people deal with type 2 diabetes. It most often develops in people 45 or older, but more and more children, teens and young adults are also developing the disease for a variety of reasons.
The payback for the suggested diet comes in its ability to improve the functioning of beta-cells, which are in the pancreas and produce and release insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels.
This is essential because people with type 2 diabetes have a compromised beta-cell response to blood sugar, possibly due in part to eating too many carbohydrates. Beta-cell failure or insufficiency on top of insulin resistance is responsible for the development and progression of type 2 diabetes.
“This study shows people with type 2 diabetes on a low-carbohydrate diet can recover their beta-cells, an outcome that cannot be achieved with medication,” reported lead study author Barbara Gower, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Ala. “People with mild type 2 diabetes who reduce their carbohydrate intake may be able to discontinue medication and enjoy eating meals and snacks that are higher in protein and meet their energy needs.”
The research team came to its conclusions after gathering data from 57 white and Black adults with type 2 diabetes, half on a low-carbohydrate diet and the other half on a high-carbohydrate diet. In the process, the team examined their beta-cell function and insulin secretion at baseline and after 12 weeks.
All of the participants’ meals were provided. People on the carbohydrate-restricted diet ate 9 percent carbohydrates and 65 percent fat, and participants on the high-carbohydrate diet ate 55 percent carbohydrates and 20 percent fat.
The researchers found those on a low-carbohydrate diet saw improvements in the acute and maximal beta-cell responses that were 22 percent greater than those on a high-carbohydrate diet. Within each race group, Black adults on a low-carbohydrate diet saw 110 percent greater improvements in the acute beta-cell response, while White adults recorded maximal beta-cell responses that were 48 percent greater than their respective counterparts on the high-carbohydrate diet.
While the first round of results is a potential development for those battling type 2 diabetes. Gower stressed that more work is needed.
“Further research is needed to determine if a low-carbohydrate diet can restore beta-cell function and lead to remission in people with type 2 diabetes,” she said.
The university’s research, along with the report on intermittent fasting, is part of a growing body of developments and studies aimed at combating diabetes. Diet, weight loss and regular exercise and movement have also been recently found to help keep diabetes and its consequences at bay.
