The research, presented today at the American Diabetes Association conference, shows that an extremely low-calorie diet, consisting of diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables, prompts the body to remove the fat clogging the pancreas and preventing it from making insulin.Wow. Holy crap. They rebooted the pancreas. I wonder whether the change lasts longer than 3 months.
The volunteers were closely supervised by a medical team and matched with the same number of volunteers with diabetes who did not get the special diet. After just one week into the study, the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of the study group had returned to normal. And MRI scans showed that the fat levels in the pancreas had returned to normal. The pancreas regained its ability to make insulin.
After the eight-week diet the volunteers returned to normal eating but had advice on healthy foods and portion size. Ten of the group were retested and seven had stayed free of diabetes.
At the end of the two months, the subjects of the study were given advice on portion control and healthy eating, and then "resumed normal eating"."Normal" meaning what, though?
After the baseline measurements, individuals with type 2 diabetes started the diet, which consisted of a liquid diet formula (46.4% carbohydrate, 32.5% protein and 20.1% fat; vitamins, minerals and trace elements; 2.1 MJ/day [510 kcal/day]; Optifast; Nestlé Nutrition, Croydon, UK). This was supplemented with three portions of non-starchy vegetables such that total energy intake was about 2.5 MJ (600 kcal)/day. Participants were provided with sugges- tions of vegetable recipes to enhance compliance by varying daily eating. They were also encouraged to drink at least 2 l of water or other energy-free beverages each day, and asked to maintain their habitual level of physical activity. Ongoing support and encouragement was provided by means of regular telephone contact. At the end of the 8 week intervention participants returned to normal eating but were provided with information about portion size and healthy eating....this would constitute a plan for the next two months."
He warned that only a minority of people, perhaps 5% or 10%, would be able to stick to the harsh diet necessary to get rid of diabetes.Also, they did not resume normal eating: "After the eight-week diet the volunteers returned to normal eating but had advice on healthy foods and portion size." i.e. they got education on how to eat, what to eat and how much to eat, which suggests they could have gone back to being diabetic if they continued previous methods of eating.
Gordon Parmley, 67, of Stocksfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, a trial participant, said he first noticed something was wrong when his vision went "fuzzy" and he had trouble focusing while playing golf. He had been on medication since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes six years ago.My first thought is that his diabetes seems more the natural progress of age and I'd like to know what medication he was on. From the sound of it ("diabetes tablets") he was taking something something like Glucophage XR, which is just a pill. Was he taking 500mg once day or 1500mg twice a day? One is a lot easier to deal with and control with diet and exercise than the other. Frankly he doesn't sound like he was severely out of control if symptoms only cropped up when he turned 65.
A person on 500 calories today tends to feel pretty crappy for the first three days, and then ketosis kicks in, and the body starts burning fat for fuel. At this stage most people report that they feel like they've got more energy than normal and don't really feel hungry.Oh gosh. Former anorexic, and at the outset I was eating about five hundred calories a day. It's true that I stopped feeling hungry, but boy is it not true that I had a lot of energy. I had no energy. Also, I was cold all the time. I can't even explain what that cold felt like: it was like being cold from the inside out, so that even putting on clothes or cranking up the heat didn't make me feel warm.
Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, and was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin.As a Type II, I like to think I'm marinating in a sugar glaze for the worms.
Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Only 5% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children with type 1 diabetes can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy, happy lives.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. Millions of Americans have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and many more are unaware they are at high risk. Some groups have a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes than others. Type 2 diabetes is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, as well as the aged population.
In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin (emphasis mine). Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use glucose for energy. When you eat food, the body breaks down all of the sugars and starches into glucose, which is the basic fuel for the cells in the body. Insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can lead to diabetes complications.
ConclusionWell, so much that summer project.
This was a very small preliminary, non-randomised, uncontrolled study. Only 11 people with diabetes received the dietary intervention. Although the researchers took one-off measures in eight people without diabetes for comparison, these people did not follow the diet. There was also no comparison group of people with diabetes who did not receive the diet intervention.
As such, very limited conclusions can be made from this study. Contrary to some news reports, it provides no evidence of a cure for diabetes.
Importantly, the study only examined the effects of eight weeks of an extreme energy-restriction diet, where the daily intake was only 600 calories. The longer-term health implications and risks of such a diet are not known.
Carefully conducted randomised controlled dietary studies in a much larger number of people with type 2 diabetes, and with longer follow-up, are needed. This research will need to carry out a more detailed assessment of the possible effects of such an intervention on diabetic control and on health in general. It will also need to ascertain whether the positive effects seen in this study are sustained when a person returns to a normal diet.
People with type 2 diabetes should continue to follow the dietary advice given to them by their doctor. The participants in this study were all given medical supervision throughout, and it is advised that people with the condition do not attempt this diet on their own.
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posted by penduluum at 6:44 AM on June 24, 2011