Does a Low Calorie Diet Signal the End of Diabetes?

About a century ago, the lid blew off the sugar container with the soft-drinks industry, so that when we were thirsty and desired a drink of water, we also got sugar. To make matters worse, mills that could refine wheat into white nutritionally sterile flour were developed at the same time. When white flour married with sweet and salt, the junk food industry was born, and so too was diabetes.

The expert opinion

Diabetes experts at the University of Bristol say they already know that “starvation is a cure for diabetes”. They go on to say that if food was rationed in the UK, like it was during the World Wars, there would be far less of this massive health problem to contend with. They have also said that if caught in its early stages, with beta cells still working – diabetes onset can be delayed for years.

In fact in a recent research study by Newcastle University, an extreme eight week diet of 600 calories a day was undertaken by Type 2 Diabetes volunteers. This study reduced the fat levels in the pancreas and liver which helped insulin production return to normal. It is hard to believe, but 7 out of the 11 people taking part in the study were found to be free of Type 2 Diabetes, even 3 months later when test subject had returned to dietitian prescribed, normal healthy eating patterns.

Our lives have got faster, filled with deadlines, no time to waste; fast-food on the run from fast-food chains, waiting with money-hungry smiles to offer us instant gratification. Our sense of relief which fills the hunger gap in an instant has become the order of the day. This disease is self inflicted by lifestyle and yet the NHS, and health insurers, pay billions in medical expenses for professionals to help us with a disease that we basically brought upon ourselves.

How Type 2 Diabetes occurs…

Type 2 Diabetes develops when not enough insulin is produced in the body or the insulin produced does not work properly. When this happens, the sugar builds up in the blood instead of being broken down into the energy which we need to use.

Obviously more research needs to be conducted and a 600 calorie a day diet is not the type of diet to be indulged in without being strictly monitored. All participants in this particular research project had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes within the last four years.

Food intake was cut dramatically for two months and subjects were only allowed low starch diet drinks and vegetables. In only one week, researchers found that pre-breakfast blood sugar levels had actually returned to normal. Fat levels had decreased from an elevated 8% to a more normal 6% as shown by MRI pancreatic scans.

This diet was the hypothesis used to test that if people lose substantial amounts of weight, will they also lose their diabetes. With such good results, more studies will naturally follow, as researchers also need to see if the change is permanent. This diet is not be a quick fix, and as Dr. Ee Lin Lim – one of the researchers on the team says “It’s easy to take a pill, but harder to change your lifestyle for good”.