Faux Fasting Diet Regenerates Pancreas To Reverse Diabetes
Using stem cells to create insulin-producing beta cells that could be transplanted into diabetics is being investigated as a possible cure for type 1 diabetes and treatment for type 2, but new research suggests that a special diet could reprogram cells in the pancreas to do the same thing. Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) claim that a diet that mimics the effects of fasting spurs the growth of new insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreases of mice, essentially reversing the disease. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes center around insulin, or rather, the lack thereof. Put very simply, in type 1 diabetes, the body – specifically, the pancreas – stops producing insulin, while in type 2 diabetes, the body doesn't use insulin properly and eventually is unable to produce enough insulin to compensate. In both type 1 and late-stage type 2 diabetes, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas are lost, meaning many diabetics need to take insulin to replace what's not being made by the pancreas. Looking to discover the effects of a fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) on diabetes sufferers, USC researchers used mice with type 2 diabetes and another group in which type 1 diabetes had been simulated by giving them high doses of a drug to kill their insulin-producing beta cells. They found that mice in both groups – even those in the later stages of the disease – regained healthy insulin production, had a reduction in insulin resistance, and had more stable blood glucose levels. The researchers say the brief, periodic diet, which was designed to mimic the effects of a water-only fast, activated genes that are normally only switched on in the developing pancreases of fetal mice. These genes prompted the production of neurogenin-3 (Ngn3), a protein that le Continue reading >>
Starvation Is No Diabetes Cure
You probably saw the news. Scientists and journalists are saying a two-month starvation diet has “cured” or “reversed” Type 2 diabetes in 11 people. Actually, there were some benefits, but nothing close to a cure. What can we actually learn from this study? Well, the first thing we learn is that many people are totally ignorant when it comes to the temporary nature of weight-loss benefits. The second thing is that journalists will hype scientific results far beyond what the studies actually show. In this study, 11 people with Type 2, and a similar number of controls, were placed on a 600-calorie-a-day diet. They ate only liquid diet drinks with non-starchy vegetables like broccoli. Their insulin sensitivity and the fat content in their livers and pancreas were monitored, as well as their blood sugar levels. The study was done at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom and sponsored by the charity Diabetes UK. To quote their press release: After just one week…[subjects’ fasting] blood glucose levels had returned to normal… A special MRI scan…revealed that the fat levels in the pancreas had returned from an elevated level (8%) to a normal (6%) level. In step with this, the pancreas regained the normal ability to make insulin and as a result, blood glucose after meals steadily improved. The starvation diet lasted two months, after which, “The volunteers were returned to eating normally but had received advice on portion size and healthy eating.” Three months later, 7 of the 11 people with diabetes still had normal blood glucose levels. One man was quoted as saying he still did not need any diabetes medicines after 18 months. This research was presented at the American Diabetes Association’s scientific sessions in San Diego and published in the jour Continue reading >>
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Fasting-mimicking Diet May Reverse Diabetes
A diet designed to imitate the effects of fasting appears to reverse diabetes, a new USC-led study shows. The fasting-like diet promotes the growth of new insulin-producing pancreatic cells that reduce symptoms of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in mice, according to the study on mice and human cells led by Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “Cycling a fasting-mimicking diet and a normal diet essentially reprogrammed non-insulin-producing cells into insulin-producing cells,” said Longo, a professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. By activating the regeneration of pancreatic cells, the researchers were able to rescue mice from late-stage Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They also reactivated insulin production in human pancreatic cells from Type 1 diabetes patients. The reprogrammed adult cells and organs prompted a regeneration in which damaged cells were replaced with new functional ones, Longo said. The study published on Feb. 23 in the journal Cell is the latest in a series of studies to demonstrate promising health benefits of a brief, periodic diet that mimics the effects of a water-only fast. Reversing insulin resistance and depletion In Type 1 and late-stage Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas loses insulin-producing beta cells, increasing instability in blood sugar levels. The researchers simulated Type 1 diabetes in mice by administering high doses of the drug streptozotocin— killing the insulin-producing b-cells — and studied mice with Type 2 diabetes, characterized by insulin resistance and eventual loss of insulin production, which have a mutation in the gene Lepr. The study showed a remarkable reversal of both types of diabetes in mice placed on the fast Continue reading >>
Intermittent Fasting Could Help Tackle Diabetes – Here’s The Science
Intermittent fasting is currently all the rage. But don’t be fooled: it’s much more than just the latest fad. Recent studies of this kind of fasting – with restricted eating part of the time, but not all of the time – have produced a number of successes, but the latest involving diabetes might be the most impressive yet. The idea of intermittent fasting arose after scientists were wowed by the effects of constant calorie restriction. A number of studies in many different animals have shown that restricted eating throughout adulthood leads to dramatic improvements in lifespan and general health. The reasons for these improvements aren’t yet clear. Part of it seems to be that going without food gives cells in the body a much needed break to perform maintenance and repair. But the lack of food also forces cells to resort to alternative sources of energy. Some of these, such as ketones – molecules created in the liver from recycled fat – appear to be beneficial. ‘Fasting’ without fasting The problem is that constant calorie restriction isn’t practical: it’s easy for scientists to impose upon lab animals, but hard for humans to impose upon themselves in the real world. Fortunately, we’ve learned that constant calorie restriction isn’t really necessary. Intermittent fasting seems to have many of the same benefits. There are two main types of intermittent fasting. One type, known as “time restricted feeding”, requires eating only during a few hours of the day – say between 10am and 6pm. This approach gives the body a long break from food each night, and also reinforces beneficial circadian rhythms. The other type of intermittent fasting – made popular by the 5:2 diet – is known as “periodic fasting”. This approach involves alternating be Continue reading >>
How Fasting Reverses Type 2 Diabetes
While many consider type 2 diabetes (T2D) irreversible, fasting has been long known to cure diabetes. In our previous post, we considered bariatric surgery. While extreme, these surgeries have proven the point that the metabolic abnormalities that underlie T2D (hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance) can be fully reversible even after a few short weeks. Many early studies were done with the heavy-duty Roux-en-Y surgery, which is the heavyweight champions of surgeries. The best weight loss. The most complications. This is the surgery that has ‘Go Big or Go Home’ tattooed on its massive bicep. But even milder forms of bariatric surgery show the same reversibility of T2D. A gastric band is essentially a belt implanted around your stomach. The surgeon keeps tightening the belt so that you can’t eat. If you try to eat too much, you’ll puke it all back up. Lovely. It ain’t pretty, but it sure does work. Again, long term results are kind of iffy, but short term results are pretty good. The results of gastric banding versus medical treatment showed a significant and pretty damn good drop in their fasting blood sugars. In other words, their T2D was reversing in a b-i-g way. Those given medicines alone basically stayed the same. They were no better than before. Gastric banding a 500 pound patient will still reverse 20 years of diabesity within weeks. One of the main questions is why? There are many hypotheses, but essentially, it is the sudden severe restriction of all calories that causes this beneficial effect. This is the same thing as the time tested, ancient healing tradition of fasting. Fasting is the voluntary restriction of food for religious, health or other purposes (eg. hunger strikes). Is bariatrics simply a surgically enforced fast? The short answer is yes. I Continue reading >>
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes Through Fasting
Type 2 diabetes, sometimes referred to as adult-onset diabetes, doesn’t have to be permanent. Fasting and calorie restriction can help you get control of your blood sugar, lower your blood pressure, and even help reverse type 2 diabetes. But, before we get into how fasting can undo the damage of type 2 diabetes, we first need to understand how type 2 diabetes affects the body. How Does Type 2 Diabetes Develop? Diabetes develops when fat accumulates in areas of the body that shouldn’t accumulate fat. It all starts with an abundance of fat in your muscle tissue. Typically this is caused by a family history, poor diet, or sedentary lifestyle. This fat is called intramuscular fat. It’s like the marbling on a steak, only it’s inside your muscles, and it causes insulin resistance—the characteristic that distinguishes type 1 diabetes from type 2.[1, 2] Even worse, intramuscular fat causes muscles to produce toxic fat metabolites like ceramide and diacylglycerol (DAG). These toxins also contribute to insulin resistance.[3] High Insulin Levels Lead to a Fatty Liver When blood sugar is high, the pancreas produces insulin to lower blood sugar. However, insulin resistance causes the liver to stop responding to insulin.[4, 5] In fact, the liver keeps producing sugar despite a high level of sugar in the blood. Consuming food that’s high in sugar is like throwing gas on the fire, and the abundance of sugar is converted to fat and stored in the liver.[4] When the liver accumulates fat, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can develop. When non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is present, the liver releases fat into the bloodstream where it’s distributed to other organs and they, just like the liver, stop responding to insulin. Especially affected is the pancreas.[5] Fat Continue reading >>
Could Fasting Cure Diabetes? Evidence On Not Eating For Long Stretches Is Compellingand Controversial
Could Fasting Cure Diabetes? Evidence on Not Eating for Long Stretches Is Compellingand Controversial Slice of pound cake with lock and chain Tooga/Getty Health type 2 diabetes diabetes Fasting intermittent fasting Weight Loss Weight gain may be driven not only by what we eat but also by our tendency to eat all day long. In the past few years, intermittent fasting has emerged as a popular trend in weight loss. A growing number of health professionals are also prescribing fasting to people with type 2 diabetes, which currently afflicts more than 29 million people in the U.S. Yet a recent study warns that going for long stretches without eating could cause the very damage its supposed to prevent. Slice of pound cake with lock and chain Tooga/Getty Type 2 diabetes is triggered in part by unhealthy eating, which renders the body resistant to insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. Without insulin, sugar from food cant enter our cells, leaving the blood with an excess amount of it. At first, the pancreas compensates by making more insulin, but eventually the demand wears out the digestive organ. Diabetics then become dependent on insulin injections to control their blood sugar. 50 Facts About the Human Body You Probably Didn't Know Dr. Jason Fung, a kidney specialist, is convinced that fasting undoes that cycle: Not eating reduces blood sugar. As he points out, fasting is simply extending what we already do at night when we sleep. Its supposed to be part of everyday life, says Fung, who co-founded the Toronto-based Intensive Dietary Management Program and wrote The Obesity Code and The Complete Guide to Fasting . Fasting can also send the body into ketosis, in which it burns fat rather than sugar. That helps with losing weight, which also helps slow diabetes. Several r Continue reading >>
A Fasting Diet Could Reverse Diabetes And Repair The Pancreas, Says New Research
Researchers have been able to reverse symptoms of diabetes and restore pancreas functions in mice by putting them on a version of the fasting-mimicking diet. The diet tricks the body into a fasting mode for a few days a month, even while carefully selected foods are still being eaten, and it could be enough to reboot the organ's key functions and restore insulin production, scientists say. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas cannot make insulin (type I) or is damaged by insulin resistance (type II), and the team from the University of Southern California says the diet reversed symptoms of both types of diabetes in mice. "By pushing the mice into an extreme state and then bringing them back... the cells in the pancreas are triggered to use some kind of developmental reprogramming," says the head of the research team, Valter Longo. In humans, the fasting-mimicking diet has been credited with helping people lose weight more effectively, and previous studies have also linked it to reducing risk factors for diseases like heart disease and cancer. The diet has also been credited with reducing the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, so it's earning quite a reputation amongst scientists. In each case starving the body seems to reset the production of healthy cells. In the latest study, mice were put into the artificial fasting mode for four days a week over a period of several months. Scientists found this was enough to regenerate beta cells in the pancreas, responsible for storing and releasing insulin. Damaged cells were replaced by working ones. The team also experimented on pancreatic cell cultures from human donors with type I diabetes. Here too, simulated fasting produced more insulin and more of the Ngn3 protein required for normal pancreatic function. In other words, the sign Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Reversal — The Quick Start Guide
Type 2 Diabetes Reversal — The Quick Start Guide How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes — The Quick Start Guide Twenty years ago, when you bought a brand sparkly new VCR machine, you would also get a thick instruction manual. Read this thoroughly before you start, the manufacturer would implore. There would be detailed setup procedures and troubleshooting guides. Most of us ignored the manual, just plugged it in and tried to figure out the rest. That’s why we all had the blinking 12:00 on. Today, most new electronics now come with a quick start guide which has the most basic 4 or 5 steps to get your machine working and then anything else you needed, you could reference the detailed instruction manual. Instruction manuals are just so much more useful this way. Well, I don’t know much about VCRs, but I do know about type 2 diabetes. I could write an entire book about obesity (oh, wait, I did that already), or fasting (oh, wait, done too) or type 2 diabetes (next up for 2018). But many of you will not want to go through the entire instruction manual. So this is your quick start guide for reversing your type 2 diabetes. A Fully Reversible Disease Most doctors, dietitians and diabetes specialists claim that type 2 diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease. The American Diabetes Association, for example, almost proudly proclaims this on its website. Once you get the diagnosis, it’s a life sentence. But, it’s actually a great big lie. Type 2 diabetes is almost always reversible and this is almost ridiculously easy to prove. This is great news for the more than 50% of American adults who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes. Recognizing this truth is the crucial first step in reversing your diabetes or pre-diabetes. Actually, it something that most people a Continue reading >>
Fasting Diet 'regenerates Diabetic Pancreas'
Fasting diet 'regenerates diabetic pancreas' By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News website These are external links and will open in a new window The pancreas can be triggered to regenerate itself through a type of fasting diet, say US researchers. Restoring the function of the organ - which helps control blood sugar levels - reversed symptoms of diabetes in animal experiments. The study, published in the journal Cell , says the diet reboots the body. Experts said the findings were "potentially very exciting" as they could become a new treatment for the disease. People are advised not to try this without medical advice. In the experiments, mice were put on a modified form of the "fasting-mimicking diet". It is like the human form of the diet when people spend five days on a low-calorie, low-protein, low-carbohydrate but high unsaturated-fat diet. It resembles a vegan diet with nuts and soups, but with around 800 to 1,100 calories a day. Then they have 25 days eating what they want - so overall it mimics periods of feast and famine. Previous research has suggested it can slow the pace of ageing. But animal experiments showed the diet regenerated a special type of cell in the pancreas called a beta cell. These are the cells that detect sugar in the blood and release the hormone insulin if it gets too high. Dr Valter Longo, from the University of Southern California, said: "Our conclusion is that by pushing the mice into an extreme state and then bringing them back - by starving them and then feeding them again - the cells in the pancreas are triggered to use some kind of developmental reprogramming that rebuilds the part of the organ that's no longer functioning." There were benefits in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in the mouse experiments. Type 1 i Continue reading >>
Fasting Cures Type 2 Diabetes – T2d 4
While many consider Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) irreversible, fasting has also been long known to cure diabetes. In our previous post, we considered bariatric surgery. While extreme, these surgeries have proven the point that the metabolic abnormalities that underlie T2D (hyper insulinemia, insulin resistance) can often be fully reversed after a short (weeks) period of intensive treatment with bariatrics. Many early studies were done with the heavy-duty Roux-en-Y surgery, which is the heavyweight champions of surgeries. The best weight loss. The most complications. This is the surgery that has ‘Go Big or Go Home’ tattooed on its massive bicep. But even milder forms of bariatric surgery show the same reversibility of T2D. A gastric band is essentially a belt implanted around your stomach. They keep tightening the belt so that you can’t eat. If you try to eat too much, you’ll puke it all back up. Loverly. It ain’t pretty, but it sure do work. Again, long term results are kind of iffy, but short term results are pretty good. You can see the results of gastric banding versus medical treatment from the graph above. Patients randomized to the gastric band showed a significant and pretty damn good drop in their fasting blood sugars. In other words, T2D was reversing in a b-i-g way. Those given medicines alone didn’t do very well at all. Basically they stayed the same. They were no better than before. So, yes, even gastric banding these 500 pound patients with 20 years of diabesity can reverse within weeks even before the weight comes off. One of the main questions is why? There are many hypotheses – which we will consider in a later post, but it is the sudden severe restriction of all calories that causes this beneficial effect. This is the same thing as the time teste Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes And The Diet That Cured Me
Why me? At 59 I was 10st 7lb, 5ft 7in, and had never been overweight. I ran and played cricket regularly and didn't drink alcohol excessively. Yet at a routine check-up I was told that I had type 2 diabetes. In 10 years I could be dependent on insulin, it could affect my sight, feet, ears, heart and I had a 36% greater chance of dying early. In type 1 diabetes, the body produces none of the insulin that regulates our blood sugar levels. Very high glucose levels can damage the body's organs. Patients with type 2 diabetes, however, do produce insulin - just not enough to keep their glucose levels normal. Because I was fit and not overweight (obesity is a major risk factor in type 2 diabetes; however, a number of non-obese people, particularly members of south Asian communities, are also prone to it), my doctor told me I could control my condition with diet alone. Desperate for information, I headed to the web, where I found a report about a research trial at Newcastle University led by Professor Roy Taylor. His research suggested type 2 diabetes could be reversed by following a daily 800-calorie diet for eight weeks. When our bodies are deprived of normal amounts of food they consume their own fat reserves, with the fat inside organs used up first. The idea of Taylor's diet is to use up the fat that is clogging up the pancreas and preventing it from creating insulin, until normal glucose levels return. With my GP's blessing and a home glucose-testing kit, I began my experiment. The diet was strict: three litres of water a day, three 200-calorie food supplements (soups and shakes) and 200 calories of green vegetables. Thanks to my doctor's dietary guidance, and running three times a week, I had already lost a stone. Yet my glucose levels were still above 6mmol/L (millimols Continue reading >>
How Intermittent Fasting Can Help Reverse Diabetes
The “Fast Cure” for Diabetes Though we may not like to admit it, type 2 diabetes is a disease chiefly brought on by our lifestyle choices.[1] Yes, genetics come into play too, but when it comes to type 2 diabetes, you are not a slave to your gene pool. You have the power to even alter your genes.[2] According to the American Diabetes Association, type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate due to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.[3] So, let’s say that you (or someone you know) became overweight, were less and less active, and finally one day at a routine doctor visit, your doctor announced that you have type 2 diabetes and put you on medication to lower your blood sugar. Perhaps you’ve been taking diabetes meds for years now and the idea of reversing your diabetes seems far-fetched, even fanciful. Maybe your doctor doesn’t believe that type 2 diabetes is reversible. That has been the traditional medical thought greatly influenced by the pharmaceutical companies who want to push their expensive drugs. But a new day has dawned and many doctors are seeing their patients reverse their type 2 diabetes. One effective way people reverse their type 2 diabetes is by intermittent fasting. Dr. Jason Fung, MD, writes, “While many consider type 2 diabetes (T2D) irreversible, fasting has been long known to cure diabetes.”[4] Wow, “cure” is a strong word coupled with diabetes and spoken by a medical doctor! Harvard University is home to the famous Joslin Center for Diabetes. The center is named after Dr. Elliot Joslin, one of the greatest specialists in diabetes of all time. In 1916, Dr. Joslin wrote an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal about fasting for the treatment of diabetes. Based on his experience, he was convinced that all i Continue reading >>
The Cure For Type 2 Diabetes Is Known, But Few Are Aware
The cure for type 2 diabetes is known, but few are aware I recently posted to Facebook about a cure for diabetes and suggested someone try it. Just six days later, I received the following message from a friend: I just wanted to drop you a line and thank you for that post… My lab results at the beginning of the month were 230. After just this last week it’s down to 155. I think I’ll be in normal range within a month. Really miraculous… It’s really been a game changer for me already and I wanted you to know how much I appreciated the info and how much of a difference I think it will make in my life. Four months later, the friend posted this to Facebook: I started on this regiment when Nathan posted about it [four months ago]. My blood glucose level at that time, while taking two daily glucose meds, was 235. Two weeks ago, my [fasting] glucose level, WITHOUT the meds, was 68. If you google “diabetes cure” you are directed to websites like WebMD and the Mayo Clinic where you find information on diet, exercise, medication, and insulin therapy, but nothing about the cure. This lack of information may have to do with the fact that Americans spend $322 billion a year to treat diabetes, $60 billion a year on weight-loss programs, and $124 billion a year on snack foods. This is about 3% of the US economy! Because so many peoples’ livelihoods are supported by diabetes and its main cause, obesity, the viral effect of people getting cured and telling others is greatly diminished. Because of this understandable stifling of the message, if you are like my Facebook friend and have already experienced the type 2 diabetes cure for yourself — there are thousands of you out there — it is important for you to share your success stories as far and wide as possible. You c Continue reading >>
5:2 Fasting Diet
Tweet The 5:2 intermittent fasting (IF) diet, more commonly referred to simply as the 5:2 diet, has become one of the more popular diet plan in recent years. Studies have shown that the diet helps with weight loss and may also reduce insulin resistance, both of which are of particular interest for many people with type 2 diabetes or borderline diabetes. One reason for the popularity of the diet is that it allows a certain amount of flexibility, in comparison to low calorie diets, on most days of the week. Theory behind the diet The idea of the diet is that short periods of fasting prompt the body to repair damage but not enter a starvation mode of conserving energy. Whilst the theory has yet to be conclusively proved, clinical studies have shown promising results for the diet, however it has only been examined over relatively short time spans, of less than a year. How the 5:2 diet works The 5:2 intermittent fasting diet is based on a simple idea. 5 days a week you stick to meeting the daily calorie intake advised for people of a healthy weight, that being: 2,500 kcal per day for men 2,000 kcal per day for women For the other 2 days each week, the diet stipulates that you have only around 25% of the values above, which is equal to: 600 kcal on these days for men 500 kcal on these days for women The fasting days can be taken at any time during the week as long as you do not take 2 fasting days consecutively. Benefits of the 5:2 diet Clinical studies have shown that the benefits of intermittent fasting are largely similar to those of a calorie restricted diets. The most commonly reported benefits among people from following the 5:2 diet: Research has shown that periods of fasting can help to improve life expectancy and decrease risks of diseases including nerve disorders, Continue reading >>
