Effects Of Intermittent Fasting On Health Markers In Those With Type 2 Diabetes: A Pilot Study
Go to: Abstract To determine the short-term biochemical effects and clinical tolerability of intermittent fasting (IF) in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We describe a three-phase observational study (baseline 2 wk, intervention 2 wk, follow-up 2 wk) designed to determine the clinical, biochemical, and tolerability of IF in community-dwelling volunteer adults with T2DM. Biochemical, anthropometric, and physical activity measurements (using the Yale Physical Activity Survey) were taken at the end of each phase. Participants reported morning, afternoon and evening self-monitored blood glucose (SMBG) and fasting duration on a daily basis throughout all study stages, in addition to completing a remote food photography diary three times within each study phase. Fasting blood samples were collected on the final days of each study phase. At baseline, the ten participants had a confirmed diagnosis of T2DM and were all taking metformin, and on average were obese [mean body mass index (BMI) 36.90 kg/m2]. We report here that a short-term period of IF in a small group of individuals with T2DM led to significant group decreases in weight (-1.395 kg, P = 0.009), BMI (-0.517, P = 0.013), and at-target morning glucose (SMBG). Although not a study requirement, all participants preferentially chose eating hours starting in the midafternoon. There was a significant increase (P < 0.001) in daily hours fasted in the IF phase (+5.22 h), although few attained the 18-20 h fasting goal (mean 16.82 ± 1.18). The increased fasting duration improved at-goal (< 7.0 mmol/L) morning SMBG to 34.1%, from a baseline of 13.8%. Ordinal Logistic Regression models revealed a positive relationship between the increase in hours fasted and fasting glucose reaching target values (χ2 likelihood rat Continue reading >>
Crash Diet Cures Diabetes In One Week
Calorie restriction and intermittent fasting Calorie restriction, as I’ve noted many times, is the most robust anti-aging intervention yet found. One of the key means through which calorie restriction works is through the activation of autophagy. Calorie restriction in the form of a crash diet cures diabetes in one week. Intermittent fasting has as many and probably more of the benefits of calorie restriction, since under-nutrition is not a problem with fasting, as it may be with calorie restriction. Besides that, fasting for limited periods is just a whole lot easier to practice than long-term and severe limitation of food intake. As aging means an increasing tendency of an organism to break down and be more susceptible to disease, it follows that calorie restriction reduces disease. Diabetes and obesity as archetypes of aging The disease which is perhaps the archetype of aging is type 2 diabetes, which is characterized by insulin resistance and brought on by obesity and lack of exercise. Diabetes, in turn, predisposes to many other diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and vascular problems leading to infections and amputation, not to mention Alzheimer’s. Take a look at the chart below to see how obesity and diabetes in the U.S. have increased nearly in parallel to each other. There’s obviously a connection between increased fat mass and diabetes. Some researchers believe that insulin resistance comes first, leading to obesity, but whatever the sequence is, the connection is clear. Crash diet cures diabetes It turns out that radically decreasing calorie intake via a crash diet can cure diabetes in one week: Reversal of type 2 diabetes: normalisation of beta cell function in association with decreased pancreas and liver triacylglycerol. In this study, the re Continue reading >>
10 Evidence-based Health Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting. Numerous studies show that it can have powerful benefits for your body and brain. Here are 10 evidence-based health benefits of intermittent fasting. When you don't eat for a while, several things happen in your body. For example, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible. Here are some of the changes that occur in your body during fasting: Insulin levels: Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning (1). Human growth hormone: The blood levels of growth hormone may increase as much as 5-fold (2, 3). Higher levels of this hormone facilitate fat burning and muscle gain, and have numerous other benefits (4, 5). Cellular repair: The body induces important cellular repair processes, such as removing waste material from cells (6). Gene expression: There are beneficial changes in several genes and molecules related to longevity and protection against disease (7, 8). Many of the benefits of intermittent fasting are related to these changes in hormones, gene expression and function of cells. When you fast, insulin levels drop and human growth hormone increases. Your cells also initiate important cellular repair processes and change which genes they express. Many of those who try intermittent fasting are doing it in order to lose weight (9). Generally speaking, intermittent fasting will make you eat fewer meals. Unless if you compensate by eating much more during the other meals, you will end up taking in fewer calories. Additionally, intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss. Lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone levels and increased amoun Continue reading >>
Intermittent Fasting: Not So Fast
I’m sure that at least a few of you have heard or read about the latest trend in weight loss called “intermittent fasting.” The very word “fasting” is probably less than appealing, as it pretty much means you don’t eat or drink anything (except perhaps water) for a specified amount of time. Starvation is not exactly recommended among health professionals. But intermittent fasting is different. Is it something you should try? What is intermittent fasting, anyway? Intermittent fasting has been the talk of the town, so to speak, thanks to two recent books to hit the market: The Fast Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer, and The Overnight Diet by Caroline Apovian, MD. Intermittent fasting essentially means that you skip a meal or severely restrict calories on certain days of the week with the intention of losing weight, controlling blood glucose, and/or decreasing heart disease risk. But on the other days of the week, you can pretty much eat what you want (within reason, of course). For many people, this concept sounds appealing. Limiting calories for a couple days a week doesn’t sound that bad if you can eat what you want the rest of the time. The Fast Diet, also called the The 5:2 Diet has you eat between 500 and 600 calories (women get 500 calories, men get 600 calories) for two days out of the week, spread over two meals of about 250 to 300 calories. These fast days should not be right in a row, and your food choices ideally should be more plant-based and emphasize protein. The premise is that after several hours of fasting, the body burns up its carbohydrate stores and shifts to burning fat for fuel. Many claim that intermittent fasting also helps to blunt appetite. The Overnight Diet emphasizes getting enough sleep; a lack of sleep can disrupt met Continue reading >>
Fasting Diet For People With Diabetes Could Regenerate The Pancreas
New research shows that a diet which mimics fasting might be able to push beta cells in the pancreas to repair themselves and start making insulin again. Mice put on fasting diet BBC news reported that for the research study, mice in the lab were put on a modified form of the “fasting-mimicking diet”. The diet is similar to the human practice of spending five days on a low-calorie, low-protein, low-carbohydrate 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,” says BBC news. A press release on Eureka Alert explained that the researchers used two different mouse models of two types of diabetes to study how the diet affected the mice. One group had a gene mutation that causes insulin resistance and loss of insulin secretion, which mimicked type 2 diabetes. The other group was treated with a chemical to destroy the mice’s beta cells, which was the model for type 1 diabetes. Both groups were put on the diet for three cycles. Excitingly, this diet showed the possibility of regeneration of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas which had stopped or slowed production of insulin in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively. Diet regenerates beta cells Senior author of the study, Dr. Valter Longo of the University of Southern California School of Gerontology and Director of the USC Longevity Institute, told Eureka Alert, “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 functio 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 >>
Ok, For All You "geniuses" Out There...diabetes Can Not Be Cured!!!
The other day, on Facebook, someone managed to find that particular button in me, and didn’t just press it...but started HAMMERING ON THE FUCKER!! My major pet peeve, my major PISS OFF...is people who act like they know jack shit about diabetes...WHEN THEY DO NOT LIVE WITH THIS BEAST!! The militant Vegans are about the absolute worst in this regard...they seem to believe that a Vegan diet cures everything. It does not. And a Vegan/vegetarian diet is probably not a very good idea for a diabetic. And sorry, but it is NOT a natural human diet. We are omnivores. But that is another topic, and I do not wish to go off on that tangent here, so I digress. Before I continue, I should point out a few things...a few things about diabetes, a few things about me...and a few things about what I am discussing in this Diary. First, I AM NOT A DOCTOR!! Nothing I say here should be taken as any kind of medical advice, official or otherwise. Second, as I am a Type 2 diabetic...as 85-90 percent of all diabetics are...a lot of what I am discussing pertains to Type 2 diabetes specifically. Some of the things we do, as Type 2’s, to manage our condition, also work for Type 1’s...but the mechanics of Type 2 are very different from Type 1, which is actually an autoimmune disorder. So when I am speaking about the process of diabetes in one’s body, I am referring to Type 2. In the simplest terms, Type 2 diabetes is a deficiency in carbohydrate metabolism. We do not process carbohydrates in the way normal, non-diabetic people do. We must limit our intake of carbohydrates. Some moreso than others, diabetes is NOT a one-size-fits-all condition...and neither should our treatment be. Certainly, a diet high in carbohydrate is not very good for anyone; this goes triple for diabetics. Some carbohy 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 >>
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 >>
Study Shows How A Low Calorie Diet Can Reverse Type 2 Diabetes
New research reveals the mechanisms through which low calorie diets can reverse type 2 diabetes in animals, and if those effects can be transferred over to people, we could have a host of new drug options for treating the chronic condition. Links between type 2 diabetes and diet have been well established – it is triggered when the body can no longer manage its blood glucose levels – but this latest study adds to growing evidence that the condition could be reversed in some cases. The team of researchers gave a very low calorie diet (VLCD) to rats with type 2 diabetes and found the animals' blood glucose levels rapidly lowered. What's more, they were able to reveal extra details about why exactly it was happening. "Using this approach to comprehensively interrogate liver carbohydrate and fat metabolism, we showed that it is a combination of three mechanisms that is responsible for the rapid reversal of hyperglycemia following a very low calorie diet," says one of the researchers, Gerald I. Shulman from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland. The three liver mechanisms affected by the diet were the conversion of lactate and amino acids into glucose, the conversion of liver glycogen into glucose, and a decrease in fat content, which then improves the liver's response to insulin. That response is important: it's when the body can't produce enough insulin, or becomes resistant to it, that blood sugars build up and type 2 diabetes occurs. In other words, the research shows how three causes of high glucose levels are targeted by a VLCD – and results were noticeable in just three days. The rodents' body weight was not affected throughout the study. Before we declare type 2 diabetes cured though, we need to find out whether this would work in humans too, and the Continue reading >>
Fasting Diet Combined With Beta Cell Regeneration Might Reverse Type 1 Diabetes
Periodic fasting has long been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on autoimmune disorders, cancer prevention and treatments, cardiovascular disease, and a myriad of other ailments. This most recent paper by Cheng et al. might add the treatment of Type 1 diabetes to that list[1]. If successful in humans, it has the potential to reverse some or most of the loss of insulin-producing cells within the pancreas. Just as remarkable, the treatment itself is relatively straightforward, consisting of a regimented protocol of periodic fasting-like conditions. Generally speaking, Type 1 diabetes results from an autoimmune mediated depletion of insulin-secreting pancreatic beta islet cells. In contrast, Type 2 results from lower cellular sensitivity to insulin. Type 2 is primarily caused by environmental factors such as poor diet. The current medical approach to treating Type 1 diabetes is the periodic administration of insulin, usually through self-administered injections. Most new therapies focused on curing Type 1 diabetes are looking to repopulating beta islet cells through the use of reprogrammed induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, these approaches are not as simple as the method demonstrated by Cheng et al in this recent study. The treatment consists of a “fasting mimicking diet” (FMD), which for mice corresponds to 3-4 day cycles of a high-fat and low-calorie diet, maintained for at least a month, followed by refeeding. This was performed on transgenic diabetic mice and also normal mice that had their beta cells depleted through the administration of high doses of a toxic drug. Results were also repeated using human diabetic primary beta cells in culture. In this case, the treatment consisted of the addition of human serum from individuals undergoing FMD. Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Weight Loss For Type 2
Obesity and diabetes are intimately linked. In particular, abdominal obesity can be a major culprit in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Research shows that if you are overweight and have been diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2, losing weight will significantly lower your blood sugar levels and also improve your overall health. So, yes. Diabetes and weight loss makes immense sense. But, could there be a “right” and a “wrong” way to achieve your weight loss goals? Diabetes And Weight Loss Dilemma The most important thing to understand is this – any weight loss is good. According to Cathy Nonas, MS, RD, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and a professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, “No matter how heavy you are, you will significantly lower your blood sugar if you lose some weight.” The Finnish Prevention Study and a study by Diabetes Prevention Program (see References at the end of the article for details) both prove that lifestyle changes that instigate a weight reduction of 5% (or more) decrease the overall risk of diabetes by as much as 58% in high-risk patients. For those living with diabetes, studies have shown that a loss of 5–10% of body weight can improve fitness levels, reduce HbA1c levels, improve cardiovascular health, and decrease use of diabetes, hypertension, and lipid-lowering medications. That’s not all; diabetics who successfully lose weight also lower their risk of depression and sleep apnea. People diagnosed with diabetes get a bundle of advice when it comes to weight loss. From magazines to TV shows to friends and family and even health professionals, everyone will point you towards the latest break-through diet and exercise regime that will help you lose weight quickly and maybe ev Continue reading >>
Ketosis… The Cure For Diabetes?
A reduced insulin load diet will lead to normalised blood sugars and improved insulin sensitivity. A reduced insulin load diet can be achieved by reducing carbohydrates, moderating protein and choosing higher fibre foods. Intermittent fasting also reduces insulin load. Measuring your blood sugars is a simple and cost effective way to check that your metabolic health is on track. A diet of nutrient dense, high fibre, high fat foods is the best way to optimise nutrition and minimise the risks associated with diabetes. how to become diabetic… In the “good old days” there were periods of feast and famine. Food was typically eaten with the fibrous packing that it came with. In today’s modern food environment we are encouraged by the food industry (and those sponsored by it) to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, pre-workout meals, post workout stacks, sports gels during exercise, and maybe some Gatorade to speed recovery. Today’s food is plentiful, typically highly processed and low in fibre. Carbohydrate and sugar based foods have a long shelf life, can be transported long distances and therefore cheap. Win, win? Maybe not. As we keep loading our bodies with simple sugars and carbohydrates our pancreas has to work overtime to produce insulin to shuttle excess sugar from the blood to your fat stores. Over time we become insulin resistant and the pancreas can’t keep up. Once your blood sugars get high enough you will be diagnosed with “type 2 diabetes” and put on medication to improve your insulin sensitivity, for a time. If nothing changes in your food intake your insulin sensitivity will continue to deteriorate until you reach a point when you’ll need to inject insulin to keep your blood sugars down. Injecting excessive amounts of insulin will cause you Continue reading >>
Is Intermittent Fasting Safe For People With Diabetes?
When the now 46-year-old Mary Roberts from Lockhart, Texas, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008, her doctor immediately put her on Metformin (glucophage), a drug to help stabilize blood sugar. “When I got the diagnosis, I guess I wasn’t surprised,” says Roberts, explaining that not only was she overweight but her mom had been on insulin for type 2 diabetes. Not wanting to be on medication herself for her entire life, Roberts set out on a path to control the diabetes through diet, but a few years of nutrition classes proved unsuccessful in lowering her blood sugar level. It was after her doctor suggested insulin on top of the high dose of Metformin that Roberts switched gears. “I really wanted to find a way to get healthy,” she says. She found the solution in changing her approach to eating — just not the way she expected. Intermittent fasting (IF) combined with the popular ketogenic diet, which emphasizes dramatically reducing carbohydrate intake, helped her lose weight and lower her A1C. “I feel amazing,” Roberts says. What Is Intermittent Fasting and How Is It Done? Although IF has become more popular in recent years, the diet plan isn’t new. In fact, many religions (including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) have followers who practice fasting of some variety throughout the year. Fasting is often required for blood tests, medical procedures, or surgery. The reason IF has gained so much attention recently is likely due to the release of new diet books plugging the plans and celebrity endorsements. “I think that it has gained popularity because anytime a person drastically cuts calories from their diet, they’re going to lose weight. And we’re so results driven that by seeing that happen we think, This is a great solution,” says Despina Continue reading >>
The Complete Guide To Fasting & Reversing Type 2 Diabetes: A Special Interview With Dr. Jason Fung
“Everyone has a physician inside him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick is to feed your sickness.” – Hippocrates Fasting has not received as much attention as it should when it comes to the world of health and medicine. That’s because you can’t really make any money off of it. The ‘pharmaceutical science’ studies used in medical schools to teach doctors about human health simply don’t focus enough on fasting for doctors to be knowledgable in the subject. Doctors also learn very little about nutrition and are trained to prescribe drugs as a result. Dr. Jason Fung is trying to change all that. A Toronto based nephrologist, he completed medical school and internal medicine at the University of Toronto before finishing his nephrology fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles at the Cedars-Sinai hospital. He joined Scarborough General Hospital in 2001 where he continues to practice and change peoples lives. He is one of a growing number of scientists and doctors to create awareness about the tremendous health benefits that can be achieved from fasting. It’s one of the oldest dietary interventions in the world and has been practiced for thousands of years. If properly practiced fasting was bad or harmful in any way, as some doctors suggest, it would have been known by now, and studies would not be emerging showing the health benefits that can be achieved from fasting regularly. The Research For example, a recent study published in the journal cell shows how a fasting diet can trigger the pancreas to regenerate itself, which works to control blood sugar lev Continue reading >>
