Fasting Diet May Help Regenerate A Diabetic Pancreas
"The pancreas can be triggered to regenerate itself through a type of fasting diet, say US researchers," BBC News reports. Research in mice found a low-calorie diet may help in cases of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The pancreas is an organ that uses specialised cells known as beta cells to produce the hormone insulin, which the body uses to break down sugars in the blood (glucose). In type 1 diabetes the pancreas stops producing insulin. In type 2 diabetes either not enough insulin is produced or cells in the body fail to respond to insulin (insulin resistance). Mice were fed for four days on a low-calorie, low-protein and low-carbohydrate but high-fat diet, receiving half their normal daily calorie intake on day one, followed by three days of 10% of their normal calorie intake. Researchers repeated this fast on three occasions, with 10 days of refeeding in between. They then examined the pancreas. They found in mice modelled to have both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, insulin production was restored, insulin resistance was reduced, and beta cells could be regenerated. Early lab study involving human cell samples showed similar potential. These are promising results, but further studies are needed to validate these findings in humans. If you have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, you shouldn't attempt a fasting diet without first seeking medical advice. A sudden change in your calorie intake could have unpredictable effects and lead to complications. Where did the story come from? The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Southern California and the Koch Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, and the IFOM FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Italy. It was funded by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (NI Continue reading >>
Fasting With Type 1 Diabetes
WRITTEN BY: Carly Crompton Note: This is part of our library of resources on Food. Learn more about dietary recommendations from nutritionists and foodies alike on our Food page! In the Type 1 community, food and eating habits are not only a common subject of conversation, but a necessary component of management. A common dietary practice that is important to acknowledge in this space is Fasting. Religious Reasons There are many different reasons for fasting and sometimes it cannot be avoided. Religious and spiritual fasting manifests in many different practices and belief systems such as Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. Fasting before medical procedures like surgery or blood tests is often required. Additionally, fasting for detoxification, or “doing a cleanse” is a growing dietary practice. So, is it safe for those with Type 1 diabetes to fast? If so, what are the best practices to follow while participating in a fast? Most of the research regarding fasting and diabetes surrounds Ramadan and most often, the medical recommendation for those with diabetes is to avoid fasting. The main health risk is hypoglycemia – particularly if you continue taking insulin while fasting without regular blood glucose monitoring. If you do choose to fast for spiritual or personal reasons, talk with your healthcare provider about a plan and regularly monitor glucose to avoid health emergencies. Safety first is the best practice, and this is recognized in most spiritual communities. I was raised Jewish and distinctly remember the announcements from our Rabbi during long Yom Kippur services pleading individuals in various circumstances to not fast for their own safety and instead display their faith through another outlet. Again, fasting may not be out of the question, just be sure to tal Continue reading >>
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Why Fasting Is Such A Powerful Treatment Strategy For Diabetes
Why Fasting Is Such a Powerful Treatment Strategy for Diabetes An estimated 30.3 million Americans, nearly 1 in 10, have Type 2 diabetes. Another 84 million American adults about 1 in 3 are prediabetic, defined as an elevation in blood glucose over 100 mg/dl Any fasting blood sugar regularly over 90 mg/dl really suggests insulin resistance, and work by the late Dr. Joseph Kraft suggests 80 percent 8 out of 10 Americans are in fact insulin resistant Type 2 diabetes is curable, and the cure is less than inexpensive its free. You actually save money, as the remedy is to fast and not eat anything for a number of days on a regular basis Type 2 diabetes should not be treated with insulin, as insulin forces glucose into cells that are already saturated with excess glucose and cannot take in more. Instead, the glucose gets turned into fat, which is why insulin injections result in dramatic weight gain The answer for Type 2 diabetes is to stop feeding your body sugar and burn off the sugar already in your cells, and the most effective way to do this is fasting We have an epidemic of diabetes in the United States. An estimated 30.3 million Americans, nearly 1 in 10, have Type 2 diabetes. 1 Another 84 million American adults about 1 in 3 are prediabetic, and most are unaware of this fact. Prediabetes 2 is defined as an elevation in blood glucose over 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) but lower than 125 mg/dl, at which point it formally becomes Type 2 diabetes . However, any fasting blood sugar regularly over 90 mg/dl really suggests insulin resistance, and seminal work by the late Dr. Joseph Kraft, author of Diabetes Epidemic and You: Should Everyone Be Tested? suggests that 80 percent 8 out of 10 Americans are in fact insulin resistant, 3 which means theyre already on their w Continue reading >>
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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 >>
Safe Fasting With Diabetes
Whether you are honoring an ancient religious practice or heading to the lab for a fasting blood test, care is needed when missing meals with diabetes. Fasting can throw off the delicate balance of food, water, and blood glucose levels in potentially harmful ways. Fasting with diabetes poses significant risks, says Kathaleen Briggs Early, PhD, RD, CDE, of the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. Most of the research on fasting and diabetes surrounds Ramadan, the annual Islamic observance that requires fasting from sunrise to sundown for 29 or 30 days. A commentary published in 2010 in Diabetes Care developed in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) focused on fasting during Ramadan, though many of the issues it raises are relevant to other types of fasting as well. It says that “most often, the medical recommendation will be not to undertake fasting” if you have diabetes. The paper acknowledges that fasting for spiritual reasons is a personal decision, but one that should include the guidance of a health care provider. A study found that 43 percent of people with type 1 diabetes and 79 percent of people with type 2 diabetes from 13 Islamic countries fast during Ramadan. With that reality, fasting safely becomes a priority for people with diabetes and their care providers. “Anybody with diabetes needs to first talk to their doctor about going on a fast,” says Early, and some experts recommend a pre-fasting medical assessment to help ensure safety. If you are considering fasting, talk to your health care provider about a plan that takes medication, nutrition, and hydration into account. Regularly monitoring blood glucose during fasting is key to avoiding health emergencies. Not eating when taking insulin or certain other diabetes Continue reading >>
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5 Day Water Fast Results Of A Type 1 Diabetic Female: Why, How, And What Happened
Why A 5 Day Water Fast? There are many reasons why one would fast. Let me explain to you the journey I took in the last month that brought me to this fasting experiment. I'm a diabetic. It's been over 20 years now since I was diagnosed in 1996 at the age of 13. I see the doctor every 6 months, give or take, and have my HbA1c taken. Mine is usually in the 7-8 range. While this is high, it's not something I've worried about a whole lot. Over the years, I've done low carb, paleo, gluten free, almost no carb, but have only once in this time gotten an HbA1c result below 7. The last doctor's appointment in February had my HbA1c at 8.6. The doctor was not happy, and I decided I was going to show him. The doctor suggested I see a nutritionist, but I really didn't see the point. I know what to do, I just got lazy and was enjoying that chocolate, popcorn, ice cream, corn chips a few too many times every week. I knew what to do, I just wasn't doing it. Now was the time to fix my diet. Judo is my sport and I want to compete in an event at the end of April. Since I compete in the 70 kg weight class, but my weight has been hovering around 76 kg, I needed to get my butt in gear if I was going to drop 6 kg in a couple of months. In order to motivate myself, I started researching on the web again. Visiting my favorite hunting grounds of paleo and keto diets, I came across the Bulletproof Diet, which I had heard about before, but never really looked at it. It seemed like a new approach to the same problem, so I wanted to read his take on it. This lead me down eating a ton of butter, trying to intermittent fast, and overall eating less and having much better blood sugars. I would still go out to eat and eat those corn chips, or eat way too much protein in a meal causing my blood sugar to Continue reading >>
Study Investigates Type 1 Diabetes Fasting Risks And Blood Sugar Control During Ramadan
Study investigates type 1 diabetes fasting risks and blood sugar control during Ramadan Study investigates type 1 diabetes fasting risks and blood sugar control during Ramadan A new study has investigated the risk of fasting during Ramadan for people with type 1 diabetes , and how insulin pump therapy compared to multiple daily injections (MDI) in controlling blood glucose levels. Last year, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) issued new guidelines for people with diabetes during Ramadan, which is observed by more than one billion Muslims every year. People with type 1 diabetes are not advised to fast during Ramadan , which this year takes place between Friday 26 May and Saturday 24 June. This is because fasting while taking insulin can increase the risk of hypoglycemia . Insulin treatment should not be discontinued during Ramadan because this can raise the likelihood of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). In this new study, conducted by the University of Colorado Denver, 156 participants with type 1 diabetes were observed, all of whom fasted during Ramadan. The participants either used insulin pump therapy or MDI, with blood glucose data collecting using self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). While glucose variability was slightly better in the insulin pump group, there was no difference in blood sugar control or rates of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia between the groups. "To our knowledge, our study provides the first data about glucose profiles of patients with type 1 diabetes who use insulin pump therapy compared to those who use MDI during Ramadan fast," wrote the study authors. "Our data showed that these patients can safely fast during Ramadan, a finding that concurs with other observations. However, a significant numbe Continue reading >>
Fasting Recommendations For Patients With Insulin-dependent Diabetes
Can patients with insulin-dependent diabetes safely fast for medical or religious reasons? Response from Andrea G. Scott, PharmD, MPH Pharmacist, StoneSprings Hospital Center, Dulles, Virginia Fasting is a challenge for all patients but can be particularly difficult for patients with insulin-dependent diabetes. Patients may have to fast for laboratory tests, surgery, diagnostic procedures (eg, colonoscopy), or religious reasons. The duration of the fast is also important because it can affect how much insulin a patient will need during that time. Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes need to understand the management of diabetes during fasting to prevent hypoglycemia (blood glucose < 70 mg/mL or 3.9 mmol/L). Not eating for an extended period of time leads to decreased blood glucose in all patients. In patients without diabetes, insulin levels decrease as glucagon increases, and the act of glycogenolysis provides about 75% of glucose requirements.[ 1 ] This mechanism allows blood glucose levels to remain within a normal range. In patients with insulin-dependent diabetes, the glucagon response is lost, and epinephrine becomes the main method to increase gluconeogenesis in the liver. However, the epinephrine response also diminishes over time; thus, patients with insulin-dependent diabetes are at risk for hypoglycemia.[ 2 ] Symptoms of hypoglycemia include sweating, shaking, mood changes, hunger, headache, tachycardia, and, in severe cases, unconsciousness, seizures, and coma.[ 2 ] Healthcare professionals should discuss the symptoms of hypoglycemia with patients who are planning to fast. The duration of the fast and the type of insulin used can help guide insulin treatment during the fasting period. Some minor adjustments to insulin may be required if patients are fas Continue reading >>
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Intermittent Fasting With Type 1 Diabetes
Intermittent Fasting with Type 1 Diabetes If your first reaction to intermittent fasting with type 1 diabetes isOh my gosh, my blood sugar would be so low! I could never do that! then definitely keep reading. In this guide, I will cover everything you need to know about intermittent fasting with type 1 diabetes: Whats the point of intermittent fasting? There are 3 general reasons a person might want to pursue intermittent fasting. Weight-loss: This is the most obvious and most common reason to give it a try. Simplicity: Reducing the number of hours each day that you have to think about food, track food, make decisions around food, and cook food can be really freeing! Instead of frantically and unexpectedly skipping meals because of a hectic schedule, intermittent fasting allows you to properly and methodically skip eating during parts of the time. Energy: Once you get going, and youre no longer freaking out about, How hungry will I feel!?!this approach to eating can actually give you quite a boost of energy because your body will be burning fat for fuel instead of relying on sugar from your blood. Body fat is an endless source of energy. Before we get started: if your blood sugar drops just because you dont eat for a handful of hours, youre taking too much background/basal insulin via pump or injection. Talk to your CDE or primary care doctor about basal testing. (Or check out Gary Scheiners book, Think Like a Pancreas and do the basal testing yourself!) Basal testing literally consists of purposefully skipping a meal (or two) in order to see if your insulin keeps your blood sugar steady, or if your blood sugar significantly rises or falls out of your personal goal range. If it rises, youre not getting enough background/basal insulin. If it falls, then youre clearly ge Continue reading >>
The Benefits Of Water Fasting For Exceptional Diabetes Health
MDAE E36: The Benefits of Water Fasting for Exceptional Diabetes Health Alan Goldhamer, DC: Many people you cant even get them to eat the food for a day, even for a meal, because its tasteless swill. They cant eat that whole natural foods because it doesnt have any salt, oil, and sugar that theyre addicted to. They are caught in the dietary pleasure trap. And so, when you fast them and then the good food tastes good, now theyre willing to go along. So here is who I say needs to fast. If you cant do the diet and lifestyle changes because youre too much of an addict, sometimes getting a little extra help is helpful. If youve done the diet lifestyle changes, but its not responding quickly enough, well, then that may be a way of facilitating. But the most important thing for everybody is to control what you put in your mouth, get the right amount of sleep your body needs to heal, and engage in appropriate productive activity. Cyrus Khambatta, PhD: Welcome to the Mastering Diabetes Audio Experience, where we teach you how to sit in the driver's seat of your diabetes health for the rest of your life. Well teach you how to reverse insulin resistance, achieve your ideal body weight, gain energy and get your best A1c following more than 85 years of evidence-based research in the Mastering Diabetes Program. Robby Barbaro: Our program teaches you how to reverse prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and how to simplify your life with type 1 diabetes by maximizing your insulin sensitivity, using food as medicine. Cyrus Khambatta, PhD: We're on a bold mission to reverse insulin resistance in 1 million people. We're glad to have you joining us. Robby Barbaro: Welcome to the Mastering Diabetes Audio Experience. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen, and your interest in low-fat, Continue reading >>
Is It Safe To Fast When You Have Diabetes? Guidelines For Fasting With Diabetes
Fasting when you have diabetes either Type 1 or Type 2 can be rather risky. However, it is not impossible if you are working in collaboration with your doctor and diabetes care team. The challenge behind fasting with diabetes is the skipping of meals. As someone with diabetes, you know the importance of managing your blood glucose levels and how much this relies on making sure you eat regular meals at the right time. So, what does skipping meals do to your blood glucose levels? Well get into this further in this article, but first lets discuss the different types of fasting. Before we continue with this article, I wanted to let you know we have researched and compiled science-backed ways to stick to your diet and reverse your diabetes. Want to check out our insights? Download our free PDF Guide Power Foods to Eat here. Below you will find a brief overview of the different types of fasting and both the pros and cons to each type: Intermittent fasting is the abstinence of food regularly such as once a week. This type of fasting can be done as part of a spiritual fast or as a conscience health decision for part of your typical diet. Most diets help you to achieve your goal of weight loss through the same type of equation. You consume less calories and food each day than you burn during periods of activity. The theory behind an intermittent fast for weight loss is that tit will help you to decrease your bodys overall appetite by slowing down your metabolism. An intermittent fast can be useful for some as they help you to establish a routine that fits in with your daily activities. Common types of intermittent fasting include fasting once daily for anywhere from 16-24 hours. There are three popular/ common methods used to fast intermittently. They include: Eat-Stop-And-Eat: Continue reading >>
Fasting Safely With Diabetes
Fasting can be a challenge for anyone, but it can be especially difficult for someone with diabetes. As any diabetic knows, successful blood sugar management relies on healthy meals eaten at regularly spaced intervals. So what happens when one or more meals need to be skipped for religious reasons or because of a medical or dental procedure? Each individual's situation is different, so consultation with your physician is crucial. That said, there are some general guidelines that can help when it comes to fasting with diabetes. Diabetes and Fasting: Does Type Matter? Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, fasting needs to be approached with care. "Fasting should be rare if you have diabetes because an individual with type 1 or type 2 on oral medication can experience hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)," says Amy Kranick, a certified diabetes educator with Diabetes Care Club in Nashville, Tenn. Risks from low blood sugar include seizure, coma, or even death if left untreated. On the other hand, depending on the individual, fasting without using insulin can result in high blood sugars or in diabetic ketoacidosis (a serious diabetes complication caused by blood build-up of acids called ketones). Dehydration is another fear if fluids are avoided during the fast. Diabetes and Fasting: Does the Reason Make a Difference? That being said, people with diabetes may want or need to fast for a variety of reasons, and the length of the fast can affect what actions you need to take. Here are some examples: Religious reasons. Some people with diabetes may want to fast for religious observances such as Yom Kippur or Ramadan. Given the risky nature of fasting with diabetes, this isn't necessarily a good idea. "Both [Judaism and Islam] have guidelines that exempt those people who will be Continue reading >>
Type 1 Diabetes And Prolonged Fasting.
Abstract AIMS: Fasting is common in several religions. The aims of this study were to determine if prolonged fasting (> 25 h) is safe for individuals with Type 1 diabetes and to identify factors associated with success. METHODS: Patients intending to fast were instructed on insulin dose adjustments, frequent glucose monitoring and when to terminate the fast using a standard protocol. Clinical and epidemiological factors were recorded and a comparison was made between successful and unsuccessful fasters. RESULTS: Of 56 subjects who intended to fast, 37 (65%) were successful. Individuals terminated their fast in the presence of either hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia and adherence to the protocol was high. There were no serious side-effects of fasting. Successful fasters had greater reductions in insulin dosage and higher HbA(1c). There were no differences between individuals taking intermittent insulin injections and those with continuous infusion pumps. CONCLUSIONS: Persons with Type 1 diabetes can participate safely in prolonged fasts provided they reduce their usual insulin dose significantly and adhere to guidelines regarding glucose monitoring and indications for terminating fasting. Continue reading >>
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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 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 >>
