Fasting-mimicking Diet May Reverse Diabetes

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, characte 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 by reprogramming cells, 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.
"Cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet and a normal diet essentially reprogrammed non-insulin-producing cells into insulin-producing cells," said Longo, who is also a professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. "By activating the regeneration of pancreatic cells, we were able to rescue mice from late-stage type 1 and type 2 diabetes. We 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, he 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 study showed a remarkable reversal of diabetes in mice placed on the fasting-mimicking diet for four days each week. They regained healthy insulin production, reduced insulin Continue reading

Fasting Diet Could Reverse Diabetes By Regenerating Pancreas, Study Suggests

Following a simple fasting diet could help those living with diabetes, according to a recent study.
Brief periods of fasting has been shown to regenerate the pancreas, by “rebooting” cells that are unable to produce insulin - the hormone that helps control blood sugar levels.
According to the NHS, diabetes is caused when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal blood glucose level, or the body is unable to use the insulin that is produced.
There are 3.9 million people currently living with diabetes in the UK and by 2025 it is estimated that five million people will suffer from the condition - 90% of whom will have Type 2 diabetes.
The “fasting-mimicking” diet, which was tested on mice, provided an “exciting” alternative approach to treating the condition.
The diet involves five days of fasting on a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate, high-unsaturated fat diet, then returning to a normal diet.
“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,” explained lead author Dr Valter Longo, from the University of Southern California.
The mouse experiments were showed to benefit both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
“Medically, these findings have the potential to be very important because we’ve shown - at least in mouse models - that you can use diet to reverse the symptoms of diabetes,” Dr Longo added Continue reading

To Mark World Diabetes Day, Israeli Company Promotes Needle-Free Glucose Test

To mark World Diabetes Day, the Israeli medical company Cnoga Medical is promoting its new, pain-free way to monitor blood glucose levels with the aim of easing the significant discomfort of patients who suffer from diabetes and who must track their sugar levels using a finger-pricking glucose meter a number of times a day.
Cnoga Medical‘s non-invasive glucometer “uses a camera to provide optical diagnosis of blood glucose level by observing changing color shades of the user’s finger,” the company said in a statement, released ahead of World Diabetes Day marked annually on November 14 to honor Canadian Dr. Frederick Banting, the co-discoverer of insulin, who was born on November 14, 1891.
SEE ALSO: Betalin Aims To End Insulin Injections By Treating Type 1 Diabetes With Cell Transplants
Cnoga says the device, launched last year and already approved for use in a number of countries worldwide including Italy, Brazil and China, “offers accurate blood glucose results that are comparable to those of a fingerprick,” but without the needles.
“It learns to correlate the user’s optical skin-tone characteristics with camera readings,” after a short training period, after which it “operates quickly, accurately, making tracking and compliance easier patients living with diabetes.”
“An array of light-emitting-diodes (LED) shines light in wavelengths from visual to infrared through the fingertip. As the light waves pass through the fingertip, some of it is absorbed and the reflected light signal is changed. A camera sensor detects the changes in the light signal in Continue reading

Could going low-carb help you fight off diabetes? The usual advice for Type 2 is to eat plenty. But now a number of patients and doctors are leading a growing rebellion

For more than 30 years, the official advice to people with diabetes has been to ensure starchy carbo-hydrates, such as pasta, rice and potatoes, feature heavily in every meal while fats should be kept to a minimum.
But is it right? Not according to the increasing number of patients and doctors leading a grassroots rebellion against the standard advice.
They argue for a low-carb approach, claiming it can be more effective for weight loss and blood sugar control.
‘The low-carb diet has several beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes,’ says Dr Clare Bailey, a GP in Buckinghamshire, and wife of TV doctor Michael Mosley.
‘If it were a drug, companies would be running large trials to get it licensed.’
She and others want a low-carb diet to be offered to patients as another option, rather than the ‘high carbs for all’ advice.
The low-carb approach is a variation on the low-carb, high-protein Atkins diet, which was popular in the Nineties. Overweight people who had type 2 diabetes found that as well as shedding pounds, it stopped big rises in their blood sugar.
Keeping blood sugar under control is vital as it helps reduce the risk of diabetes complications such as heart disease and damage to the blood vessels (which can lead to ulcers and even amputation).
Around 80 per cent of the £20 billion the NHS spends on diabetes care goes on treating complications, says Diabetes UK.
Low-carb fans claim this diet is better for people with type 2 diabetes because they can’t handle glucose effectively. Since all carbohydrates, from refined flour to wholegrains and fresh vegetables Continue reading