Low Calorie Diet may Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

(Extraído de Medindia.net)

by Kathy Jones on  June 24, 2011 at 6:42 PM

Researchers from Newcastle University in Britain have suggested that type II diabetes could be reversed in new patients by making them undergo an extremely low calorie diet for two months.
The study, which has been published in the journal Diabetologia, suggests that making the patients undergo an 8-week diet consisting of just 600 calories a day can reverse the condition by reducing the fat levels in the pancreas and restoring the insulin production level to normal.

The researchers used 11 newly diagnosed type II diabetes patients who were restricted to liquid diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables for two months. At the end of eight weeks, the researchers found that the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of all the patients were normal while MRI scans proved that the level of fat content in the pancreas decreased from 8 percent to 6 percent.
However lead researcher Professor Roy Taylor was quick to point out that the only aim of the study was to check whether substantial weight loss helped diabetes patients. “Although this study involved people diagnosed with diabetes within the last four years, there is potential for people with longer-standing diabetes to turn things around too”, he added.