Promising New Study Using Diet Changes To Treat Type 2 Diabetes
Published May 20, 2023, 3:20 p.m. by Monica Louis
In a new study, researchers say they may have found a way to treat type 2 diabetes with diet changes.
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, found that a specific diet may help to reverse the effects of diabetes.
The diet, which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, is known as the ketogenic diet.
The study's lead author, Dr. Timo Söderlund, said that the ketogenic diet has been shown to be effective in treating other diseases, such as cancer.
"We thought, 'Why not try it in diabetes?'" Söderlund said.
The researchers divided the participants into two groups. One group followed a ketogenic diet for 16 weeks, while the other group followed a more traditional diabetes diet.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that the ketogenic diet group had significantly lower levels of sugar in their blood than the diabetes diet group.
"The results were really quite striking," Söderlund said.
The researchers say that the ketogenic diet may work by changing the way the body metabolizes sugar.
"It's possible that the ketogenic diet is changing the way the body handles sugar," Söderlund said. "We need to do more research to confirm this."
If the findings are confirmed, the ketogenic diet could be a promising new treatment for type 2 diabetes.
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A NEW KIND OF TARGETED DIETING
AIMED AT REVERSING THE
CONDITION.
LET'S GET MORE FROM KATE SNOW.
>> Reporter: HE ALWAYS THOUGHT
HE WAS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE, HE
IS A PERSONAL TRAINER AND
REALTOR IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.
BUT TYPE 2 DIABETES RUNS IN HIS
FAMILY.
>> MY GRANDMOTHER HAD DIABETES.
MY MOM.
MY SISTER HAS IT.
>> Reporter: HE WAS SO BUSY, HE
USED TO GRAB FAST FOOD, SWEET
TEA, ENERGY DRINKS.
>> PEOPLE SEE YOU AND THINK OH,
YOU WORK OUT, YOU'RE HEALTHY.
THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU.
THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
>> NOT IF YOU'RE NOT EATING
RIGHT.
>> Reporter: A FEW YEARS AGO HE
WAS DIAGNOSED WITH TYPE 2
DIABETES AND PRESCRIBED
MEDICINE.
BUT HE WANTED ALTERNATIVES.
SO HE VOLUNTEERED FOR A STUDY AT
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT
BIRMINGHAM, LOOKING AT TWO
DIETS.
HE WAS PUT ON A LOW CARB DIET
FOR THREE MONTHS.
EVERY TUESDAY, A BOX OF FOOD
ARRIVED WITH RECIPES.
>> YOU COULD PUT WHATEVER
VEGETABLES YOU WANT.
>> Reporter: THIS NUTRITION
RESEARCHER LAUNCHED THE STUDY
FIVE YEARS AGO.
>> AMERICANS TEND TO EAT A LOT
OF SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATES AND
YOU REACH A LIMIT TO STORE THE
EXCESS CALORIES.
AND THAT ESSENTIALLY IS WHAT
ULTIMATELY LEADS TO TYPE 2
DIABETES.
>> Reporter: THE WHITE WE ARE
SEEING IS FAT IN BETWEEN THE
ORGANS?
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
>> Reporter: THE KEY TO THE
STUDY, TARGETING FAT AROUND THE
ORGANS LIKE THE PANCREAS AND
LIVER.
>> WHEN SOMEONE HAS DIABETES,
THEY NO LONGER HAVE THE IDEA TO
METABOLIZE CARBOHYDRATES
DIRECTLY AND THEY'RE CONVERTING
A LOT OF THOSE TO HARMFUL FATS,
STORED IN AND AROUND THE ORGANS.
WE TAKE THOSE CARBOHYDRATES OUT
OF THE DIET WITH THE IDEA IF WE
DO THAT, WE MAY ALLOW THE BODY
TO RECOVER.
>> COULD THAT POTENTIALLY
REVERSE TYPE 2 DIABETES?
>> YES, IT COULD.
>> Reporter: THE RESULTS SO FAR
ARE PROMISING.
FOR DECADES PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ON
MEDICATION FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES.
COULD THIS BE WHOLESALE CHANGE
HOW YOU LOOK AT IT?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
I AM CONVINCED WE CAN TREAT
INDIVIDUALS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES
WITH DIET.
>> Reporter: TODAY, HE IS NO
LONGER CONSIDERED DIABETIC AND
FOUND CREATIVE WAYS TO SATISFY
HIS SWEET TOOTH.
>> I MAY TAKE A CHOCOLATE
PROTEIN SHAKE, EAT SOME ALMONDS,
