Type 2 diabetes is considered a lifelong, progressive illness, but new research from the UK suggests it is curable, if you essentially stop eating for eight weeks.
Announced on June 24, researchers from Newcastle University enlisted 11 people with Type 2 diabetes in an extreme eight-week diet: cutting their daily calorie intake to just 600 calories a day and consuming only specially formulated drinks and non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, etc.) for two months. Within a week, the volunteers' blood sugar levels returned to normal. Within months after returning to a normal diet, seven of the 11 volunteers remained free of the disease.
"To have people free of diabetes after years with the condition is remarkable -- and all because of an eight-week diet," said study lead Roy Taylor in a statement. "This is a radical change in understanding Type 2 diabetes." He adds, "While it has long been believed that someone with Type 2 diabetes will always have the disease, and that it will steadily get worse, we have shown that we can reverse the condition."
Researchers add that the diet isn't meant to be an easy fix, and advise that any extreme diet of this nature be undertaken only under medical supervision. Also more research needs to be done to see whether the reversal of diabetes will remain in the long term.
In a more comprehensive four-year study, researchers found that patients who adhered to a Mediterranean-style eating plan improved blood-sugar levels. A Mediterranean diet group emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats including olive oil, and lean protein sources such as fish.
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