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in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
January 11, 2023
Intermittent fasting would (also) have positive effects on diabetes and could allow a lasting remission. This is at least what emerges from a small study of 36 patients.
Adopting an intermittent fasting regimen could help diabetics to control the disease and reduce their doses of medication, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism of the Endocrine Society.
840 calories for five days
Although intermittent fasting is very popular at the moment, its benefits are not favored by all health experts. And yet: a new study claims that this dietary practice could lead to diabetes remission in people with type 2 diabetes.
To reach this conclusion, a team of researchers recruited 36 patients, aged 38 to 72.
All had type 2 diabetes for between one and eleven years and were using anti-diabetic drugs and/or insulin injections. Their body mass index (BMI) ranged between 19.1 and 30.4.
The fast, imposed here on the participants, involved eating very little for five days (about 840 calories a day) and consuming only liquid ingredients: fruit and vegetable porridge, nutritious rice topped with hot water, biscuit diluted in water made from black beans, corn and oats…
Then, for the next ten days, it was again possible to eat normally.
90% of participants reduced their medication use
Result ? After three months, nearly 90% of participants with diabetes — including people taking blood sugar lowering medications and insulin — reduced their medication use.
After one year, nearly half of the volunteers (44.4%) also achieved lasting diabetes remission. For the researchers, these results are therefore promising.
“This study demonstrated the clinical efficacy of [jeûne intermittent] to achieve diabetes remission for at least one year“, they claim.
NO to diets, YES to WW!
Intermittent fasting is an interesting lead that remains to be confirmed
Nevertheless, the study remains extremely small (36 people) and the long-term effects of fasting on diabetes have not been analysed. Further research will therefore have to confirm these initial results, because hyperglycemia can return after several years.
For Dr. Kierzek, these results are part of the long list of benefits of intermittent fasting, which we continue to discover day after day.
“These positive effects do not surprise me, since type 2 diabetes results from a diet that is too rich. Considering a dietary restriction in the management of diabetes, accompanied by physical activity, is therefore an interesting avenue. However, it must always be subject to medical supervision.“, specifies the medical director of Doctissimo.