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Permanently Reverse Diabetes

Study concludes that people who reverse their diabetes and then keep their weight down, with a low-calorie diet, remain free of the disease.

In 2011, a study led by Professor Roy Taylor, Professor of Medicine and Metabolism at Newcastle University, proved that diabetes can be reversed using a very low calorie diet. Although this looked promising, the study was of a limited length of time, only 8 weeks, and whether or not the diabetes would stay away long-term was questionable. A recent study, again led by Professor Roy Taylor, involved 30 volunteers with Type 2 diabetes, who undertook the same diet of 600-700 calories per day. Participants lost an average of 14 kilograms. Over the next six months, they did not regain any weight that they had lost. This group contained many participants who had longer duration diabetes, which they defined as over 8 years and up to 23 years. 12 patients who had diabetes for less than 10 years reversed their condition and were still free of diabetes 6 months later. Additionally, after 6 months, a 13th patient had also reversed their diabetes. Although the participants lost weight, they still remained overweight or obese, however they had lost enough weight to remove the fat out of the pancreas, allowing for insulin production to be normal. Professor Roy Taylor stated: “What we have shown is that it is possible to reverse your diabetes, even if you have had the condition for a long time, up to around 10 years. If you have had the diagnosis for longer than that, then don’t give up hope – major improvement in blood sugar control is possible. “The study also answered the question that people often ask me – if I lose the weight and keep the weight off, will I stay free of diabetes? The simple answer is yes! “Interestingly, even though all our volunteers remained obese or overweight, the fat did not drift back to clog up the pancreas.” “The bottom line is that if a person really wants to get rid of their Type 2 diabetes, they can lose weight, keep it off and return to normal.”

Very low calorie diet and 6 months of weight stability in Type 2 diabetes: Pathophysiologic changes in responders and non-responders. Sarah Steven, Keiren G Hollingsworth, Ahmad Al-Mrabeh, Leah Avery, Benjamin Aribisala, Muriel Caslake, Roy Taylor, Diabetes Care. DOI: 10.2337/dc15-9422

Journal reference: Diabetes Care search and more info website

Provided by: Newcastle University