Low carb high-fat diet may reduce blood sugar significantly in diabetes
Obesity is the prime factor
responsible for the increasing number of T2D cases worldwide. Modest weight
loss accompanied by lifestyle changes may halt the progression of prediabetes
to diabetes and also reduce the levels of blood sugar in T2D patients. The
standard for T2D treatment is regular physical activity, dietary modifications,
and the use of antihyperglycemic medications. In lieu of the rising prevalence
of T2D, conventional therapy for the disease may be adequate. Given the broad
range of diets used in previous studies, an optimal diet to achieve weight loss
and improve blood sugar control remains unclear.
In randomized controlled trials and
observational studies, LCHF diets have yielded promising results in managing
T2D. Despite the favorable results about the LCHF diet, its precise impact on
metabolism is still uncertain because macronutrient proportions were
inconsistent between past studies, with carbohydrates as high as 40% of total
calories, potentially diluting the impact.
For the
purpose, the researchers investigated the effects of LCHF duet compared with
usual care in a community-based cohort of T2D patients. They performed a
retrospective study of 49 patients who followed the LCHF diet for â¥3 months.
They compared glycemic outcomes with age-matched and body mass index
(BMI)-matched controls who received usual care (n=75). The primary outcome was
a change in A1C from baseline to the end of follow-up.
Key findings of the study include:
Key findings of the study include:
Compared
with the usual care group, the LCHF group showed a significantly greater
reduction in A1C (â1.29%) and body weight (â12.8âkg) at the end of follow-up
after adjusting for age, sex, baseline A1C, BMI, baseline insulin dose.
Of the
patients initially taking insulin therapy in the LCHF group, 100% discontinued
it or had a reduction in dose, compared with 23.1% in the usual care group.
The LCHF
group also had significantly greater reduction in fasting blood sugar (â43.5 vs
â8.5âmg/mL) compared with usual care.
"In a
community-based cohort of type 2 diabetes, the LCHF diet was associated with
superior A1C reduction, greater weight loss and significantly more patients
discontinuing or reducing antihyperglycemic therapies suggesting that the LCHF
diet may be a metabolically favorable option in the dietary management of type
2 diabetes," concluded the authors.
glycemic control and body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes:
experience from a community-based cohort," is published in the
journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care.
T