A CURE FOR DIABETES
Crash diet can REVERSE Type 2 in three months
A CRASH diet lasting just three months can reverse Type 2 diabetes, a landmark study has shown. Nearly half the people who underwent the diet saw their condition go into remission — providing the strongest evidence yet that diabetes can be eradicated by simply losing weight.
The patients had struggled with their condition for up to six years, using drugs to control their blood sugar levels. But a year after starting the 850-calorie-a-day diet, 75 per cent were drug free and 46 per cent had seen their blood sugar drop so far they were no longer considered diabetic.
Among those who lost the most weight the results were even more extraordinary, the Lancet publication shows.
Some 86 per cent of people who lost more than 15kg (2st 5lb) went into remission, along with 57 per cent of those who lost 10kg (1st 8lb) to 15kg, and 34 per cent of those who lost 5kg (11lb) to 10kg. The British project — led by the universities of Newcastle and Glasgow — could fundamentally change the way the NHS deals with the UK’s booming diabetes epidemic.
More than four million people in Britain have Type 2 diabetes, costing the NHS £14 billion a year. The disease — driven by obesity —was thought to be incurable once developed, and patients are usually just given drugs to control their blood sugar.
Study leader Professor Roy Taylor, of Newcastle University, said: ‘These findings are very exciting. The weightloss goals provided by this programme are achievable for many people.’
The team believes Type 2 diabetes is caused when accumulated fat in the pancreas and liver interferes with insulin production, which in turn sees blood sugar levels spiking. Professor Taylor said: