How intermittent fasting can help people with diabetes

By Ellie McDonald via SWNS

Intermittent fasting can help people with diabetes safely lose weight and control blood sugar levels, according to a new study.

Researchers found that people with type 2 diabetes who only ate during an eight-hour window each day lost more weight over six months than those who reduced their calorie intake by 25 percent.

Both groups also had similar reductions in long-term blood sugar levels, according to the findings, published in JAMA Network Open.

Study senior author Professor Krista Varady, of the University of Illinois in the US, said: “Our study shows that time-restricted eating might be an effective alternative to traditional dieting for people who can’t do the traditional diet or are burned out on it.

“For many people trying to lose weight, counting time is easier than counting calories.”

The study included 75 participants into three groups: those who followed the time-restricted eating rules, those who reduced calories and a control group.

Participants’ weight, waist circumference, blood sugar levels and other health indicators were measured over six months.

Those in the time-restricted eating group found it easier to follow the regime than those in the calorie-reducing group.

The research team believes that was because patients with diabetes are often told to cut back on calories by their doctors as a first line of defense, so many of these participants likely had already tried — and struggled with — that form of dieting.

While the participants in the time-restricted eating group were not instructed to reduce their calorie intake, they ended up doing so by eating within a fixed window.

Anyone can develop type 2 diabetes but it mostly affects people over 25 often with a family history, and the number of cases is expected to rise.

The research team says finding more options for controlling weight and blood sugar levels is, therefore, crucial.