Diabetes remission through intermittent calorie-restricted diet

Tailored: Anti-diabetic medication dosage was adjusted during the trial depending on blood glucose levels.

A small randomised, control trial with intermittent calorie-restricted diet carried out in people with type-2 diabetes was able to achieve remission in nearly 50% of the participants in the intervention group at the end of three months of follow-up after the trial. The trial lasted for three months. Even at 12 months of follow-up, remission was seen in 44% of the participants. All participants who achieved remission had completely stopped taking any drug to control blood sugar, and the remission lasted at least one year.

Even with the more stringent criteria for complete remission, which describes a return to normal measures of glucose metabolism (HbA1c in the normal range, and fasting blood glucose of 100 mg/dL) of at least one year duration in the absence of any anti-diabetic drugs, 33.3% (12/36) of participants in the intervention group achieved complete remission.

While many studies have validated the effectiveness and benefits of intermittent fasting in people with type-2 diabetes, no clinical trials have so far investigated the effectiveness of intermittent fasting in achieving remission.  

For the trial, remission was defined as stable HbA1c levels less than 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) after discontinuing anti-diabetic medications for at least three months. During the trial, dosage of anti-diabetic medications was adjusted depending on blood glucose levels. 

The…