Study: Intermittent Fasting Shows Link to Diabetes Remission

After an intermittent fasting diet, individuals achieved complete diabetes remission, according to results of a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.¹

Diabetes remission was defined as a hemoglobin A1C level of less than 6.5% at least 1 year after stopping diabetes medication, according to investigators.¹

“Type 2 diabetes [T2D] is not necessarily a permanent, lifelong disease. Diabetes remission is possible if patients lose weight by changing their diet and exercise habits,” Dongbo Liu, PhD, of Hunan Agricultural University in Changsha, China, said in a statement.

“Our research shows an intermittent fasting, Chinese Medical Nutrition Therapy, can lead to diabetes remission in people with [T2D], and these findings could have a major impact on the over 537 million adults worldwide who suffer from the disease,” he said.¹

Intermittent-fasting diets consist of fasting for a certain number of hours each day or eating just 1 meal a couple of days a week during a specific window of time.

Research results have shown that intermittent fasting can help lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease, investigators said.¹

Investigators conducted a 3-month intermittent-fasting-diet intervention among 36 individuals with diabetes and found that almost 90%, including those where were on blood sugar-lowering agents and insulin, reduced their diabetes medication intake.¹

Additionally, they found that 55% of those individuals maintained diabetes remission for 1 year after the discontinuation of their medications.¹

“Diabetes medications are costly and a barrier for many patients who are trying to effectively manage their diabetes. Our study saw medication costs decrease by 77% in people with diabetes after intermittent fasting,” Liu said.¹

The results challenge the view that diabetes remission can only be achieved in a shorter diabetes duration, from 0 to 6 years, investigators said.

They found that approximately 65% of participants who achieved remission had diabetes for more than 6 years, with a range consisting of 6 to 11 years.¹

The study was funded from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and results were published online ahead of print.¹

More than 37 million Americans have diabetes, with approximately 90% to 95% having T2D, according to the CDC.

T2D is most common in individuals over aged 45 years, but adolescents and young adults have also been developing it more frequently.²

T2D occurs when cells do not respond normally to insulin, called insulin resistance, and more insulin is created, increasing blood sugar. High blood sugar can cause other health problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease, and vision loss.²

A blood shows if a patient has diabetes. T2D symptoms can develop over several years and can go a long time without being noticed.²

References

1. Intermittent fasting may reverse type 2 diabetes. EurekAlert. News release. December 14, 2022. Accessed December 20, 2022. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/974023

2. Diabetes: type 2 diabetes. CDC. Updated December 16, 2021. Accessed December 20, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html