People living with type 2 diabetes may find relief from daily insulin injections through a low-carb diet, according to a new study.
Just six months of a strict, low-carb diet, meaning that less than 26% of daily calories come from carbohydrates, could lower blood sugar levels to a point where you no longer they need medication, according to results based on data from more than 1,357 participants with metabolic disease.
In addition, the diet resulted in weight loss and fewer diabetic episodes, compared to people with other recommended diets, such as low-fat diets.
However, at the 12-month interval, the researchers found a decrease in the benefits provided by the low-carbohydrate diet. They point out that previous research included in the analysis, published Wednesday in the BMJ, may have had its limitations and suggest that more study is needed on how low-carbohydrate diets could be used to relieve some diabetic symptoms.
For example, doctors could prescribe a short-term low-carb diet “for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, while actively monitoring and adjusting diabetes medication as needed.”
The low-carb diet, made famous by weight loss guru Robert Atkins, later became controversial, as former members of the starch-free diet complained that their pounds would return furiously once they were they reintroduced carbohydrates. Studies ended up relating the fad diet to other health problems, such as cardiac arrhythmia and premature death.
Still, the regime is popular to this day, with benefits that scientists do not yet fully understand. A 2019 study suggested that the diet could strengthen the lungs against the flu by causing the production of protective mucus in the lining of the organs, a “totally unexpected finding,” one researcher said at the time.