Study reveals diet that can help slim people fight diabetes

A new study has shown that slim people with type 2 diabetes can reverse the condition by consuming smoothies and vegetables.

Type 2 diabetes is a medical condition in which your body does not use insulin properly, resulting in unusual blood sugar levels.

Past studies have established that the condition — often associated with people suffering from obesity — can be treated by undergoing a drastic 800-calorie daily diet.

But according to Daily Mail, research has established that not only obese patients can suffer from type 2 diabetes.

The study found that slim people battling the condition can treat it with a combination of smoothies and vegetables — which help them to shed fats.

To arrive at their findings, the Newcastle University-led researchers sampled 20 people with a normal body mass index (BMI) and type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found that a majority of the samples have large amounts of fat in their liver or pancreas, placing them in a group known as TOFI-thin on the outside and fat on the inside.

The participants were then taken off their diabetes medication and put on a diet of nutritionally complete shakes in flavours like strawberry and chocolate for two to four weeks.

The diet also includes non-starchy vegetables like courgettes and mushrooms. The researchers ensured the participants engaged in healthy eating for 12 months as they were prevented from taking processed and high-calorie foods.

The researchers found that shortly after they started the diet, half of the group felt relieved of pains from diabetes immediately as they lost an average of 5 per cent of their body weight.

Another four were also found to experience remission after they repeated the diet for another one to two times to achieve up to 15 per cent weight loss.

Roy Taylor, the lead researcher from Newcastle University, presented the results of the study at the UK 2022 professional diabetes conference.

“Almost everyone in our trial had been told by their doctor or nursing practitioner not to lose weight to tackle their diabetes, because they were a normal weight,” he said.

“That is clearly wrong, because we now know everyone has an individual weight threshold, and if their weight goes above that, they might develop type 2 diabetes.

“For the majority of people who have had diabetes for less than six years, they can reverse their diabetes through careful weight loss in consultation with a doctor.”

On his part, Chris Askew, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said the “game-changing” study has provided fresh perspectives into how diabetes can be reversed.

‘This game-changing study from Professor Taylor and his team advances our understanding of why type 2 diabetes develops, and what can be done to treat it,” Askew said.