Can intermittent fasting help reverse type 2 diabetes?

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 10, 2018 (HealthDay News) – A small, casual fast can help control type 2 diabetes, suggests a small Canadian study.

"The use of a fasting therapeutic regimen for the treatment of [type 2 diabetes] is virtually unknown, "said Dr. Jason Fung of Scarborough Hospital, Ontario, and his colleagues.

But this trial showed that fasting 24-hour diets could drastically reverse or eliminate the need for anti-diabetic drugs, said the study's authors.

Three men, aged 40 to 67, were taking various medications and daily insulin injections to control their diabetes. They also had high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

After a six-hour training seminar, two of the men fasted every other day for 24 hours, while the third fasted three days a week.

On fasting days, they were allowed to drink very low calorie drinks (tea / coffee, water or broth) and to eat a very low calorie meal in the evening.

All three were able to stop their insulin injections a month after the start of their fasting program. For a man, it took only five days.

The authors of the study indicated that two of them were able to stop taking their other diabetes medications, while the third had stopped three out of four.

According to the study, the trio lost between 10% and 18% of its weight and reduced its blood sugar level, which could help reduce the risk of future complications of diabetes.

The results were published on October 9 in the journal BMJ case reports.

As this was an observational study involving only three patients, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions about the use of fasting to treat type 2 diabetes, the researchers noted.

Nevertheless, the results are remarkable, as one in 10 Americans and one in 10 Canadians have type 2 diabetes, investigators said in a press release. The disease is associated with other serious health problems and premature death.

More information

The American Diabetes Association has more about type 2 diabetes.