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Type 2 diabetes can be ‘reversed’ with ‘800 to 900-calorie a day’ diet
The latest results from an ongoing Path to Remission program reveal that total diet replacement can effectively reverse type 2 diabetes.�Almost a third of those who participated in the research trial experienced remission after 12 months and lost 10% of their body weight.
The study shows that, even outside research settings, remission of type 2 diabetes is possible. Participants who lost the most weight during the trial had the greatest chance of reversing their diabetes, but even those who didnt complete the program saw encouraging results. This means that with the right level of support, people with diabetes can take responsibility for their own path to remission, rather than waiting on an already stretched medical system to accommodate them.
Type 2 diabetes is reversible for those willing to try super strict diet
Total diet replacement, or TDR, is exactly what it sounds like. Some people call TDR diets “soups and shakes” diets again, this is self-explanatory. Diabetes UK says the soups, shakes, and bars that make up the diets “are designed to contain all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals your body needs to work properly.”
Researchers working with the English National Health Service (NHS) for 15 months in 2020-2022 have published early findings showing that people with type 2 diabetes can replace their diets at home and see positive results in reversing the condition.
The study found that remission of type 2 diabetes is possible outside of research settings. The remission rate is lower when people do it at home (27%), compared with those who take part in a controlled study (32%). But only slightly.
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This is because its not as easy to gather data on and monitor participants’ progress when theyre at home.�Moreover, if someone’s diet is self-reported, it may be more difficult to ensure accuracy in data collection.
The diet given to trial participants during the study was micronutrient-complete but low-energy. In other words, it had everything they needed but didn’t contain many calories.
It mostly consisted of soups and shakes, and led to marked weight loss and long-term maintenance of remission of diabetes.
The total diet replacement phase of the experiment lasted 12 weeks and provided a total calorie intake of 800-900 kcal. In other words, it’s not easy. Youve got to really want it to stick it out. But the impact on participants’ health appears to have made it worth it.
It comprised nutritionally formulated products such as soups, shakes, and bars, alongside regular coaching sessions. After that, participants were given greater responsibility over diet maintenance, and regular but less frequent coaching sessions to help them get through it.
The research was published in medical journal The Lancet on August 5, 2024.
Diabetes research is having a bumper year
In the last few months alone, diabetes researchers have come out with some remarkably promising studies.
For example, Chinese scientists achieved a world first in June when they reportedly cured a patients diabetes using stem cell therapy. Diabetes is widely considered incurable by modern medicine. But the patient, age 59, who had been living with type 2 diabetes for 25 years, was effectively cured using cutting-edge stem cell therapy.
We also understand, based on very recent research, that the children of parents with type 1 diabetes are more likely to develop the condition in later life. Meanwhile, fathers with diabetes have a different impact on their children compared with mothers.
In the present study, which looked into the potential for reversing diabetes through total diet replacement, 27% of participants in the program had remission after 12 months. 32% of those who completed it reversed their diabetes within the same time frame.
The more weight they lost, the better their odds of turning the tables on their type 2 diabetes.
