Those 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 on a strict low-carb diet – which means less than 26% of your daily calories come from carbs – can lower blood sugar levels to a point where medication is no longer needed, according to the data-based findings of more than 1,357 participants with the metabolic disease.
What’s more, the diet caused weight loss and also fewer diabetic episodes, compared to people on other recommended diets, such as low fat.
In the twelve-month interval, however, researchers found a decrease in the benefits of the low-carbohydrate diet. They point out that previous research in the analysis, published in the BMJ on Wednesday, may have had limitations, suggesting that more study is needed on how low-carb diets can be used to relieve diabetic symptoms.
For example, physicians may prescribe a short-term low-carbohydrate diet “for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, while actively monitoring and adjusting the medication for diabetes as needed.”
The low-carbohydrate diet, announced by weight-loss guru Robert Atkins, later became controversial, as former supporters of the starchless regime complained that their kilograms returned with anger after carbohydrates were reintroduced. Studies have eventually linked the fad diet to other health problems, such as cardiac arrhythmia and premature death.
The regime is still popular to this day, with benefits that scientists do not yet fully understand. One study from 2019 suggested that the diet could strengthen the lungs against influenza by stimulating the production of a protective mucus in the lining of the organs – a “totally unexpected finding”, one researcher said at the time.