Low carb diet helps manage type-2 diabetes

Washington, Jan 6 : Low-carb diets taken for six months help manage type 2 diabetes better, according to research.

Patients who followed the no-glycemic diet experienced more frequent reductions, and in some cases elimination, of their need for medication to control type 2 diabetes, according to study co-author Eric Westman, director of Duke's University Lifestyle Medicine Programme.

Glycemic index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels.

"Low glycemic diets are good, but our work shows a no-glycemic diet is even better at improving blood sugar control," Westman said. "We found you can get a three-fold improvement in type 2 diabetes as evidenced by a standard test of the amount of sugar in the blood."

"That's an important distinction because as a physician who is faced with the choice of drugs or diet, I want a strong diet that's shown to improve type 2 diabetes and minimise medication use," he said.

Eight-four volunteers with obesity and type 2 diabetes were randomised to either a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (less than 20 grams of carbs/day) or a low-glycemic, reduced calorie diet (500 calories/day). Both groups attended group meetings, had nutritional supplementation and an exercise regimen.

After 24 weeks, their glycemic control was determined by a blood test that measured hemoglobin A1C, a standard test used to determine blood sugar control in patients with diabetes, said a Duke University release.

Of those who completed the study, the volunteers in the low-carbohydrate diet group had greater improvements in hemoglobin A1C. Diabetes medications were reduced or eliminated in 95 percent of the low-carbohydrate volunteers, compared to 62 percent in the low-glycemic group.

The low-carbohydrate diet also resulted in a greater reduction in weight.

"It's simple," says Westman. "If you cut out the carbohydrates, your blood sugar goes down, and you lose weight which lowers your blood sugar even further. It's a one-two punch."

The diet is not easy for everybody. "This is a therapeutic diet for people who are sick," says Westman.

The findings are published online in Nutrition and Metabolism.

--IANS