A new diet that combines intermittent fasting with early time-restricted eating could help some patients reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to new findings published in Nature Medicine.[1]
The new-look approach starts with intermittent fasting—defined by the authors as “a period of fasting interspersed with days of ad libitum eating”—and then adds 20-hour fasting periods on three nonconsecutive days per week. To put it to the test, researchers compared this new approach to a traditional calorie restriction (CR) diet among patients who face a heightened risk of developing T2D.
Overall, 69 high-risk patients followed the new approach to intermittent fasting, 83 patients followed a CR diet, and 41 patients simply followed a “standard care” diet. The standard care group was given a booklet with helpful information, but not given any dietary requirements or limitations. Each diet was followed for six months, and then there was a one-year follow-up period.
Overall, after six months, “superior improvements” in glucose tolerance were seen in all patients who followed the intermittent fasting approach compared to CR and standard care patients. The team also identified improvements in adipose tissue insulin sensitivity among intermittent fasting patients, though there was no difference in insulin secretion or glycated hemoglobin.
“This is the largest study in the world to date and the first powered to assess how the body processes and uses glucose after eating a meal, which is a better indicator of diabetes risk than a fasting test,” first author Xiao Tong Teong, a PhD student at the University of Adelaide in Australia, said in a prepared statement. “The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence to indicate that meal timing and fasting advice extends the health benefits of a restricted calorie diet, independently from weight loss, and this may be influential in clinical practice.”
Additional research is still required, the team added, to see if these benefits can be sustained for a longer period of time.
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.