A diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates is better for people with type-2 diabetes, new Swedish study published in the journal Diabetologia says.
By MedicalDaily.com Staff Reporter | May 12, 2012
A diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates is better for people with type-2 diabetes, new Swedish study published in the journal Diabetologia says.
In diabetes 2, the body produces insulin (a hormone that breaks down sugar) but the cells are unable to use it as opposed to diabetes 1 where the body does not produce insulin.
Generally, people with diabetes are advised to stay on low-fat diets.
This study group had 61 participants who had type-2 diabetes. These participants were randomly assigned in two groups. One group was kept on low fat diet while the other on low carbohydrate - high fat diet.
In the low fat diet, proteins accounted for only 10 to 15 percent of energy supply, while in the high fat diet nearly 30 percent of energy came from proteins.
Both groups recorded an average weight loss of 4kgs (about 9 pounds).
People who were on low carbohydrate (high fat) had better control over the blood sugar levels of the body. They also had considerable amount of “good fat”.
On the other hand, people on low-fat diet managed to lose the same amount of weight but had no difference in the levels of insulin in the body.
Another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that replacing carbohydrates with fat, especially a diet high in monounsaturated fatty acids, is a better idea while trying to control the glucose level in people with type-2 diabetes.
"You could ask yourself if it really is good to recommend a low-fat diet to patients with diabetes, if despite their weight loss they get neither better lipoproteins nor blood glucose levels," Fredrik Nyström, professor of Internal Medicine and co-author of the study said.
It is believed that lifestyle changes like healthy diet and proper exercise delay, or in some cases, prevent the onset of diabetes 2.
Some studies say that higher intake of fruits and vegetables lowers risk of diabetes type-2.
The diets prescribed for participants in the present study were on par with the recommended intake by Swedish National Food Agency.
"In contrast to most other studies of this type, we lost no patients at all, which vouches for the good quality of our data,” Hans Guldbrand, general practitioner and co-author said.
Published by Medicaldaily.com
The study:
2012, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-012-2567-4
http://www.springerlink.com/content/b56453v536503166/
In type 2 diabetes, randomisation to advice to follow a low-carbohydrate diet transiently improves glycaemic control compared with advice to follow a low-fat diet producing a similar weight loss
Abstract
Aims/hypothesis
The study aimed to compare the effects of a 2 year intervention with a
low-fat diet (LFD) or a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD), based on four group
meetings to achieve compliance.
Methods
This was a prospective randomised parallel trial involving 61 adults with
type 2 diabetes consecutively recruited in primary care and randomised by
drawing ballots. Patients that did not speak Swedish could not be recruited.
The primary outcomes in this non-blinded study were weight and HbA1c.
Patients on the LFD aimed for 55–60 energy per cent (E%) and those on LCD for
20 E% from carbohydrate.
Results
The mean BMI and HbA1c of the participants were
32.7 ± 5.4 kg/m2 and 57.0 ± 9.2 mmol/mol, respectively. No
patients were lost to follow-up. Weight loss did not differ between groups and
was maximal at 6 months: LFD −3.99 ± 4.1 kg (n = 31); LCD −4.31 ± 3.6 kg
(n = 30); p < 0.001 within groups. At 24 months, patients
on the LFD had lost −2.97 ± 4.9 kg and those on LCD −2.34 ± 5.1 kg
compared with baseline (p = 0.002 and p = 0.020 within groups,
respectively). HbA1c fell in the LCD group only (LCD at
6 months −4.8 ± 8.3 mmol/mol, p = 0.004, at 12 months −2.2 ± 7.7 mmol/mol,
p = 0.12; LFD at 6 months −0.9 ± 8.8 mmol/mol, p = 0.56).
At 6 months, HDL-cholesterol had increased with the LCD (from
1.13 ± 0.33 mmol/l to 1.25 ± 0.47 mmol/l, p = 0.018) while
LDL-cholesterol did not differ between groups. Insulin doses were reduced in
the LCD group (0 months, LCD 42 ± 65 E, LFD 39 ± 51 E; 6 months, LCD
30 ± 47 E, LFD 38 ± 48 E; p = 0.046 for between-group change).
Conclusions/interpretation
Weight changes did not differ between the diet groups, while insulin doses
were reduced significantly more with the LCD at 6 months, when compliance
was good. Thus, aiming for 20% of energy intake from carbohydrates is safe with
respect to cardiovascular risk compared with the traditional LFD and this
approach could constitute a treatment alternative.
Trial registration:
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01005498
Funding:
University Hospital of Linköping Research Funds, Linköping
University, the County Council of
Östergötland, and the Diabetes Research Centre of Linköping University
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