- New research shows that lifestyle intervention, including eating a whole-food, plant-predominant diet, could result in type 2 diabetes remission.
- Plant-predominant diets may help with the reversal of insulin resistance.
- Along with adopting healthier eating habits, weight loss, exercise, stress reduction, and avoiding alcohol can help treat diabetes.
Growing evidence supports the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based diet, which includes reduced blood pressure, lower cholesterol, improved heart health, and diabetes outcomes.
According to a new study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, following a lifestyle intervention that involved adopting a whole-food, plant-predominant diet, patients showed potential to achieve type 2 diabetes remission.
The researchers examined the health records of 59 type 2 diabetes patients from a cardiac wellness program between 2007 and 2021, who followed a whole-food, plant-based eating pattern. The average age of the patients was 71.5 years, ranging from 41 to 89 years.
These patients demonstrated noticeable improvements in blood glucose control, and 37% of the individuals in the study achieved full diabetes remission.
Additionally, the study showed an average reduction of glucose-lowering medications among patients who implemented these changes in their lifestyles.
“This study demonstrates that high-fiber, low-fat plant-based diets can help achieve remission from [type 2 diabetes mellitus] in patients already receiving standard-of-care treatment. The study was unique because it did not require caloric restriction or fasting and had a primary endpoint of remission rather than improvement of diabetes.”
— Dr. Caroline Messer, an endocrinologist at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital, who was not involved in this study, speaking to Medical News Today
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