For diabetic patients, managing blood sugar often centers on what they eat, but new research suggests that when they eat matters too. A recent study revealed that time-restricted eating, a popular weight loss strategy that focuses on limiting eating to specific hours, can significantly improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes.
Dietary modification tailored to individualized needs, along with exercise and lifestyle modification, is the first line of treatment for people with diabetes. However, these customized diet plans are often complex, inaccessible, or even ineffective.
In such cases, where individualized dietary plans do not work, the researchers of the latest study recommend adopting time-restricted eating as an alternative dietary strategy. The findings were published in the journal Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice.
Time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting involves confining the eating window to fewer hours (4 to 10 hours) and fasting for the remaining hours. It is known to help with weight loss, mood, blood sugar, blood pressure, and sleep.
Researchers conducted a six-month study to understand the impact of time-restricted eating on diabetic patients and to see if the benefit could match the results of traditional dietary advice. The study involved 52 patients with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 35 and 65.
Participants were randomly assigned to either a diet-focused or time-restricted eating group. In the diet group, participants were guided on improving food quality, like eating more vegetables and reducing alcohol. The time-restricted eating group was advised to limit eating to a nine-hour window from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The researchers measured the participants’ blood glucose levels every two months using the HbA1c test.
After six months, glycemic control in diabetic patients practicing time-restricted eating was comparable to the results achieved through standard dietary care after six months. Time-restricted eating…
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