Cutting Carbs Can Help Fight Diabetes

New research from Tulane University says a low-carb diet can help people with unmedicated diabetes and those who are at risk for diabetes lower their blood sugar.

Published in the JAMA Network Open journal, the study compared two groups. One assigned a low-carb diet and one who were instructed to continue their normal diet. After six months, the low-carb group had greater drops in hemoglobin A1c, than those who kept their normal diet. The low-carb group also lost weight and had lower fasting glucose levels.

Lead author Kirsten Doran’s, assistant professor of epidemiology at Tulane University school of Public Health and Tropical Medicine says; “The ket message is that a low-carb diet, if maintained, might be a useful approach for preventing and treating Type 2 diabetes, though more research is needed.”

37 million Americans have diabetes, which is a condition that occurs when the body doesn’t use insulin properly and can’t regulate blood sugar. Type 2 comprises more than 90% of those cases according to the CDC. Type 2 can cause blurred vision, numb hands and feet, and overall tiredness which impacts quality of life. It can also cause serious health problems like heart disease, vision loss and kidney disease.

The study is especially important for those with pre-diabetes, whose A1 c levels are higher than normal but lower than what is considered for diabetes. 96 million Americans have pre-diabetes and 80% of them are unaware per the CDC. Pre-diabetes increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes and for heart attacks or strokes. Those with pre diabetes are usually not taking medications designed to help lower the blood sugar levels in their bodies therefore making the need for a healthy diet even more crucial.

The study invloed those with blood sugar levels ranging from pre diabetes to diabetic levels and were not on medication. The low carb group saw A1 c levels from 0.23% more than the normal diet group which Dorans said was “modest but critically relevant.” Fats made up half of the calories eaten by those in the low carb study, but they were healthy fats in foods like olive oil and nuts.

The study doesn’t prove that low-carb diets prevent diabetes, says Dorans, but does open he door to more research focusing on those with diabetes and pre-diabetes not treated by medications; “We already know that a low-carbohydrate diet is one dietary approach used among people who have Type 2 diabetes, but there is not as much evidence on effects of this diet on blood sugar in people with pre-diabetes. “Future work could be done to see if this dietary approach may be an alternative approach for Type 2 diabetes prevention.” 

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