The participants in the study limited their carbohydrate intake to 20 percent of total calories. The most significant effect of this low-carb diet is the absence of hunger. The consequent reduction in food intake allows the body to use its own stores of fat for fuel, which results in weight reduction.
Moreover, avoiding starch-rich bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, and breakfast cereals minimizes the glucose spikes that make it necessary for people with diabetes to take insulin.
Nielsen and colleagues had previously reported superior weight loss and glucose control over a 22-month period among 16 obese patients with diabetes who followed a low-carbohydrate diet compared with 15 similar patients following a diet containing 55 to 60 percent of energy from carbohydrates.
In their current study, in the BioMed Central journal Nutrition and Metabolism, researchers reported 44 months of follow up data.
"Of the 16 patients, five have retained or reduced bodyweight since the 22 month point and all but one have lower weight at 44 months than at start," the investigators report. Furthermore, glucose levels dropped soon after starting the diet and have stayed down over the 44 month period.
"Advice to obese patients with type 2 diabetes to follow a 20% carbohydrate diet with some caloric restriction has a lasting effect on bodyweight and glycemic control," the investigators conclude.
Bonnie - while a small number of subjects, the results should not be surprising. While this is an extremely low percentage of carbohydrates for one's diet, it may be prudent to implement in obese or overweight diabetics.
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