How the ketogenic diet can help prediabetics?
Nearly four million people were identified as diabetics in 2019 in France, according to Health Insurance. These can have either type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Monitor lifestyle in case of type 2 diabetes
The first is characterized by an absence of insulin secretion – hormone that regulates glycaemia, i.e. the level of sugar in the blood – by the pancreas and the second by the poor use of insulin by the body’s cells. But whether it is one or the other, this disease always characterized by too high a level of sugar in the blood, hyperglycemia.
L‘National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) estimates that 90% of diabetics have type 2 diabetes. When a patient is diagnosed, doctors generally recommend that they take care of their lifestyle – balanced diet, weight loss, regular physical activity – in order to improve their blood sugar control. Often, this is accompanied by taking anti-diabetic drugs.
The ketogenic diet for patients with type 2 diabetes
Among all the diets that exist, the so-called ketogenic diet is often recommended for people with type 2 diabetes. It is based on a diet low in carbohydrates, high in fat and moderate in protein. If properly followed, it reduces the blood sugar levels and better regulate insulin secretion.
But, according to a recent study published in the scientific journal JAMAthe virtues of this diet would not only concern diabetics… It could also be beneficial for prediabetic people, that is to say who have blood sugar levels at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
A decrease in sugar levels in prediabetics
The researchers believe that following the ketogenic diet could delay the onset of the disease in prediabetics. To reach this conclusion, they studied the health data of 150 people aged 40 to 70 who were prediabetic or already had diabetes but were not taking medication. Among them, some followed the normal diet, while the others followed the low-carb ketogenic diet. In detail, they had the equivalent of 16 grams of carbohydrates per month.
Results: Those who followed the ketogenic diet observed a much greater drop in their blood sugar levels compared to the first group. “The key message is that a low-carb diet, if maintained, may be able to prevent and treat type 2 diabetes, although further research is needed”, concludes Dr. Kirsten Dorans, lead author of the study.
