Over 90% of the estimated 590 million people with diabetes worldwide have type 2 diabetes, according to research.
Type 2 diabetes cannot currently be cured, but it can be put into remission. This is mostly achieved by losing weight, exercising frequently, and eating a nutritious diet that is typically low in calories and carbohydrates.
According to a recent study that was published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, individuals with type 2 diabetes who follow the high-fat, low-carb keto diet may have a higher chance of correcting their condition than those who simply follow a low-fat diet.
Low-fat versus ketogenic diets for beta-cell function
51 patients with type 2 diabetes, ages 55 to 62, were recruited for this study. For 12 weeks, participants either adhered to a low-fat diet or the ketogenic diet.
Researchers examined the effects of both diets on participants’ proinsulin to C-peptide ratio (Trusted Source), a measure of the health of the pancreatic beta cells.
The lead author of this study, Marian Yurchishin, MS, a pre-doctoral training fellow in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Medical News Today that “carbohydrate-restricted diets have been shown to elicit several beneficial effects in patients with type 2 diabetes, including lowering HbA1c, systolic blood pressure, and triglycerides.”
According to Yurchishin, “by identifying its therapeutic effects, we intend to show that a ketogenic diet could serve as a complementary part of lifestyle therapy which could help to better glycemic control as a result of increased beta-cell function.”
Maintaining a ketogenic diet enhances beta-cell activity
At the end of the study, researchers discovered that although study participants who followed either the low-fat diet or the ketogenic diet lost weight, those who followed the ketogenic diet saw a greater reduction in the percentage of proinsulin secreted, which was linked to an improvement in beta-cell function.
According to Yurchishin, “the pancreas has to go through multiple stages to generate insulin.” “Beta cells generate a lot of proinsulin when they are under substantial stress, as observed in type 2 diabetes.”
“Elevated proinsulin levels signal that beta-cells are overburdened and secreting ‘unfinished’ molecules as an attempt to keep up with the body’s increasing demands for insulin,” she added. “Proinsulin is a precursor to insulin.”As demonstrated by the improvements in beta-cell function, a greater reduction in proinsulin indicates that the ketogenic diet lessened this stress and enabled beta-cells to function more effectively.
What aspect of the ketogenic diet would make it possible for it to enhance beta-cell function?
According to Yurchishin, “one process that may lead to beta-cell failure is their loss of glucose sensing and glucose responsiveness, which is hypothesized to come from the beta-cells’ prolonged exposure to glucose (e.g. glucose toxicity).”
“More research is needed to understand the particular processes behind this effect, but removal of this exposure via a carbohydrate-restricted diet may potentially create an environment for beta-cells to repair their secretory systems,” she said.
“Restoration of their function permits these cells to create adequate insulin to preserve adequate blood sugar levels because beta-cells are responsible for secreting insulin in response to increases in blood glucose,” she continued.
Research next steps: Extended study duration, specify type of keto MNT had the chance to discuss this study with Pouya Shafipour, MD, a board-certified family and obesity medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who stated he was not surprised by its results.
According to Shafipour, who was not involved in this study, “if people stick to it well and if they are practicing Mediterranean, higher fiber keto, it can do wonders for early cases of diabetes.”
However, the main issue with keto is that many people follow a carnivorous diet. They do not always follow it and consume the proper kinds of protein and fat. He noted, “This study is 12 weeks long, and it is simpler to stick to it in 12 weeks.”
Another significant issue, in his opinion, is that “people go on keto for two, three months, achieve results, and then they start growing bored of it.”
“We live in a world where carbohydrates are abundant, and it is difficult to return to a ketogenic state after leaving it.” It calls for a great deal of self-control and the ability to resist many temptations. According to Shafipour, “Keto is amazing and magical, although adherence is a little bit tough.”
Shafipour informed us that he would like to see a somewhat longer study period and the precise ketogenic diet that participants are adhering to for the next phases in this research.