One of the best diets for weight loss and lowered blood sugars

Diabetes type 2: Dr Zoe Williams discusses high blood sugar risks

Click to expand

UP NEXT

Diabetes is a common condition that’s been diagnosed in about five million people across the UK. The condition might be caused by eating certain foods, or by not doing enough exercise. With that in mind, researchers and leading health experts recommend following one of the best diets to help you not only lose weight, but also to lower your blood sugars. What is it?

Many people with type 2 diabetes are overweight, so what a person eats will significantly determine their blood sugar levels.

The goal of the ketogenic diet is to have the body use fat for energy instead of carbohydrates or glucose.

On the keto diet, you get most of your energy from fat, with very little of the diet coming from carbohydrates.

The ketogenic diet has the potential to decrease blood glucose levels.

Managing carbohydrate intake is often recommended for people with type 2 diabetes because carbohydrates turn to sugar and, in large quantities, can cause blood sugar spikes.

© Getty Images
Diabetes type 2: Diet to lower blood sugars

A ketogenic diet may help some people with type 2 diabetes, because it allows the body to maintain glucose levels at a low, but healthy, level.

The lower intake of carbohydrates in the diet can help to eliminate large spikes in blood sugar, reducing a person’s need for insulin.

Research suggests that people with type 2 diabetes can slim down and lower their blood sugar levels with the keto diet.

In one study, people with type 2 lost weight, needed less medication, and lowered their A1c when they followed the keto diet for a year.

In a study published in EJCN, a review of the therapeutic use of a ketogenic diet was analysed.

Very-low-carbohydrate diets or ketogenic diets have been in use since the 1920s as a therapy for epilepsy and can, in some cases, completely remove the need for medication, noted the study.

It continued: “Recent work over the last decade or so has provided evidence of the therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets in many pathological conditions, such as diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, acne, neurological diseases, cancer and the amelioration of respiratory and cardiovascular disease risk factors.

“Insulin activates key enzymes in pathways, which store energy derived from carbohydrates, and when there is an absence or scarcity of dietary carbohydrates the resulting reduced insulin level leads to a reduction in lipogenesis and fat accumulation.

“After a few days of fasting, or of drastically reduced carbohydrate consumption, glucose reserves become insufficient.

“There is no doubt that there is strong supportive evidence that the use of ketogenic diets in weight-loss therapy is effective.”

© Getty Images
Diabetes type 2: Weight loss

When the body is stripped of carbohydrates or gets exposed to ketones, it reaches the physiological condition known as ketosis.

Ketosis has demonstrated a substantial decrease of BMI, weight and blood sugars in subjects maintaining it for 24 weeks in a trial conducted on 83 obese patients.

The study found patients HDL (good cholesterol) levels rose, while their LDL (bad cholesterol) ones decreased, as did their blood glucose and triglycerides levels.

When in ketosis, the body uses fat instead of glucose for producing the energy it needs, which impacts weight loss and blood sugars.

Although ketosis is well known for its ability to combat obesity, it has also been linked to increased energy and exercise efficiency.

Another research on mice found that ketosis enhances cognitive performance by improving large-scale neural network function.

Other health benefits of a keto diet include reducing the risk of certain cancers, improving heart health, protecting brain function and potentially reducing the risk of seizures.