- A new study finds intermittent fasting for three days a week may reduce type 2 diabetes risk.
- The study data collected from 209 participants over 18 months.
- Participants experienced similar amounts of weight loss on both the time-restricted, intermittent fasting diet and the low-calorie diet.
- Those fasting had more insulin sensitivity.
Intermittent fasting for three days a week could reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These health benefits are potentially even greater than following a calorie-restricted diet.
That’s according to a new study and the largest of its kind published this month in Nature Medicine.
Researchers at University of Adelaide and South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) found that people who fasted for three days during the week, only eating between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. on those days, showed more insulin sensitivity or a greater tolerance to glucose after 6 months than those on a daily, low-calorie diet.
Increased tolerance to glucose was demonstrated in the study by increased sensitivity to insulin and reduced blood lipids or blood fat.
The study data was collected from 209 participants over 18 months. Participants experienced similar amounts of weight loss on both the time-restricted, intermittent fasting diet and the low-calorie diet.
“This is the largest study in the world to date and the first powered to assess how the body processes and uses glucose after eating a meal, which is a better indicator of diabetes risk than a fasting test,” first author Xiao Tong Teong, a PhD student at the University of Adelaide says in the official press release.
“The results of this study add to the growing body of evidence to indicate that meal timing and fasting advice extends the health benefits of a restricted calorie diet, independently from weight loss, and this may be influential in clinical practice,” he adds.
However, the study authors do note that further research is needed to investigate if the same benefits are experienced with a slightly longer eating window, which could make the diet more sustainable over the long term.
There are approximately 1.4 million new type 2 diabetes diagnoses each year, according to the American Diabetes Association. Fasting may offer a potential avenue for people to prevent type 2 diabetes, especially when they are prone to the disease.
There are several types of fasting. Intermittent fasting involves limiting food intake to certain hours of the day, it has been linked to weightloss and improved brain and heart health in some studies.
The type of fasting method used in the study is a combination of intermittent fasting and early time-restricted feeding (eTRF).
Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RDN, a nutritionist and the author of “Skinny Liver,” says she isn’t at all surprised by the study results but real-world results will depend on what you can sustain long-term and which method fits best with your goals.
Grace Derocha, RD, CDCES, MBA, national spokesperson for The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics shares a similar perspective saying the methods used in the study could be very impactful to help reduce type 2 diabetes diagnosis and that sticking to the timeframe for eating would be difficult in the long-term.
Derocha tells Healthline she wonders what the impact may be on one’s mental health and overall well-being if they were following the intermittent fasting plan for an extended period of time.
Consult with your healthcare provider
If you’re not sure where to start with intermittent fasting, or if you’re ready to begin fasting for diabetes prevention or management, Kirkpatrick says its important to talk to your physician.
“There are many different forms of fasting, and your chosen method should not put you at risk based on other chronic conditions,” she says.
Derocha suggests at this stage thinking about what intermittent fasting entails and if it feels like it is doable, while taking into consideration your lifestyle. She says working with your healthcare team, especially a registered dietitian, and ideally, a certified diabetes care and education specialist can help to guide one through their diet and meal plan.
Choose healthy foods when not fasting
More specifically, says Derocha, even with fasting, considering carbohydrate foods and intake, portion control and carb consistency throughout the day.
Kirkpatrick echoes this by recommending in the hours you eat, ensuring your diet is nutrient-dense, which means lots of colors, fiber, lean proteins, healthy fats, etc.
“Many of my patients who were first learning of fasting would often think that as long as they consumed food during the hours of ‘feasting’ and omitted food from the hours of ‘fasting,’ it did not matter what was consumed,” says Kirkpatrick.
“But it does matter to make your calories count in the hours you are eating,” she says. “If you focus on nutrient-lacking food, you may struggle with feeling satisfied, full, or content during your fasting hours,” she explains.
Other ways to reduce type 2 diabetes risk
Kirkpatrick and Derocha both add that in addition to fasting, you will also need to get adequate physical activity, sleep, and proper management of stress to manage your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Derocha says some other dietary things to consider to hopefully reduce one’s risk for type 2 diabetes include:
- Knowing carbohydrate food groups and carb counting within recommendations from your dietician.
- Monitoring your intake of added sugars
- Using portion control with carbs and total calorie intake
- Including fiber and nutritious carbs and foods daily
Aside from managing risk, you can also protect your health if you notice signs of type 2 diabetes. Derocha says that you should note if you are more thirsty or have dry mouth, are needing to urinate frequently, experiencing fatigue, blurred vision, and even recurrent infections as these could all be other symptoms of hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugars). This way, you can provide a more accurate symptom list for your healthcare provider.
When you eat and what you eat can be changed to help reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes. There are other risk factors for type 2 diabetes that are not under your personal control.
Derocha suggests looking at your uncontrollable risk factors and how they play into risk. She says these uncontrollable risk factors include:
- Age
- Genetics
- Family health history
- Your own health history
- Predisposition to type 2 diabetes based on race/ethnicity/nationality
“Other risk factors for type 2 diabetes include being overweight or obese, not being physically active and having a sedentary lifestyle, having a history of gestational diabetes during pregnancy or having a baby that weighed 9 pounds or more,” says Derocha. If you have any of these risk factors, the best next step is to talk to your healthcare provider.
