Introduction
If you have diabetes, you know that managing your weight is an important part of managing your condition. But with so many diets out there, it can be hard to know which one is best for you. A new study has found that one particular diet is the best for weight loss if you have diabetes: the Eat This Not That diet. This diet focuses on eating whole, unprocessed foods and avoiding processed and refined foods. In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of the Eat This Not That diet and how it can help you manage your diabetes and lose weight.
This Is The Best Weight Loss Diet If You Have Diabetes, New Study Says — Eat This Not That
If you have diabetes, you know that managing your weight is an important part of managing your condition. But what is the best diet for weight loss if you have diabetes? A new study has found that a low-carbohydrate diet is the most effective for weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes.
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, looked at the effects of three different diets on weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes. The diets included a low-carbohydrate diet, a low-fat diet, and a Mediterranean diet. After 12 months, the researchers found that the low-carbohydrate diet was the most effective for weight loss, with participants losing an average of 8.8 pounds.
The low-carbohydrate diet was also the most effective for improving blood sugar control, with participants experiencing a decrease in their HbA1c levels. The HbA1c test is used to measure average blood sugar levels over the past two to three months.
The study also found that the low-carbohydrate diet was the most effective for reducing cholesterol levels. Participants on the low-carbohydrate diet experienced a decrease in their total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.
The researchers concluded that a low-carbohydrate diet is the most effective for weight loss and improving blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. They recommend that people with diabetes should focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats.
If you or an adult you know wants to lose weight or stay at a current weight in order to help manage type 2 diabetes, incorporating a low energy diet might be the best option, according to a new study that was just published in Diabetologia, a journal from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
In an effort led by Professor Mike Lean, Dr. Chaitong Churuangsuk, and their colleagues at the Universities of Glasgow, the researchers took a look at 19 published meta-analyses and explained that while results are not always the same for everyone, “Very low energy diets and formula meal replacement appear the most effective approaches” when it comes to weight loss and management for those with type 2 diabetes. (Energy refers to calories.)
What’s more, the study found that programs that include a “total diet replacement” induction phase (of 830 kcal/day for 12 weeks) followed by a relatively low-fat high carbohydrate diet and meal replacements were most effective for people with type 2 diabetes to lose weight and even experience remission, as up to 61% of participants experienced remission within one year.
Related: Eating Habits to Avoid if You Don’t Want Diabetes, Say Experts
Given that type 2 diabetes is primarily caused by unhealthy weight gain, these findings are key in order to help fight the diabetes epidemic, which the study authors raise an alarm bell about. “Without strategic commitment internationally on effective prevention strategies, type 2 diabetes will affect an estimated 629 million people worldwide by 2045,” they write.
By losing weight through diet methods, type 2 diabetes patients can experience remission and an improvement in the risk factors associated with the disease, a press release on the study notes.
Trista Best, MPH, RD, LD, of Balance One Supplements, explains to Eat This, Not That! that adults with diabetes “may benefit from reducing the amount of calories they consume at a given time as a way to prevent rapid and long-term glucose spikes.”
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Vanessa Spina, SNS (Sports Nutrition Specialist) and bestselling author of Keto Essentials as well as the host of the Fast Keto Podcast, notes that a low energy diet “ensures adequate protein is consumed while the energy or ‘calories’ aspect is lowered.” That’s why the effectiveness of the diet “makes sense as type 2 diabetics are dealing with energy toxicity—excess energy from fat and carbohydrate stored on the body. Insulin resistance develops whereby the body’s ability to store fat and carbohydrate has been maximized. This is why a low energy diet is so effective.”
Spina also pointed out that a low-energy diet can benefit those who don’t have diabetes “if the goal is acute fat loss.” While the diets “can appear to be extreme,” the “optimal way” to incorporate a low energy food plan into your lifestyle “would be to do a protein-sparing, modified fast, which is very low energy and 650-800 calories per day of lean protein.”
Alternatively, intermittent fasting “with an 8-hour eating window and 16-hour fasting window” can be effective, as can using “protein shakes if one prefers to go by a formula-based diet,” Spina says.
Of course, it’s important to check with your doctor before starting a new diet plan.
To find out more about what people with diabetes should and shouldn’t be eating, be sure to read 50 Best Foods for Diabetics and 50 Worst Foods for Diabetes.