Diabetes Reversing 800 Calorie Diet

[Frankieola]

I've read about this diet whereby if you stick to a strict 800 calories a day for 8 weeks that there is a slight chance Type 2 diabetes can be stopped or reversed.
I was wondering if anyone had tried this, does it work? If so, Did you use meal replacement shakes? Which ones and do they work?!!

[Hypognosis]

@Frankieola

Is "800" a typo and you meant 1,800?

Less than half standard calories will almost certainly mean vitamin deficiencies, unless you take supplements (the marketing people love that) and starvation diets put the body into "emergency metabolism" mode, whereby muscle glycogen stores, then actual muscle fibre bulk is broken down. (Glycogen is long chains of glucose whereas proteins are broken into amino acids, then the amino part is stripped off, leaving molecules which feed into carbohydrate metabolism, all to maintain supply of glucose to the brain).

This page

http://www.m.webmd.com/diabetes/type-2-diabetes-guide/reversing-type-2-diabetes

(select "Stay on US site" at the prompt)

says a combination of diet and exercise are required.

This is a permanent lifestyle change, as far as I can make out. Fat cells become "fatigued" from responding to high insulin level and is either permanent or takes as many years of reduced insulin levels to reverse it as it took to provoke it. To a certain extent, genes respond to their chemical environment, in the same way a supermarket adds increases staff on the tills, when a crowd of shoppers turns up. This is expensive, so the manager 'fine tunes' how many extra staff to add. By analogy, the fat cell has the job of turning excess blood sugars into fat but building the enzyme "machinery", to do this, uses up "expensive" resources and DNA got where it is today by not being wasteful of energy and scarce resources.

[wolf63]

I asked my GP about low low calorie diets and he said to steer clear of them.

[Hypognosis]

@wolf63

Well done, that GP.

The body's structures incur wear and tear and damage, right down to the molecular level and it takes a certain number of calories and key nutrients to do the repair work. Drastically cutting total food intake has the potential to damage the entire body.

Also, it is all very well taking vitamin supplements but some are fat soluble and not properly absorbed by the gut if the composition of what little food there is, is low in fat. (Vice versa for water-soluble vitamins).

There's no getting around it. Eat a balanced diet with the recommended male/female daily calorie content and then indulge in physical activities which burn more calories than that, until your BMI returns to the 'normal' range.

[Old_Geezer]

Loosing weight if overweight may be a good idea, although I'd not hold my breath regarding any diabetes reversal. Starving yourself sounds a pretty daft idea to me though.

[douglas9401]

I was offered this, it's a study run, if memory serves, by Newcastle University.
Very strict but with encouraging results. I didn't do it in the end, not fat enough.

[douglas9401]

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/newcastle-study-600-calorie-diet.html

[Old_Geezer]

Well, if they're getting results I suppose that there may be something in it. But must be awful to stick to; and as stated, probably needs to be done under supervision. All for a "slight chance".

[pastafreak]

I'd think dietary changes...particularly if it can reduce the need for medication...is a good thing.
I know I've gone on about low carb being very helpful in controlling or reversing diabetes....but I'll mention it again. There's so much research behind it, but doctors and other health professionals seem to have neither the time or interest to read up on it. They'd rather give out Meds like smarties. I know which I'd choose.

[NoMercy]

There is evidence to suggest that fasting and strict calorie control can indeed reverse diabetes and many other chronic conditions. It should however always be done under medical supervision.

[Scarlett]

Yes, there is evidence that a very strict low calorie diet can reverse the onset of type 2 diabetes. I have several friends who have been told to have 500 cals a day (Lighterlife basically) and YES it works. BUT they no longer eat,. They don't socialise. They lost weight and regained it all and more. I don't believe that 500 cals a day is a viable long term solution as it teaches you nothing about how to eat. Hoever, alternate day fasting has also had excellent results and it is much easier to stick to. 500 cals every other day. Look up the Horizon programme featuring GP Michael Mosley.