Intermittent fasting, which is limited in time and where meals are concentrated in the morning, reduces the risks of developing type 2 diabetes.
- A time-restricted intermittent fasting diet helps reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study has found.
- For more efficiency, it is necessary to eat only between 8h and 12h. That is to say, avoid nibbling and snacks in the afternoon or even not having dinner in the evening.
- Researchers will do further research to determine if a larger feeding window might still be beneficial.
Various studies have shown the health benefits of intermittent fasting. One of them would be to reduce the risks of type 2 diabetes. A new study from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) confirms this thesis, by adding an element: to ward off illness, the meal should be taken early in the day, not in the evening.
Diabetes and intermittent fasting: dinner should be avoided for more efficiency
The scientists wanted to determine which diet was most beneficial for people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes: time-restricted intermittent fasting or the calorie-restricted diet.
They brought together 200 participants divided into three groups: one followed an intermittent fast allowing to eat only in the morning (three days per non-consecutive week), another ate meals reducing calories to 70% of daily energy needs while the last had a standard power supply. For this research published in the journal Nature Medicinethe volunteers were followed for 18 months.
People doing time-restricted intermittent fasting and those following a calorie-restricted diet had similar weight losses. On the other hand, those who fasted had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
“People who fasted for three days a week, eating only between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. on those days, showed greater glucose tolerance after six months than those on a daily calorie-restricted diet”details lead author from the University of Adelaide, Professor Léonie Heilbronn in a communicated. “Participants who followed the intermittent fasting diet were more sensitive to insulin and also experienced greater reductions in blood lipids than those who followed the low-calorie diet.”
Diabetes: Mealtime beneficial regardless of weight loss
In view of the data obtained, Professor Heilbronn argues that “following a time-restricted intermittent fasting regimen may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes”. For researcher Xiao Tong Teong, a doctoral student at the University of Adelaide, who also worked on this study, the results add up “to the growing body of evidence that meal timing and fasting advice prolong the health benefits of a calorie-restricted diet, independent of weight loss, and this may influence clinical practice.”
The Australian science team says further research is needed to determine if the same benefits are experienced with a slightly longer feeding window, “which could make the diet more sustainable in the long run”according to them.
