Diets With Low-Carb And Minimal Glycemic Ratings Great for Type 2 Diabetes

If maintaining a healthy blood sugar level is a problem for you, then researchers at the Duke University Medical Center recommend you switch to a diet that encourages eating carbohydrates with the lowest-possible glycemic index readings.

Dr. Eric Westman, director of Duke's Lifestyle Medicine Program, revealed that patients who followed the no-glycemic diet experienced more frequent reductions, and in some cases elimination, of their need for medication to control type 2 diabetes.

"Low glycemic diets are good, but our work shows a no-glycemic diet is even better at improving blood sugar control. We found you can get a three-fold improvement in type 2 diabetes as evidenced by a standard test of the amount of sugar in the blood. That's an important distinction because as a physician who is faced with the choice of drugs or diet, I want a strong diet that's shown to improve type 2 diabetes and minimize medication use," he said.

For their study, the scientists randomized eighty four volunteers with obesity and type 2 diabetes to either a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (less than 20 grams of carbs/day) or a low-glycemic, reduced calorie diet (500 calories/day).

According to the researchers, both groups attended group meetings, had nutritional supplementation, and an exercise regimen.

After 24 weeks, the participants' glycemic control was determined by a blood test that measured hemoglobin A1C, a standard test used to determine blood sugar control in patients with diabetes.