Type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 10% of all deaths globally, but a new international study shows that consuming less carbohydrates may be the key to putting the disease into remission.
Patients who followed a low-carb diet for six months – containing less than 26% of daily calories from carbohydrates – had greater rates of type 2 diabetes remission than those who followed other diets recommended for managing the disease.
Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, contributed to the research, which examined 23 published clinical trials worldwide involving 1357 participants and was published in the British Medical Journal.
The results suggest that low-carb diets can be an effective alternative, while monitoring and adjusting medications as needed.
The CSIRO’s Professor Grant Brinkworth, who contributed to the study, said that the promising results showed the need for support tools for patients, to enable them to better adhere to the diet in the long term.
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