British researcher Professor Roy Taylor’s nutritional trial offers a dietary breakthrough and new help for millions of people living with Type 2 diabetes.
This metabolic disorder associated with high blood sugar is usually caused by factors including obesity, a lack of physical activity, an intake of less healthy fats (saturated and trans-fats), sugary drinks, and refined foods such as white rice and white bread.
In 2011, at Britain’s Newcastle University Prof. Taylor ran a scientific trial involving eleven volunteers, all of whom had recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Prof. Taylor arranged for them all to go on a crash course diet of 600 calories (2510 kilojoules) a day (in contrast to the normal recommended range of 2,000-2,500calories (8368-10460 kilojoules) for eight weeks. This involved a mixture of a specially formulated drink (510 calories/2134 kilojoules) of Optifast, made by Nestlé Nutrition) and 90 calories/377 kilojoules of non-starchy vegetables.
 Prof. Taylor’s inspiration for the trial came from his observation that gastric bypass surgery patients with diabetes often overcame the condition following surgery. Although conventional wisdom held that this was probably caused by a change in gut hormones, Prof. Taylor suspected the result was probably caused by the far smaller amount food that they ate following the surgery.
 FAT IN THE PANCREAS
The diabetes diet works through reducing the fat level in the pancreas, bringing it down to normal levels, a finding that was independently verified through MRI scans of the eleven Type 2 Diabetics in the trial. Too much fat in the pancreas clogs up its healthy operation, preventing the normal secretion of insulin that regulates blood sugar. After the trial, the fasting blood sugar levels of those taking part in the trial were found to have also returned to normal.
The results were remarkable; after eight weeks, all eleven volunteers were free of diabetes, and three months on, seven were still without the disease.
However, a lack of long-term data implied some uncertainty regarding outcomes.
Until that point, mainstream thinking held that Type 2 diabetes was incurable. The Newcastle study generated some media coverage overseas, but none in Australia.
Other diets that claim to reverse diabetes, such as those devised by Dr. Gabriel Cousens and Dr. Neal Barnard also tend to run over a few weeks. The Cousens diet in particular focuses on green juices and raw foods.
Those with Type 2 diabetes manage the condition with lifestyle interventions, pharmaceuticals, and sometimes insulin injections. In the UK, one tenth of the total annual National Health Service budget is directed towards managing diabetes and its complications. The global diabetes industry is estimated to be worth about $40 billion.
With an estimated 350 million people worldwide now living with diabetes and the number rising exponentially, it seems that these findings may have come at just the right time.
Martin Oliver is a writer and researcher based in Lismore (Northern NSW)
