Choosing healthy foods can help improve blood sugar levels and reduce fat accumulation in the body, even without counting calories or restricting portion sizes.
اضافة اعلان
A recent clinical study found that following a low-fat, plant-based diet for 16 weeks helped people with type 2 diabetes lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity and pancreatic function, according to Russia Today.
Key study findings
The results showed that participants experienced the following improvements during the study:
Weight loss: Participants lost an average of 6 kilograms, equivalent to 6.6% of their body weight.
Reduced liver fat: Fat accumulation in the liver decreased by 33%.
Reduced abdominal fat: The volume of visceral fat surrounding internal organs decreased by approximately 290 cubic centimeters.
Improved blood sugar control: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which reflects average blood sugar levels over the preceding months, fell by one percentage point.
Improved insulin response: Indicators of insulin sensitivity and the function of pancreatic beta cells, which produce insulin, improved.
Lower cholesterol: Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), commonly known as bad cholesterol, decreased.
Researchers also recorded a reduction in compounds known as advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are associated with tissue damage and insulin resistance.
What did participants eat?
The diet focused on low-fat plant-based foods, allowing participants to eat until they felt full without imposing a calorie limit.
The main foods included:
Vegetables and fruits.
Whole grains.
Legumes.
Approximately 75% of the diet’s calories came from carbohydrates, 15% from protein and 10% from fat.
Does the diet require calorie counting?
Dr. Hana Kahleova, the study’s lead author and director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, said the findings suggest that changing food choices and focusing on healthy plant-based foods may help reduce liver fat and improve the pancreas’s ability to produce insulin, without the need to count calories or weigh food portions.
