A new study that came out on June 21 shows that intermittent fasting may control blood sugar more effectively than popular diabetes medications for people with Type 2 diabetes. Participants on a 5:2 intermittent fasting diet—eating normally for five days and reducing calories for two—had better blood sugar levels and greater weight loss than those on standard diabetes drugs. This suggests that dietary changes could be a potent method for managing diabetes.
Study Highlights and Key Findings
The EARLY (Exploration of Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Overweight/Obese Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus) study, a randomized clinical trial conducted across nine centers in China, assessed the effects of an intermittent fasting diet on glycemic control in adults with Type 2 diabetes.The trial involved 405 participants, divided into three groups: one following the 5:2 fasting diet with meal replacements (MR) and the other two taking either metformin or empagliflozin (drugs to treat Type 2 diabetes).
