Intermittent fasting may help type 1 diabetics control their blood sugar levels

A recent study from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) suggests that time-restricted eating may be a safe and effective method for managing blood sugar levels in adults with type 1 diabetes. Led by Professor Krista Varady, the research, published in the journal Diabetes Care, is the first to examine the effects of intermittent fasting on individuals with this specific condition.

The study involved 32 participants from around Chicago, who were randomly assigned to one of three groups for a six-month period. The first group practiced time-restricted eating, consuming meals only between noon and 8 p.m. without counting calories. The second group adhered to a 25% reduction in calories, while the third group served as a control and maintained their existing eating habits.

After six months, researchers found that the time-restricted eating group experienced a reduction in HbA1c blood test levels, with an average decrease of approximately 0.5 percentage points. This improvement was not observed in the calorie-restricted group. Crucially, time-restricted eating did not result in an increased risk of severe hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, or diabetic ketoacidosis, conditions that could pose life-threatening risks to those with diabetes.

Professor Varady, a leading expert on intermittent fasting, emphasized the promising nature of these findings, stating that this represents the initial step in demonstrating that time-restricted eating could be a safe and potentially effective approach for managing blood sugar levels in people with type 1 diabetes. However, she cautioned that this is merely the first step and that further research is needed, particularly larger, multisite studies to validate these results on a broader scale.

Varady also stressed the importance of individuals with diabetes working closely with their healthcare providers when making changes to their eating habits. The UIC research team, including researchers Mary-Claire Runchey, Sarah Corapi, Vasiliki Pavlou, and others, collaborated on this study. The findings have been published in Diabetes Care, with the results reported with a DOI of 10.2337/dc26-1093.