A low-fat plant-based diet, without any restriction on calories or carbohydrates, significantly reduced the amount of insulin people with type 1 diabetes needed each day — and the amount they spent on it — according to a new analysis published in BMC Nutrition. Participants following the diet for 12 weeks reduced their total daily insulin dose by an average of 28 percent without any deterioration in blood glucose control, with some individuals reducing their dose by more than 40 percent.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition in which the immune system destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas. People with the condition require multiple daily insulin injections throughout their lives. In the United States, the cost of insulin has been a major financial crisis for patients, with some rationing doses because they cannot afford to fill prescriptions.
Why It Works
Researchers believe the benefit is driven by a significant improvement in insulin sensitivity at the cellular level — the same cells respond more efficiently to the same amount of insulin — rather than any change in the autoimmune process that caused the diabetes. A low-fat diet dramatically reduces the amount of fat circulating in the bloodstream, which can interfere with insulin signaling in muscle and liver cells.
"Type 1 diabetes is not caused by diet and cannot be reversed or cured by diet," said lead author Dr. Hana Kahleova of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "But these results suggest that what people eat powerfully modulates how well their remaining insulin sensitivity functions, with meaningful real-world impact on dose and cost."