Fasting is incredibly popular these days.
Instead of dieting, which instantly conjures negative associations of deprivation, suffering and restriction – fasting just sounds so much better! No negative imagery here – instead, a sparkling magical image of positivity has been painted – “natural”, “de-tox”, “reset and reprogramme”. It is so popular that even your typical run-of-the-mill diets have decided to market themselves as a trendy “fasting” program despite being no different to a traditional diet (I’m looking at you Fast 800!).
But is fasting all that it promises to be? And when it comes to type 2 diabetes, will it actually improve blood sugar levels? Read on to find out if you should give intermittent fasting a go.
Safety First
Long periods of time without food can result in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) which can be dangerous if you drive or operate heavy machinery. Some diabetes medications put you at a higher risk of hypoglycemia, so please consult your doctor or endocrinologist if you’re considering intermittent fasting. They can advise if fasting is appropriate for you and adjust your medications to ensure your safety and that of those around you.
What is intermittent fasting?
There are many variations of intermittent fasting programs, some popular ones include:
- 16/8 method: Fast for 16 hours and eat in an 8 hour window.
- 5:2 method: No fasting – just a very low-calorie diet for 2 days a week.
- Fast 800 method: No fasting – just a very low-calorie diet daily for 12 weeks.
- Full fasts a couple of days a week at varying intervals are also becoming popular.
Will it work?
Intermittent fasting has been found to be beneficial for weight loss and diabetes control, and a recent systematic review of studies that compared intermittent fasting to typical calorie-restricted diets found that weight loss was equivalent between the two. This means that fasting works but it doesn’t work any better than simply creating an energy deficit through reducing your daily calorie intake.
In terms of diabetes control, the same review found that both intermittent fasting and calorie-restricted diets performed similarly in improving blood sugar level however intermittent fasting performed significantly better in other markers of diabetes control such as fasting glucose levels. That being said, it appears that the effects may not be long-lasting as it was found that the blood sugar improvements were lost after 12 months of intermittent fasting despite successfully keeping weight off.
How successful intermittent fasting is relies on compliance – like all diets, it will only work if you stick to it.
Another key factor that influences how well it works is the creation of a negative calorie balance. If you are not able to create this calorie deficit despite a shortened eating window or 2 days of very low-calorie intake, you will not see any results.
Should you do it?
Based on the evidence, it would appear that there is very little advantage to using intermittent fasting for weight loss. You can achieve the same results from adopting a regular healthy eating pattern that caters to your individual calorie balance. A healthy eating pattern will also mean you’re less likely to have nutritional deficiencies.
There may be some advantage to trying intermittent fasting short-term for blood sugar control, particularly if you struggle with high fasting blood sugar levels. However, the evidence shows that you can also achieve very similar overall blood sugar control with a regular healthy eating pattern that is calorie-balanced.
The choice is yours – just keep your expectations real. If you’re a parent to young children where they’re learning all their food cues from you, perhaps fasting is not the best option – it would be an awkward conversation to have explaining why Mummy or Daddy is not eating any food or eating a different meal to what they’re having (this builds up fussy eating – trust me). Your lifestyle and environment will greatly influence how compliant you are to restrictive diets. If you’re someone who lives alone or have no dependants, or have minimal social commitments then perhaps fasting is just the thing for you!
If you’re a seasoned rider on the Disappointing Diet Train, this experience is not going to be any different to your previous rides. Intermittent fasting is really just the same self-imposed starvation diet (suffering!) or Optifast Intensive-style very low-calorie diet (restriction!) that you might have tried in the past, reincarnated in a sparkly, trendy, positive form. Ultimately, long-term healthy eating habits will still need to come into play, and the sooner you start building these habits, with or without fasting, the better for your goals.
Managing Type 2 Diabetes is often highly individualised, so if you’re still feeling confused about how to manage your blood sugar levels long term, get in touch with our team. We’ll help you feel confident in your food choices for long term good health.
