Diabetes and fasting/calioury restrictions.

[JestR]

Has there been any studies/trials on intermittent fasting on people with diabetes. My mother has type two diabetes and I've been trying to encourage her to try to restrict her eating to 16 hours of just drinking water to allow the body to rejuvenate and repair. Also ive been encouraging her not to eat complex carbs such as bread to reduce the work load on the body's digestion. Is it not better to consume less to reduce the strains on the pancreas and reduce your insulin intake. Is caliory restrictions good for diabetics? And is fasting going to drop the blood glucose levels too low that diabetics can't sustain concentration and strength thought out the mornings? Intermittent fasting tends to last 12 to 16 hours usually done from 7pm 11am.

[Cathleen Zoretic, RN]

Thanks for using the forum.

If your mother's blood sugar is well controlled with her current regimen, a big change in diet could lead to unstable blood sugar. A diabetic diet is calorie restricted. Diabetics have to manage their intake of calories and especially carbohydrates to prevent peaks and drops in blood sugar. If your mother were to fast, her blood sugar could become dangerously low. Additionally, when people come off a fast they tend to over compensate which could lead to her blood sugar spiking.

If your mother wants to loose weight, I recommend she speak with her doctor. There may be a diet plan that can be recommended that will safely allow her to loose weight while continuing to maintain a stable blood sugar.

I hope this helps.

Cathy

[diabetes86]

If her BG levels are good,

Is she a T1 or a T2 on insulin?

Food IS a medication for a diabetics, before she changes what she eats she better understand how that will effect her insulin needs or she could get into real trouble with hypoglycemia.

digesting food is such a strain in the system?  I thought that is where we got the energy and materials for repairing our systems.

[JestR]

Made a mistake she has type one diabetes and has recently started on an insulin pump which is working well for her and keeping her glucose levels stable but she wants to lose more weight.