Maintaining a diet to control type 2 diabetes may have many other benefits. New research has shown that if people achieve considerable weight loss and can maintain their regimen, many can also effectively control their hypertension and reduce their antihypertensive medication.
This progress has been discovered from a weight control programme developed by researchers from the Universities of Glasgow and Newcastle (United Kingdom) for the DIabetes REmission (DIRECT) clinical trial, collected by Europa Press.
With the results of the study, it has been possible to demonstrate the effectiveness of this diet to reduce blood pressure as well as the need to take antihypertensive drugs, while reversing type 2 diabetes.
No diabetes medication
But what does the program consist of? It is a 12-week diet with a complete nutritional formula (low-calorie soups and smoothies) that induces weight loss of more than 15 kilos, if followed in its entirety.
After the weight loss phase, participants received support to make smart food choices and eat wisely to maintain weight loss. In the trial, diabetes and blood pressure medications were discontinued initially. These were only restarted if participants’ blood sugar or blood pressure levels increased.
According to the results of the study, this reduction allowed eight out of ten people to get rid of type 2 diabetes without the need to take diabetes medications for at least two years.
Lower weight, lower blood pressure
In the study, according to Europa Press, 143 people who began the diet program were analyzed. Of the participants, more than half were taking blood pressure pills at the beginning, and about a third were taking two or more medications.
Overall, the researchers found that average blood pressure was steadily declining as people lost weight, and it remained lower after the end of the formula diet period, and also at 12 and 24 months.