If your blood sugar readings are high, the first advice your doctor is likely to offer is to go on a diet.
Losing weight can stop prediabetes from progressing into full-blown type 2 diabetes. It can even cure diabetes in people who already have it.[i]
Of course, dieting to lose weight is easier said than done.
But new research shows that you don’t have to eat less to get your blood sugar under control. You don’t even have to change what you eat.
The key is changing when you eat.
In a study published in the journal Obesity, researchers investigated the effects of time-restricted eating (TRE). They recruited subjects who were at high risk for type 2 diabetes.[ii]
The researchers had the subjects limit their eating to a nine-hour period each day.
Associate Professor Leonie Heilbronn was a member of the study team. She said the participants ate from either 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or from noon to 9 p.m.
“They ate their normal diet,” she explained. “In fact, we told them to keep eating all the foods they usually eat.”[iii]
The researchers tested the subjects’ blood glucose every day. TRE improved the subjects’ glucose levels. It didn’t matter when their eating “shift” started and stopped. Keeping their eating to a nine-hour span is what made the difference.
Fred Rochler was a trial subject. He said that TRE changed his blood sugar “from ‘increased risk’ to ‘normal.’” And that was “without changing any of the foods” he likes to eat.
How to Practice Time-Restricted Eating
TRE’s benefits don’t stop with lower blood sugar. A number of recent studies have also found that TRE leads to weight loss, lower inflammation, and slower aging.[iv] [v]
Here’s how to get started:
Ease into it. Start by eating breakfast 15 minutes later than usual. And have dinner 15 minutes earlier. Each week, shorten your eating window by a half hour by eating breakfast 15 minutes later and dinner 15 minutes earlier.
Eat within a nine-hour window. To follow the study cited above, stop reducing your eating window when it is at nine hours. So if you eat breakfast at 9 a.m., you should finish dinner by 6 p.m. In weight-loss studies, some people have more success with an eight-hour window. But this can be difficult to maintain.
Eat more protein. You’ll find you stay fuller longer if you eat more protein and avoid carbs. Good sources include organic eggs, beef, poultry, and wild-caught fish.
One more thing… Don’t get discouraged if you slip up. If you eat outside your window, simply try to maintain your schedule the next day.
Editor’s Note: Most diabetics don’t actually die of diabetes. Something else kills them. And mainstream diabetes treatments actually make it worse. To find out more, read Independent Healing, your best source for evidence-based health advice. Go HERE to subscribe.
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[i]https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20180917/lose-weight-reverse-type-2-diabetes-why-it-works
[ii]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/oby.22449
[iii]https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-04/uoa-ies042319.php
[iv]https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322365.php
[v] https://www.bewell.com/blog/time-restricted-eating-benefits