Time Restricted Eating good for glucose level diabetics

Research from Maastricht University shows that diabetics can be helped with Time Restricted Eating (TRE). This is a way of fasting. Researchers Patrick Schrauwen and Charlotte Andriessen showed that adults with type 2 diabetes benefit from a maximum food intake period of 10 hours per day. This means that if someone eats something for the first time at 8:00 am, nothing may be eaten after 18:00 pm.

Research design

For the study, 14 participants ate exclusively between 8.00 a.m. and 18.00 p.m. for three weeks. During the control period, also lasting three weeks, the participants ate over a longer period of about 14 hours. The participants had an average BMI and were between 50 and 75 years old. Their food intake, sleep patterns or activities were not changed. All had type 2 diabetes. In the second phase of the study, the participants ate as much as before, but the calorie intake did not change. To ensure that diet was comparable in both study periods, participants kept a food diary throughout the study. At the end of each research period, participants came to Maastricht University to measure their insulin sensitivity, sugar stores in the liver and metabolism.

Uit it investigates shows that the participants' glucose levels were consistently lowered by the new eating pattern. Especially at night, the blood sugar value remained lower than before. “We saw that the blood sugar levels during the day were quite similar in both the TRE group and the control group, but in the evening that figure fell faster in the TRE group. That makes sense: they didn't eat anything anymore, and the control group did. But the figure remained consistently low in the TRE group, even through the night. We also saw this in the blood tests we did. This means that TRE can have a positive effect on sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.”

The Diabetes Fund calls the results of the research promising. “It shows beneficial effects on biological processes that bring the body back into a more natural balance and, just as importantly, that it is possible for people to continue the treatment. The idea behind TRE is that when food is consumed within a limited time, your body returns to its natural steady state, creating a more natural balance. Research into TRE shows that this does indeed happen. That is why it could become an interesting treatment option in the long term.”