Skipping breakfast has the potential to completely reverse Type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes affects over 400 million people worldwide, though this figure is likely to be underestimated because nearly half of all cases go undiagnosed. Diabetes affects one out of every eleven adults, and 90% of them have type 2 diabetes. There are several effective drugs that can help control type 2 diabetes, but it is also known that a healthy diet and exercise can help keep the disease at bay or even reverse it. A new study may have discovered a new weapon to accomplish this: intermittent fasting.

Skipping breakfast has only recently emerged as a treatment option for a variety of diet-related diseases. Although there have been few large-scale human studies, a 2019 review concluded that intermittent fasting may help with issues ranging from obesity and insulin resistance to hypertension and inflammation.

Skipping breakfast can take many forms. In some versions, you eat the same amount every day, but you limit your eating to a few hours of the day; typically, the day is divided into an 8-hour and a 16-hour interval, and you eat all of your meals during the former and never during the latter. Another type of intermittent fasting occurs when you eat normally on some days and less than usual on others — as was the case here.

The researchers conducted a three-month study on 36 diabetics. According to Chinese dietary guidelines, they had participants eat only 840 kilocalories for 5 days (the average recommended number is around 2,000 kcal), and then eat normally for 10 days. More than half (17/36) of those in the intermittent fasting group reversed their diabetes and were diabetes-free after one year. In another control group, only one of the 36 patients achieved remission.

"Type two diabetes is not always a persistent, lifelong disease. Diabetes full recovery is possible if patients lose weight by changing their diet and exercise habits," said Dongbo Liu, one of the study's authors and a researcher at Hunan Agricultural University in Changsha, China. According to the researcher, this diet can also help reduce medication costs. "Diabetes medications are expensive, which makes it difficult for many patients to effectively manage their diabetes. "Our study found that intermittent fasting reduced medication costs by 77% in people with diabetes," Liu said.

Other researchers, however, pointed out that it was a small-scale study, and that the people in the intermittent fasting group lost a lot of weight, which has been linked to type 2 diabetes improvements. Participants in the intermittent fasting group lost nearly 6 kg on average, making it difficult to determine whether it is the intermittent fasting or the weight loss that is assisting.

"This study reinforces the message that Type 2 diabetes is reversible and illustrates that remission is possible in those with relatively long-term diabetes," said Keith Frayn, Emeritus Professor of Human Metabolism at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford. "The use of intermittent fasting as a means of reducing body weight to induce diabetes remission is new, and may prove useful as it seems the participants found it easy to follow this strategy. However, it appears likely that the beneficial effect on diabetes is primarily due to weight loss, as demonstrated in several studies, rather than any specific effect of the intermittent fasting protocol. A different exploratory approach would be required to support any claim that intermittent fasting has benefits other than weight loss.

It's also important to remember that you shouldn't just start intermittent fasting haphazardly — it's best to consult with a specialist first.

"Although there have been studies showing that low-calorie and low-carbohydrate diets can help people with type 2 diabetes achieve remission, this relatively small study is the first to show the use of intermittent fasting," said Duane Mellor, Registered Dietitian and Senior Lecturer at Aston University. "As one of the best predictors of achieving remission in type 2 diabetes is weight loss, it is impossible to say if it is intermittent fasting which is helping to induce remission as it is most likely to be the result of the weight loss.

At the end of the day, whether you practise intermittent fasting or not, eating a healthy diet (especially one that promotes a healthy weight) can help you fight diabetes in the long run, improving your overall health and reducing your reliance on medications. Larger studies will undoubtedly shed more light on how (or if) intermittent fasting differs from other approaches over time.