Creating hope that type 2 diabetes remission is possible

A 12-week trial assessing the effects of a low calorie, low carbohydrate diet facilitated by community pharmacists suggests this approach could contribute to the remission of type 2 diabetes in adult patients. 

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With interest and research into the effects of nutrition at an all-time high, IPTN funded and brought together a team of researchers to see the impacts of diet on type 2 diabetes remission.  

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Trial investigator Jonathan Little, PhD, professor at the University of British Columbia (Okanagan), colleagues from UBC, and Teesside University in England, explored whether utilizing community pharmacists could reduce the need for glucose-lowering medications among adult patients with type 2 diabetes.  

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“Type 2 diabetes can be treated, and sometimes reversed, with dietary interventions,” said Little. “However, we needed a strategy to help people implement these interventions while keeping an eye on their medication changes.” 

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For IPTN Chief Executive Officer Sean McKelvey, this study demonstrated what can be achieved when the right people partner together.  

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“This milestone for IPTN was critical and in some ways a dream come true,” said McKelvey. “This study gives us results and data to prove the impacts of a food-based approach in type 2 diabetes remission, and should give new hope to millions of people across Canada living with type 2 diabetes.” 

 

Conducted across 12 different community pharmacies within southern British Columbia, results of the trial suggested the pragmatic approach of using community-based pharmacists to manage and oversee the low calorie, low carbohydrate diet, was associated with a reduction in need for glucose-lowering medications through to complete discontinuation. 

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“Community pharmacists are ideally positioned to safely and effectively deliver interventions targeted at reducing diabetes medications while promoting Type 2 diabetes remission,” said Little. “Their expertise in medication management serves an important role in overall diabetes care.” 

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This study, “A randomized controlled trial of pharmacist-led therapeutic carbohydrate and energy restriction in type 2 diabetes,” was published in Nature Communications.