Can low calorie diet defeat diabetes?

The form of diabetes that blights the lives of millions of middle-aged Britons could be wiped out by cutting calories severely for just two months, research suggests.

After a small-scale trial, diabetics who consumed just 600 calories a day – the amount many people would eat at lunch alone – were able to throw away their tablets.
Eighteen months on, some are still free of type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and usually occurs in middle age.The Newcastle University researchers described the result as remarkable and said it proves that the condition that affects 2.5million Britons need not be a life sentence. It also paves the way for new treatments for those who cannot stick to the drastic diet.
Professor Roy Taylor, the study’s lead author, said: ‘This is a radical change in our understanding of type 2 diabetes.

‘While it has long been believed that the disease will steadily get worse, we have shown that we can reverse it.’