4 ms·

NHS 'soup and shake' diet puts almost 1/3 of type 2 diabetes cases in remission

30 points by robaato 2y ago

dsq 2y ago
A better title would be that the diet triggered rapid weight loss which in turn put the diabetes into remission. That is, the weight loss caused the remission, not some special ingredient in the diet.
ieeamo 2y ago
Interesting. I couldn't find it; Is there a resource anywhere which could help show how to replicate the diet / meals?
- aojdwhsd 2y ago
  I've been drinking ~1600 calories of Huel Monday-Friday for a little over a year, maybe you could try this.
  - happymellon 2y ago
    Or even one of the many other food replacement drinks. I personally enjoyed Huel back in version 1, or it may have been 1.1, but then it quickly swung into containing high levels of sweetener. More popular than other options, but if anyone else found it had moved into drinking cake then try some of the others rather than giving up.
    - SkyPuncher 2y ago
      I found the same. I would find my thing with Huel then they’d be out of stock or change it up. Also despise their website and shopping setup. Everything is pushing you towards expensive, repetitive subscriptions.
- ZeroGravitas 2y ago
  One of the papers mentions using an existing commercial TDR (total dietary replacement) product: https://www.one2onediet.com/ https://www.one2onediet.com/ And a calorie limit of 8-900 per day (and some support from a weight loss consultant, which I guess I spires the name, the 1:1 diet)
- blitzar 2y ago
  12 weeks with a total daily calorie intake of around 800–900 kcal
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
sk11001 2y ago
It's the reduced caloric intake that does it, not the specifics of the diet. But also > Patients are given low-calorie meal replacement products such as soups, milkshakes and snack bars for three months Something that goes below the radar is adherence - when someone else provides you with every single meal, sticking to a diet is much easier compared to when you're on your own and every meal is a choice that you make. It would be interesting to know how many people go back to their old habits once the program ends.
Ekaros 2y ago
800 "Calorie" diet... Effective surely, but also probably rather hard for many. Surprised by number that managed. Also the difference between average and "some" number seems rather small...
- ksec 2y ago
  Done that many times, or even fasting for days. I dont think it is hard at all. The trick, what most people fail to get, is the right food to intake. And perhaps the hardest part, taking quality nutrients and food during calorie diet is quite expensive compared to simply eating junk.
  - dolni 2y ago
    I have recently started making a concerted effort to eat better due to high cholesterol. My BMI is in the normal range, but at the high end of normal. Given my recent experience eating better, I think junk is probably even worse than many people realize. Refined sugars increase appetite astronomically. When I flipped to healthy food, I had a good few days of "suffering" as my body adjusted to lower calorie intake. After that, I never felt better. My daily calories are something like 1/4 what they used to be. I lost 10 pounds in a few weeks without even trying. My mental clarity is coming back, which I thought slipped a bit due to age. Maybe age is a factor -- but diet fixed it!
    - ksec 2y ago
      Exactly Yes. It is easy for other to read on the internet, but to actually understand and experience is an entirely different thing. We dont need to eat a lot, not even three meals a day. But we need to eat high quality nutritious food. I wish the next frontier is actually Food Tech. Which to me may be even more important than Bio Tech. Make organic nutritious affordable with technology.
  - SkyPuncher 2y ago
    It’s extremely hard if your body isn’t used to it. It took me nearly 2 years to adjust my body’s response to being hungry. In the past, I’d get shaky and crabby if I didn’t eat every 2 to 3 hours. Now, I can basically go all day without eating. I frequently feel much better on the days that I don’t end up eating until nearly dinner time.
profstasiak 2y ago
Total meal replacement is a diet most people are sleeping on. One good article I found about this is https://www.mynutritionscience.com/p/total-diet-replacement https://www.mynutritionscience.com/p/total-diet-replacement Total diet replacement has effects on the level of new obesity drugs. Adherence is actually very good I would love the ease of not having to cook, buy food, to eat healthily
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  I did meal replacements for a while. Not a weight issue, but I was having major GI issues. They were a way for me to pretty easily control exactly what I ate in basically any circumstance. I ended up getting tired of always drinking a shake. It just doesn’t hit the same way as real food.
mjfl 2y ago
Honestly I'd rather do a complete fast and lose weight even faster!
- adrian_b 2y ago
  If you eat the normal quantities of proteins, essential fatty substances, vitamins and minerals (all of which would provide only around 400 kcal/day, way lower than the around 800 kcal/day recommended for quick weight loss) and you eliminate only most carbohydrates and non-essential fats, you still lose weight fast enough, but you avoid any health risks, including muscle mass loss.
beardyw 2y ago
I was recently diagnosed as "pre-diabetic" which was new to me. I have been put on an NHS funded program with an online mentor and weight monitoring. Obviously prevention is also being ramped up.
- beardyw 2y ago
  Interestingly my BMI is in the lower part of normal.
tssva 2y ago
1740 people started the trial and 945 people completed it. Of that 32% went into remission. So the rate for all those which attempted the protocol was around 17.4%. Certainly the ability of people to comply with the protocol has to be considered part of the effectiveness of it.
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  Sure, but given that the half that dropped out would be unlikely to be in remission, the bar is pretty low. These types of studies are thought. Life style is a huge driver of T2, but food is also a massive outlet for a lot of people. That seems to be where the GLP-1 drugs really work miracles. They pretty much eliminate the need for people to use food as an outlet.

30 points by robaato 2y ago

dsq 2y ago

A better title would be that the diet triggered rapid weight loss which in turn put the diabetes into remission. That is, the weight loss caused the remission, not some special ingredient in the diet.

ieeamo 2y ago

Interesting. I couldn't find it; Is there a resource anywhere which could help show how to replicate the diet / meals?

aojdwhsd 2y ago
I've been drinking ~1600 calories of Huel Monday-Friday for a little over a year, maybe you could try this.
- happymellon 2y ago
  Or even one of the many other food replacement drinks. I personally enjoyed Huel back in version 1, or it may have been 1.1, but then it quickly swung into containing high levels of sweetener. More popular than other options, but if anyone else found it had moved into drinking cake then try some of the others rather than giving up.
  - SkyPuncher 2y ago
    I found the same. I would find my thing with Huel then they’d be out of stock or change it up. Also despise their website and shopping setup. Everything is pushing you towards expensive, repetitive subscriptions.
ZeroGravitas 2y ago
One of the papers mentions using an existing commercial TDR (total dietary replacement) product: https://www.one2onediet.com/ https://www.one2onediet.com/ And a calorie limit of 8-900 per day (and some support from a weight loss consultant, which I guess I spires the name, the 1:1 diet)
blitzar 2y ago
12 weeks with a total daily calorie intake of around 800–900 kcal

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

sk11001 2y ago

It's the reduced caloric intake that does it, not the specifics of the diet. But also > Patients are given low-calorie meal replacement products such as soups, milkshakes and snack bars for three months Something that goes below the radar is adherence - when someone else provides you with every single meal, sticking to a diet is much easier compared to when you're on your own and every meal is a choice that you make. It would be interesting to know how many people go back to their old habits once the program ends.

Ekaros 2y ago

800 "Calorie" diet... Effective surely, but also probably rather hard for many. Surprised by number that managed. Also the difference between average and "some" number seems rather small...

ksec 2y ago
Done that many times, or even fasting for days. I dont think it is hard at all. The trick, what most people fail to get, is the right food to intake. And perhaps the hardest part, taking quality nutrients and food during calorie diet is quite expensive compared to simply eating junk.
- dolni 2y ago
  I have recently started making a concerted effort to eat better due to high cholesterol. My BMI is in the normal range, but at the high end of normal. Given my recent experience eating better, I think junk is probably even worse than many people realize. Refined sugars increase appetite astronomically. When I flipped to healthy food, I had a good few days of "suffering" as my body adjusted to lower calorie intake. After that, I never felt better. My daily calories are something like 1/4 what they used to be. I lost 10 pounds in a few weeks without even trying. My mental clarity is coming back, which I thought slipped a bit due to age. Maybe age is a factor -- but diet fixed it!
  - ksec 2y ago
    Exactly Yes. It is easy for other to read on the internet, but to actually understand and experience is an entirely different thing. We dont need to eat a lot, not even three meals a day. But we need to eat high quality nutritious food. I wish the next frontier is actually Food Tech. Which to me may be even more important than Bio Tech. Make organic nutritious affordable with technology.
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  It’s extremely hard if your body isn’t used to it. It took me nearly 2 years to adjust my body’s response to being hungry. In the past, I’d get shaky and crabby if I didn’t eat every 2 to 3 hours. Now, I can basically go all day without eating. I frequently feel much better on the days that I don’t end up eating until nearly dinner time.

profstasiak 2y ago

Total meal replacement is a diet most people are sleeping on. One good article I found about this is https://www.mynutritionscience.com/p/total-diet-replacement https://www.mynutritionscience.com/p/total-diet-replacement Total diet replacement has effects on the level of new obesity drugs. Adherence is actually very good I would love the ease of not having to cook, buy food, to eat healthily

SkyPuncher 2y ago
I did meal replacements for a while. Not a weight issue, but I was having major GI issues. They were a way for me to pretty easily control exactly what I ate in basically any circumstance. I ended up getting tired of always drinking a shake. It just doesn’t hit the same way as real food.

mjfl 2y ago

Honestly I'd rather do a complete fast and lose weight even faster!

adrian_b 2y ago
If you eat the normal quantities of proteins, essential fatty substances, vitamins and minerals (all of which would provide only around 400 kcal/day, way lower than the around 800 kcal/day recommended for quick weight loss) and you eliminate only most carbohydrates and non-essential fats, you still lose weight fast enough, but you avoid any health risks, including muscle mass loss.

beardyw 2y ago

I was recently diagnosed as "pre-diabetic" which was new to me. I have been put on an NHS funded program with an online mentor and weight monitoring. Obviously prevention is also being ramped up.

beardyw 2y ago
Interestingly my BMI is in the lower part of normal.

tssva 2y ago

1740 people started the trial and 945 people completed it. Of that 32% went into remission. So the rate for all those which attempted the protocol was around 17.4%. Certainly the ability of people to comply with the protocol has to be considered part of the effectiveness of it.

SkyPuncher 2y ago
Sure, but given that the half that dropped out would be unlikely to be in remission, the bar is pretty low. These types of studies are thought. Life style is a huge driver of T2, but food is also a massive outlet for a lot of people. That seems to be where the GLP-1 drugs really work miracles. They pretty much eliminate the need for people to use food as an outlet.