Background
The incidence of diabetes has amplified worldwide, but health outcomes have not improved significantly. Anti-hyperglycemic medications are often accompanied by weight gain, hypoglycemia, and risk of cardiovascular events. Most diabetics are suggested a “low carb diet” as a nutritional strategy but the results short-termed and often unsustainable in most cases
Aims
This case report depicts the effectiveness of a personalized nutritional intervention program focused on Whole Food Plant Based Diet (WFPBD) and Intermittent Fasting (IF) in reducing blood glucose, body weight, waist circumference, without any pharmacological treatment.
Methods
We present a case of a personalized nutritional intervention program of a 47-year-old diabetic female, weighing 86 kgs, measuring 168 cm (BMI 30.5), with waist circumference of 43 inches. Her pre-intervention glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 12.5%, post prandial glucose (PPG) was 342 mg/dl, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) was 250 mg/dl. Besides following a WFPBD, the patient was advised to do intermittent fasts of 14 hours, starting from about 6 pm in the evening and extending till about 8 am the next morning. The primary measures were changes in HbA1c, fasting and postprandial glucose levels, body weight, waist circumference, and BMI.
Results
Nutritional intervention brought substantial improvements in several health parameters of the patient. Post-intervention, the patient was able to achieve an HbA1c of 6.40%, average FBG of 113 mg/dl, average PPG of 127 mg/dl, body weight of 74 kgs, BMI of 26.2, and waist circumference of 37 inches.
Conclusion
The results suggest that a personalized dietary modification program combining WFPBD and IF can significantly improve metabolic health and potentially reverse T2D without the need for pharmacological treatment.