WIKIMEDIA, NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTEA diet high in fiber can reshape the gut microbiome, helping people with type 2 diabetes stay healthy. A study published yesterday (March 8) in Science found that when patients with the condition ate a high-fiber diet, they had an abundance of microbial species that helped to reduce blood sugar and regulate weight compared with cohorts who ate a less fiber-rich diet.
“The study really gets at the mechanistic reasons of why these fiber-rich, plant-based diets may be helpful, especially in patients with type 2 diabetes,” Clare Lee, an endocrinologist at Johns Hopkins University who was not involved in the study, tells STAT News. “It’s an exciting step towards understanding potential mechanisms that can help us prevent and treat diabetes.”
In the study, microbiologist Liping Zhao of Rutgers University and his colleagues fed a group of 27 type 2 diabetes patients a diet of whole grains, traditional Chinese medicinal foods, and prebiotics for up to 86 days, while a group of 16 patients ate a similar diet with less fiber. All of the patients were treated with the diabetes drug acarbose, which helps transform starch into fiber.
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