Vegetarian Diet and 14-Hour Fasting Improve Type 2 Diabetes Control
A structured lacto-vegetarian diet paired with a 14-hour daily fasting schedule significantly improves glycemic control, body weight, and insulin resistance in women with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a clinical trial published in EMJ. The 24-week multicenter trial, registered under the Clinical Trials Registry of India with identifier CTRI/2024/09/073262 and backed by institutional ethical approval from SIU/IEC/781A, evaluated 96 female participants aged 25 to 60 to determine whether combined lifestyle interventions offer practical, sustainable metabolic benefits compared with standard clinical care.
- The 24-week randomized trial demonstrated that combining a lacto-vegetarian diet with a 14-hour fasting window reduced adjusted mean HbA1c to 6.53%, compared to 7.65% in the control group receiving usual diabetes care.
- Participants in the intervention protocol experienced significant reductions in body weight, body mass index, and HOMA-IR scores, indicating enhanced insulin sensitivity.
- Reported adverse events were mild and transient, with most participants noting improvements in energy, mood, and overall health alongside their metabolic gains.
Managing Type 2 diabetes often requires dietary patterns that fit routine daily schedules while addressing chronic insulin resistance and elevated blood glucose. While plant-based diets and time-restricted feeding have each shown individual metabolic advantages, clinical evidence regarding their combined application in specific demographic groups remained limited prior to this investigation. The trial sought to address this evidence gap by analyzing an intervention focused on a culturally adaptable lacto-vegetarian regimen integrated with extended overnight fasting.
The open-label parallel-arm trial enrolled 96 women with Type 2 diabetes, of whom 90 completed the full 24-week protocol. Researchers divided the cohort into an active intervention group and a control group following standard diabetes care guidelines. The nutritional structure of the intervention diet consisted of 15 to 20 percent protein, 20 to 25 percent fat, and 50 to 55 percent of carbohydrates derived from whole grains and high-fiber foods. Participants adhered to a 14-hour daily fasting window, while researchers captured biochemical estimations and anthropometric measurements at baseline and at the 24-week mark using an intention-to-treat analysis protocol.
Results showed statistically significant improvements across primary and secondary metabolic markers in the intervention arm. Baseline-adjusted between-group comparisons revealed lower adjusted values for body weight, body mass index, and lipid profiles. The adjusted mean HbA1c dropped to 6.53 percent in the intervention group versus 7.65 percent in the control cohort, yielding an adjusted mean difference of −1.12 percent with a 95 percent confidence interval ranging from −1.35 to −0.89 and a p-value below 0.001. Furthermore, the Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) registered an adjusted mean difference of −1.84, confirming enhanced metabolic function.
Although the trial highlights clear therapeutic advantages, investigators noted that broader implementation demands further evaluation of staffing requirements, economic costs, and scalability within public health infrastructures.
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