Hi there,

There are quite a few ex-diabetics who have cured their problem by fasting but it is tricky to start with as there is a fine line between cutting down/out medication or taking too much in the early days as it is about finding a balance between how much to eat, what to eat, when to eat and how much medication is sufficient when changing their regular eating habits.

A couple of days ago someone who is type 2 diabetic and trying to lose weight and cure the diabetes using 5:2 posted asking for advice as they had good results to start with and then began to gain weight and experience an increase in blood sugar level.

There are thousands of people around the world who have successfully lost weight using 5:2 and if the diet caused issues with out of control blood sugar in non-diabetics we would all know about it.
I don’t know how much you or your sister know about how 5:2 came about but the author of the book Dr Michael Mosley originally started fasting in an effort to see if it would help him as ne was borderline diabetic and with a family history of cancer he wanted to see if it would help blood levels of what are seen as cancer risk markers decrease.
His results were positive and he is no longer imminently at risk of developing diabetes. As a side effect he lost weight which is how/why he developed 5:2 as a weight loss tool.

The problem is that the food industry has convinced people over the years that it is necessary to eat every couple of hours or we’ll faint and unfortunately even some health professionals have come to believe it when if they actually used their knowledge of human physiology they would know it is nonsense.

There are a lot of health professionals who are finding it difficult to accept that the advice they’ve been giving for so long is flawed but they’ll come round eventually as it is very hard to prove that a weight loss diet that simply advocates eating less and if possible moving a bit more is unhealthy.

Just thought I’d add a bit here. Personally I have issues with low blood sugar for a few years now, there’s a medical name for it, but I can’t remember what it is. Was getting to the point I could barely eat anything and 3 hours later I was out in a full blown sweat and shake fest. This does pass on its own, or at least under a controlled environment it does, but it’s awful. Seen specialist and dieticians, and they contradict themselves, eat often, eat less, eat more complex carbs the list goes on. This is a pre-cursor for diabetes was also mentioned, but contradicted by someone else. I explained to all of them that the only time this sorts itself out is if I eat no or very little carbs, but this isn’t something I want to do on a permenant basis, it’s destined to fail. So 3 weeks back I started the 5:2, first day was a nightmare, but it got easier, much easier and I haven’t had a low blood sugar moment since. That’s pretty good considering it was a regular thing with me, daily sometimes. My heart rate has also reduced and headaches seem to be a thing of the past. Oh, and my IBS is also much improved. Honestly the best thing I’ve done. Only lost about 4Kg, but as long as I’m not gaining (stopped smoking in January, weight was creeping a little that was the main reason behind starting this diet) I’m happy.