Losing just ONE gram of fat could cure Type 2 diabetes: Process unclogs the pancreas to kick-start insulin production again

Diabetes can be defeated by losing just one gram of fat, British research shows.

The catch is that the fat must come from the pancreas.

In a striking study, Newcastle University doctors showed that Type 2 diabetes, the form that blights the lives of millions of middle-aged Britons, is caused by fat clogging up the pancreas. When this fat goes, so does the condition.

The finding builds on earlier research from the same team in which crash-dieting allowed diabetics to throw away their medication.

Researchers have discovered that losing just one gram of fat from the pancreas, reverses Type 2 diabetes

The researchers say their work shows that diabetes is not a life sentence – and that fat levels in the pancreas are key to beating it.

The pancreas is a small organ that sits behind the stomach and pumps out the insulin needed to keep blood sugar levels under control.

In Type 2 diabetes, not enough insulin is made, and any that is made does not work properly.

The condition, which is on the rise due to expanding waistlines, is often controlled initially with a stringent diet and exercise regimen.

But many sufferers will see their health worsen over time and will eventually need tablets or insulin injections.

Diabetics are more likely to develop heart disease, blindness, kidney disease and nerve and circulatory damage, which at its worst can lead to amputations.

Reversing the condition could therefore greatly improve sufferers’ long-term health and quality of life.

To look at the role of fat in diabetes, the British researchers tracked the health of 27 obese men and women who were having weight loss surgery.

All were around 18 or 19 stone, and two-thirds of them had diabetes and weren’t making enough insulin.

Each patient lost more than two stone after the operation – but only the diabetics shed fat from their pancreas.

They lost just under one gram on average – the sort of amount that would fit on the tip of your little finger.

Newcastle University doctors showed that Type 2 diabetes, the form that blights the lives of millions of middle-aged Britons, is caused by fat clogging up the pancreas, pictured 

Crucially, by eight weeks after the operation, insulin production had returned to normal, meaning their diabetes had vanished.

It is thought they could remain free of the disease, and the drugs needed to control it, for up to 20 years.

Study author Professor Roy Taylor told the World Diabetes Conference in Vancouver on Tuesday: ‘For people with Type 2 diabetes, losing weight allows them to drain excess fat out of the pancreas and allows function to return to normal.

‘So, if you ask how much weight you need to lose to make your diabetes go away, the answer is one gram. But that gram needs to be fat from the pancreas.’

Interestingly, the danger level for fat in the pancreas varies from person to person, helping explain why a slim person can be diabetic while another who is very overweight is free of the disease.

In a 2011 study, Professor Taylor used a crash diet to produce similar results.

It involved eating just 600 calories a day – the amount many people would consume for lunch alone – for eight weeks.

However, he suggests dieters begin more gently, by cutting out carbohydrates. If that doesn’t work, they should try the 5:2 Diet, a highly-popular eating plan, in which slimmers cut back on calories two days a week.

The third, and final, option, is a crash diet based around meal replacement shakes.

The research has no implications for people with Type 1, or childhood, diabetes, in which the pancreas is damaged by the body’s own immune system. However, it could lead to a new fat-busting drug for the Type 2 form.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TYPE 1 AND TYPE 2 DIABETES?

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 develops when the insulin-producing cells in the body have been destroyed, leaving the body unable to produce any insulin at all.

Everyone diagnosed with Type 1 is treated with insulin.

Scientists don't know why the insulin-producing cells are destroyed in people with the condition.

All those diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes are treated with insulin, pictured

It is thought to be caused by an abnormal, autoimmune, reaction to the cells, which could be triggered by a virus or other infection.

Experts believe there is a genetic element to Type 1 diabetes.

It is more common in some parts of the world than others.

Unlike Type 2, Type 1 diabetes has nothing to do with lifestyle or weight.

The condition can develop at any age, but is usually diagnosed before the age of 40, most commonly in late childhood.

Around 10 per cent of the 3.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK have Type 1.

Type 2 diabetes

The condition develops when the body is still able to make insulin, but not enough.

It also develops when the insulin that is produced by the body does not work properly - known as insulin resistance.

Initially, Type 2 diabetes can be controlled with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Being obese or overweight is the biggest risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes

Medication is also often required and a large number of sufferers eventually progress to needing insulin.

People who are overweight and have a large waist, are more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes - it is the biggest risk factor.

Those who have a close relative with the condition, or who are from a black or South Asian background are also at increased risk. 

The condition usually affects those aged over 40, but people from South Asia are commonly affected from the age of 25.

Around 90 per cent of the 3.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK have Type 2.

In addition, there are 549,000 people who have Type 2 diabetes but don’t know they have it because they haven’t been diagnosed. 

Source: Diabetes UK