Diabetes symptoms: Eat this surprising diet to control Your blood sugar and waistline

Diabetes diet: It's traditionally low in sugar, carbs and fat (GETTY)

Many people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. This tends to be because being overweight or obese raises the risk of type 2 diabetes in the first place, and high blood sugar - the hallmark of diabetes - can lead to weight gain.

However, slimming down to a healthy weight could help make the condition better. Dr Hana Kahleova, director of clinical research at the non-profit Physicians Committee, said: “Losing muscle fat increases insulin sensitivity.

Weight loss: Slimming down can help diabetics control symptoms (GETTY)

“By taking extra fat out of the muscle cells, we're letting insulin back in to convert sugar into energy.”

Dr Kahleova was the lead study author in new research, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, which discovered a plant-based diet was better for diabetics than the traditional one they are normally recommended.

This was because it lead to greater slimming results compared to a calorie-equivalent diabetes diet. Indeed, it resulted in double the weight loss.

People should be aware signs and symptoms of diabetes are not always obvious and the condition is often diagnosed during GP check ups. (GETTY IMAGES)

In the study, a group of 74 adults with type 2 diabetes adopted a 500-calorie reduced diet for a period of six months - half ate vegetarian and the other half stuck to a regular diabetes diet.

Those in the former group lost an average of 13.67 pounds, while the latter group shed 7.05 pounds. This was despite both consuming the same number of calories. Those on the plant-based diet also experienced positive changes to insulin sensitivity.

Blood sugar: A plant-based diet kept it under control (GETTY)

The food participants ate on the plant-based diet included cooked millet with plums and almonds for breakfast, lentil soup with carrots and cabbage for lunch, brown rice with marinated tofu and bean sprouts for dinner, and vegetables, fruits, and carrot sticks with hummus for snacks.

In contrast, those on the traditional diabetes eating regime consumed peanut butter raisin oatmeal for breakfast, a tuna-cucumber wrap for lunch, honey lemon chicken with brown rice and vegetables for dinner, and low-fat plain yogurt, fruit, and carrot and celery sticks with a low-fat dairy dip as snacks.

Dr. Kahleova said: “What we found is that a plant-based vegetarian diet is a helpful tool for anyone who is serious about staying healthy and lean, especially as we age.

“A diet built around plants is naturally rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, which leaves us feeling energised and refreshed instead of hungry and fatigued. Part of the reason a vegetarian diet works so well for many people is because it's easy to stick to." Via Source: express