Dr. Roy Taylor, of the Newcastle Diet fame is also professor of medicine and metabolism at Newcastle University, believes to have found a link between fat in the pancreas and type 2 diabetes.
“We have shown there is excess fat in the pancreas of people with type 2 diabetes, which is not present in people without diabetes.”, Professor Taylor was quoted. “If this special pool of fat is removed, then the pancreas can produce insulin normally and control sugar levels in the body.”
These new findings are encouraging. Up to this point, the failure of the pancreas cell to produce insulin and why has been a mystery. If these new finding are correct, simply removing fat in the pancreas can reverse type 2 diabetes.
Professor Taylor is no newcomer to diabetes research. His previous research led to the famous “Newcastle Diet” which can reverse type 2 diabetes. This diet consists of a very low calorie diet of around 600 calories per day. This diet is popular with those initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It should be noted this diet is an extreme diet and should not be followed for a long period of time. It was designed to be followed for a few weeks.
This study used 27 people: 18 of them had type 2 diabetes and 9 people who were overweight and did not have diabetes. All participants were give a gastric bypass for obesity. The ones with diabetes were taken off their diabetes medication.
Both groups lost 13 percent of their body mass and MRI scans determined where the fat was lost in their bodies. The group with diabetes showed a loss of fat in the pancreas that was not mirrored in the non-diabetic group.
Results show losing just 0.6 grams of fat from the pancreas can reverse type 2 diabetes. Which mean they no longer needed medication to control their diabetes. This study is not definitive to show a correlation between fat in the pancreas and diabetes. Taylor argues it does make a definite target for further research in blocking fat intake in the pancreas.
Presently the only way to get fat out of the pancreas is to remove a large portion of body fat in the process. There are no drugs designed to remove fat from just the pancreas itself. The results may be a significant step in the fight to cure type 2 diabetes as it may give researchers a place to start.
The study has not been publish in any peer-reviewed journal and yet to be substantiated. There are many critical of the findings. Weight has been a causative factor in type 2 diabetes. It is generally easy to lose weight in the short to medium term. Sustained weight loss has always been an issue.
Stephen O’Rahilly of Cambridge University stated the implication of fat disappearing from the pancreas may have no real meaning to the cause of type 2 diabetes. The fat loss was distributed across the entire body and other organs, it is not surprising the diabetes went away in the study. He further stated the study failed to address the fact when the weight returns, so will the diabetes.
Researchers may or may not have a new way to find a cure for type 2 diabetes when the complete findings are published. To some people it is a breakthrough. While to others it is a non-issue in the continuing research into the cause and cure of type 2 diabetes.
