Forget what the experts have been claiming about how to keep energy levels up. just focus on eating two hefty breakfast and lunch meals, especially if you suffer from Type 2 diabetes.
That's the reveal from a new study Friday published in Diabetologia. Eating two meals instead of six during the day is more effective for controlling weight and blood sugar for those diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
"Eating only breakfast and lunch reduced body weight, liver fat content, fasting plasma glucose, C-peptide and glucagon, and increased OGIS, more than the same caloric restriction split into six meals. These results suggest that, for type 2 diabetic patients on a calorie-restricted diet, eating larger breakfasts and lunches may be more beneficial than six smaller meals during the day," states a press release on the study.
The research was conducted by Dr. Hana Kahleová, Diabetes Centre, Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic, and colleagues. The study involved 54 patients, of which 25 were women, who were handling diabetes with oral medication. The group was asked to follow one of two regimens - the 'grazing' approach of six small meals or the two big meals early in the day. Both diet approach had the same macronutrient and calorie content.
The researchers found body weight decreased in both regimens, but more for those eating two meals.
"Novel therapeutic strategies should incorporate not only the energy and macronutrient content but also the frequency and timing of food. Further larger scale, long-term studies are essential before offering recommendations in terms of meal frequency," states the release.
