Diabetes intervention study

Continuous glucose monitoring might be pretty damn handy!

This is a solid pilot study showing the efficacy of diagnosed Type 2 diabetics wearing continuous glucose monitors to forestall disease progression. Here are the results:

Results: At 3-month follow-up, 67% of the participants’ diabetes was in remission (HbA1c levels <6.5%), and only one participant started taking diabetes medication. Participants demonstrated a significant reduction in HbA1clevels (–1.8%; P<.001). Participants also experienced significant reductions in high-glycemic-load carbohydrates routinely consumed, CGM readings that were >140 mg/dL, diabetes distress, depressive symptoms, and BMI. Participants felt that use of the CGM was the most significant single element of the intervention.

This is pretty powerful stuff. It shows not only that newly diagnosed diabetics can reverse their condition, but it shows what a remarkably important role the feedback mechanism of a CGM can play in that story.

there has been some gnashing of teeth from (ironically) some vegan doctors bemoaning folks wearing CGM’s as this tech should apparently be reserved only for folks that are sick, not on the way to being sick! I don’t think it’s a surprise the vegan docs are cranky at the quantified self nerds for discovering (in real-time) that a starch based vegan diet might lead to wild blood sugar excursions in most folks

https://diabetes.jmir.org/2022/1/e34465