In adults who are overweight or obese and have type 2 diabetes, eating a low-calorie diet rich in monounsaturated fats for one year leads to about the same improvements in weight, waist size, body...

Pro

Against

Mechanism

Synthesis from 1 study

How it works

When people eat fewer calories, their body burns stored fat, which clears excess sugar and fat from the blood. This helps the body use insulin better, lowering blood sugar and reducing pressure on blood vessels — no matter if the calories come mostly from fat or carbs.

Most probable mechanism

In Simple Terms

When a person eats fewer calories overall, their body starts using stored fat for energy, which lowers the amount of sugar and fat in the blood. This helps the body respond better to insulin, so it can control blood sugar more effectively, and also reduces pressure on the heart and blood vessels.

Causal chain

Energy restriction creates a negative energy balance, forcing the body to mobilize stored triglycerides from adipose tissue for fuel.

Verified by multiple studies

which leads to

Mobilization of fatty acids from adipose tissue reduces ectopic lipid deposition in liver and muscle, improving their ability to respond to insulin.

Verified by multiple studies

which leads to

Reduced circulating free fatty acids and glucose lower chronic activation of inflammatory pathways in adipose tissue and liver.

Verified by multiple studies

which leads to

Improved insulin signaling in skeletal muscle and liver enhances glucose uptake and suppresses hepatic glucose production.

Verified by multiple studies

which leads to

Lower blood glucose and reduced vascular resistance from decreased adiposity and inflammation lead to reduced diastolic blood pressure.

Verified by multiple studies

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

Community contributions welcome

One-Year Comparison of a High–Monounsaturated Fat Diet With a High-Carbohydrate Diet in Type 2 Diabetes

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2009 Feb

Contradicting (0)

Community contributions welcome

No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

One-Year Comparison of a High–Monounsaturated Fat Diet With a High-Carbohydrate Diet in Type 2 Diabetes

Score: 63

DOI: 10.2337/dc08-0687

Similar Assertions

For people with type 2 diabetes, how closely they follow a reduced-calorie diet matters more for losing weight and reducing body fat than whether their diet is higher in fats or carbohydrates.

85%

Adults with type 2 diabetes who follow a calorie-restricted diet for one year continue to lose weight and improve blood sugar levels 18 months after stopping the diet, whether the diet was higher in fats or higher in carbohydrates.

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In people with type 2 diabetes, eating diets high in monounsaturated fats or high in carbohydrates can lead to better insulin sensitivity, mainly because these diets cause weight loss, not because of the specific types of fats or carbs consumed.

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In people with type 1 diabetes, eating a diet with 40% low-glycemic carbohydrates raises blood levels of free fatty acids and triglycerides more than eating a diet with 60% high-glycemic carbohydrates, even when blood sugar levels stay similarly stable.

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If you're overweight and have type 2 diabetes, cutting carbs and eating more protein for 6 weeks can lower your blood fats (triglycerides) 18% more than the usual diabetes diet—even if you lose the same amount of weight—meaning your body handles fats better.

77%