Assessing the impact of intermittent fasting and a low-carbohydrate-high-protein diet on metabolic health and pancreatic histopathology in type 2 diabetic rat model.

OBJECTIVE

The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of intermittent fasting (IF) with a low-carbohydrate-high-protein (LCHP) diet on blood glucose control in streptozotocin (STZ)-nicotinamide-induced type 2 diabetic rats (DR).

METHODS

Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into six groups ( = 5) including a group of normal rats (NR) that received a control diet (CD) (50% carbohydrates, 17% protein, and 33% fat) with (AL) feeding. The remaining 5 groups were DR injected with STZ and fed on CD or LCHP diet (40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat) for 6 weeks, either AL or IF (with a time-restricted feeding of 16 h followed by 8 h feeding period). There was a standard control group treated with metformin and fed on CD with AL feeding. A random blood glucose was measured. Changes in body weight and feed intake (FI) were monitored weekly.

RESULTS

Feeding rats on LCHP and IF and their combination significantly reduced FI, body weight gain, blood glucose ( < 0.001), and improved insulin resistance ( < 0.05) with no effect on the insulin levels ( > 0.05). LCHP and IF decreased the levels of triglycerides and very-low-density lipoprotein and showed a possible protection against atherosclerosis by reducing the atherogenic index ( < 0.01). Furthermore, LCHP+IF greatly alleviates the pancreatic histopathological changes induced by STZ and showed the normal histological structure of the Langerhans islets.

CONCLUSION

IF with a LCHP diet could be effectively used in improving the indicators of glucose control, and reversing pancreatic histopathological alterations in type 2 diabetes.