A fast(ing) way to beat diabetes — and high blood pressure

The challenge: Around 85% of folks with diabetes develop high blood pressure, increasing their risk for stroke and heart attack. Unfortunately, some antihypertensive medications make it harder to control blood glucose levels, and some anti-obesity diabetes meds raise blood pressure. Losing weight, reversing diabetes and getting off blood pressure meds is like winning a three-legged race. (Let’s see you do that, Mr. Bolt-O-Lightning!)

A solution: The Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DIRECT) diet promotes weight loss by serving up low-calorie soups and shakes for 12-20 weeks and then helping people eat a healthy diet to maintain weight loss. The most recent DIRECT study published in Diabetologia found that achieving and maintaining around a 33-pound weight loss allowed 80% of participants to become diabetes-free without meds for at least two years. Around 28% were completely off their high blood pressure medication two years out.

Interested? Work with your doctor and diabetes educator or nutritionist to get long-lasting results by adopting a fast-start weight-loss diet and healthy eating plan