THURSDAY, April 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a ketogenic diet (KD) reduces the proportion of proinsulin secreted to a greater extent than a low-fat diet (LFD), according to a study published online April 21 in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
Marian L. Yurchishin, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues compared changes in the proinsulin-to-C-peptide (PICP) ratio following a KD or LFD in 51 adults with T2D. Participants were randomly assigned to a KD or LFD for 12 weeks. A hyperglycemic clamp was used to determine PICP and the acute (ACP) and maximal C-peptide responses.
The researchers found that after adjustment for 12-week fasting glucose and baseline fasting PICP (PICP0), diet assignment was a significant predictor of change in PICP0 (KD versus LFD: β = –0.18). When 190-minute PICP (PICP190) was used as the outcome variable, results were similar (KD versus LFD; β = –0.23) after adjustment for 12-week fasting glucose and baseline PICP190. During the 12-week study, change in ACP was inversely associated with changes in PICP0 and PICP190 (ρ = –0.37 and –0.38).
"We showed that three months of a ketogenic diet was able to improve beta-cell function in patients with T2D, and these improvements were associated with changes in the PICP ratio, a biomarker of pancreas stress," Yurchishin said in a statement. "Other than bariatric surgery or large-volume intentional weight loss, interventions for improving beta-cell function in T2D do not currently exist."
Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.