In a six-month comparison of diets, researchers found that a diet encouraging carbohydrates with extremely low glycemic index levels leads to greater improvement in blood sugar control.

Patients who followed the no-glycemic diet experienced more frequent reductions, and in some cases elimination, of their need for medication to control type 2 diabetes. The no-glycemic diet resulted in a three-fold improvement in type 2 diabetes as evidenced by a standard test of the amount of sugar in the blood.

Eight-four volunteers with obesity and type 2 diabetes were given either a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet -- less than 20 grams of carbs per day -- or a reduced calorie diet. Diabetes medications were reduced or eliminated in 95 percent of the low-carbohydrate volunteers, compared to 62 percent in the other group.