Ramadan Fasting with Vitamin E supplementing improves blood glucose and lipid profile in diabetes (Effects of Ramadan Fasting on lipids and fasting blood glucose in diabetes)

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate and characterize the effects of Ramadan fasting with and without vitamin E intake on the fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with diabetes mellitus and in the control group.Two study groups of forty subjects each (n=20) having an average age of 50+/50- 5 years were investigated. One group included normal control subjects recruited from the general population and the second study group had patients of diabetes mellitus (type 2- diabetes) who intake moderate drugs of insulin (10 mml per day). Each of the two study groups was divided into 2 groups (n=10). One subgroup in each of the two study groups fasted during the month of Ramadan and the other subgroup during the month of Ramadan and ingested 800 IU of vitamin E per day as well. FBG, TG, TC, HDL-C, and LDL-C were all measured in all the participating volunteers during the month of Shaaban (i.e., before fasting) in order to have pre-fasting baseline data for them. The same study parameters were again measured during the 4th week of the month of Ramadan and 6 weeks post-Ramadan fasting. Ramadan fasting resulted in reductions in the levels of: FBG, TC, TG, and LDL-C in the control and diabetic groups. Additionally, Ramdan fasting supplemented by Vitamin E resulted in more in more reductions. Conversely, the HDL-C was elevated from its baseline in the fasting control, and diabetic fasting groups. Furthermore, Ramadan fasting supplemented by Vitamin E insignificantly elevated the HDL levels in the control, and diabetic groups. Six weeks after the month of Ramadan, the FBG, TG, TC, and LDL-C in the two study groups returned to values indistinguishable from their baseline values. Similarly, HDL-C levels were statistically indifferent from their pre-fasting baseline values. in conclusion, the results of the present study suggested that Ramadan fasting has healthy effects as evidenced by the remarakable reductions in FBG, TG, TC and LDL-C and elevations in HDL-C induced by Ramadan fasting in the diabetic patients and control subjects as well.