Can Dal, Curd And A 14-Hour Fast Help Control Diabetes? Study On Diabetic Indian Women Finds Lacto-Vegetarian Diet Fruitful

There is one kind of Indian meal that needs no introduction: Dal, sabzi, roti, rice, dahi (curd). Maybe some fruit later. Depending on the family, there might also be a bowl of sprouts, a glass of chaas, or a paneer dish making a guest appearance. Now imagine being told that a version of this familiar vegetarian diet, combined with one fairly simple rule: stop eating for 14 hours overnight, could significantly improve blood sugar control.

That is the interesting finding from a new randomised controlled trial involving Indian women with Type 2 diabetes. The study followed 96 women aged 25 to 60 for 24 weeks. One group continued with usual diabetes care, while the other followed a structured lacto-vegetarian diet combined with 14-hour time-restricted eating.

What Were The Results?

At the end of the study, the intervention group had an adjusted average HbA1c of 6.53%, compared with 7.65% in the usual-care group. They also showed improvements in body weight, BMI, fasting and post-meal blood glucose, insulin resistance and several cardiovascular risk markers. But before we start replacing every dinner with a glass of warm water and declaring diabetes defeated, there is an important detail. The women didn't simply fast for 14 hours. They changed what they ate as well.

The focus is on improving the overall quality of the meals (Getty Images)

What Is A Lacto-Vegetarian Diet?

“Lacto-vegetarian” sounds like something that should be explained before it appears on a restaurant menu. In simple terms, it means a vegetarian diet that includes dairy products but excludes meat, fish, poultry and eggs. A typical Indian lacto-vegetarian pattern could include foods such as dal, rajma, chana, moong, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, millets, oats, curd, buttermilk, milk and paneer. The emphasis, however, is not only on removing meat but also on improving the overall quality of the diet.

The study's intervention focused on whole grains and high-fibre foods, vegetables, fruits, pulses and dairy products. Participants also received individualised meal plans, nutritional counselling, follow-up and behavioural support. A diet plan handed to you by a doctor is one thing. A diet plan that someone keeps checking on, adjusts for you and helps you actually follow is another.

Stock up on vegetables and plan your cooking (Getty Images)

The 14-Hour Fast

The fasting part was relatively moderate. Participants ate within a 10-hour window and fasted for the remaining 14 hours. That could mean eating from 9 am to 7 pm, or from 10 am to 8 pm. There is no dramatic declaration that carbohydrates have been permanently evicted from the house. Instead, the basic idea is to create a consistent overnight period without food. For someone accustomed to eating dinner at 8 pm and breakfast at 8 am, the change may not sound enormous. The bigger adjustment may be avoiding the late-night snacks, biscuits, desserts and “just one more thing” that mysteriously appear at 11.30 p.m.

What This Would Look Like On An Indian Plate:

1. Breakfast could be vegetable poha, upma, oats, moong chilla or another fibre-rich option, perhaps accompanied by curd.
2. Lunch could be roti made from whole grains or millet, dal, a generous serving of vegetables, salad and curd.
3. Snacks might include whole fruit, roasted chana, sprouts or nuts, depending on individual nutritional requirements.
4. Dinner could be a lighter meal of vegetables, dal, whole grains and dairy.

The point is to prioritise fibre-rich, minimally processed foods and better carbohydrate quality. Rice and roti can still exist. The issue is what kind, how much, what accompanies it, and what the overall dietary pattern looks like.

What Happened To Insulin Resistance?

One of the more interesting findings involved insulin resistance. The researchers used HOMA-IR, a measure commonly used to estimate insulin resistance. After 24 weeks, insulin resistance was significantly lower in the intervention group. Insulin resistance is a major part of Type 2 diabetes. The cells in the body become less sensitive to insulin, so it’s more difficult to get glucose out of the blood and into the cells. Improving insulin sensitivity can therefore be an important part of metabolic health.

The intervention was also associated with improvements in body weight, BMI, fasting and post-meal glucose and lipid profiles. Participants reported mostly mild and temporary adverse effects, along with perceived improvements in energy, mood, weight and overall health. The improvements could have resulted from the combination of better food quality, more fibre, portion control, reduced energy intake, the fasting window and the additional support. To determine how much each component contributes, future studies would need to compare groups following the diet alone, time-restricted eating alone and the combination of both.

What Does An Indian Lacto-Vegetarian Plate Have?

Quite a lot, provided we don't confuse “vegetarian” with “healthy.” A vegetarian diet can contain plenty of fibre and plant foods.

• Pulses: Dal, chickpeas, rajma, black-eyed peas, moong and other beans.
• Whole grains: Oats, barley and whole-grain cereals, along with traditional grains and millets such as jowar, bajra and ragi.
• Vegetables: Leafy greens, gourds, cauliflower, beans, carrots, tomatoes, lady's fingers and practically the entire vegetable aisle.
• Fruits: Whole fruits rather than relying heavily on juices.
• Dairy: Curd, milk, buttermilk and paneer, according to individual nutritional needs.
• Nuts and seeds: Useful additions for healthy fats, protein and fibre.

However, vegetarian does not automatically mean diabetes-friendly. A plate containing enormous quantities of white rice, potatoes, refined-flour snacks, sweets and sugary drinks can still be vegetarian. So can a diet consisting largely of biscuits and namkeen. The word “vegetarian” describes what you don't eat. It doesn't automatically tell you how nutritious the food is.

What About Dinner?

For many Indians, dinner is followed by a second dinner. There is the meal, then tea, then something sweet, then a little namkeen while watching television and suddenly the 14-hour fasting window has been reduced to 14 minutes! Creating a consistent overnight eating break could therefore help not only by changing the timing of food but also by reducing opportunities for late-night eating.

However, the trial included women aged 25 to 60 in India and excluded people using insulin. So, we cannot assume that exactly the same results will occur in men, older adults, people on insulin therapy or other populations. The study also does not mean people with diabetes should stop their medication or attempt to manage the condition without medical supervision. What it does suggest is that a structured, high-fibre lacto-vegetarian eating pattern combined with a consistent overnight fasting period may be a promising lifestyle strategy for some women with Type 2 diabetes.

Disclaimer: Anyone with diabetes considering time-restricted eating should discuss it with their doctor, particularly if they take glucose-lowering medication. Changing meal timing can affect blood glucose and medication requirements.

Source:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41387-026-00462-6

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