A lacto-vegetarian diet combined with a 14-hour overnight fast may help women with Type 2 diabetes improve blood sugar control, according to a new randomized controlled trial from India.
The 24-week study found that women who followed the combined diet and time-restricted eating plan had lower HbA1c levels than women who continued with usual diabetes care. They also showed improvements in body weight, insulin resistance, blood glucose, and some cardiovascular risk factors.
However, the study does not show that fasting alone caused these improvements. The participants also changed their diet, received nutritional counseling, and had regular follow-up.
What Did the Type 2 Diabetes Study Find?
Researchers enrolled 96 women between 25 and 60 years old who had Type 2 diabetes. The participants were divided into two groups.
One group continued with usual diabetes care. The other followed a structured lacto-vegetarian diet combined with 14-hour time-restricted eating.
The dietary plan included whole grains, vegetables, fruits, pulses, dairy products, and other high-fiber foods. It excluded meat, fish, poultry, and eggs.
Participants ate within a 10-hour daily period and fasted for the remaining 14 hours.
For example, some participants ate between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., while others followed a 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. schedule.
Of the 96 women who began the study, 90 completed the 24-week program.
HbA1c Improved With the Combined Approach
One of the most important results involved HbA1c.
HbA1c is a common blood test used to estimate average blood glucose levels over roughly the previous two to three months. It is widely used to monitor Type 2 diabetes.
After 24 weeks, the adjusted average HbA1c was 6.53% in the intervention group, compared with 7.65% in the usual-care group.
The adjusted difference between the groups was 1.12 percentage points.
The intervention group also showed greater improvements in body weight, BMI, fasting blood glucose, post-meal glucose, and lipid profiles.
These findings suggest that combining a healthier dietary pattern with a consistent eating schedule may have benefits for some people with Type 2 diabetes.
What Is a 14-Hour Fast?
A 14-hour fast means going 14 hours without eating and having a 10-hour eating window.
For example:
Eating window: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fasting window: 7 p.m. to 9 a.m.
This is a form of time-restricted eating.
It is less restrictive than some popular intermittent fasting schedules, such as a 16:8 plan. The 14-hour approach may therefore be easier for some people to maintain.
However, people with diabetes should not begin fasting without considering their medications, blood glucose levels, meal patterns, and overall health.
Anyone taking diabetes medication should speak with a doctor or qualified healthcare professional before making major changes to meal timing.
Did the Vegetarian Diet or Fasting Make the Difference?
This is an important question because the study combined several interventions.
The women did not simply begin fasting for 14 hours. They also changed what they ate and received nutritional counseling, individualized meal plans, behavioral support, and regular follow-up.
Because of this, researchers cannot determine exactly how much of the improvement came from fasting and how much came from the vegetarian diet or other lifestyle changes.
Future research could compare three groups:
- A vegetarian diet without time-restricted eating.
- Time-restricted eating without a major dietary change.
- A combination of both approaches.
Such research would help determine whether fasting provides additional benefits beyond improving diet quality.
Could a Vegetarian Diet Help With Diabetes?
A well-planned vegetarian diet can provide large amounts of fiber from vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, and other plant foods.
Fiber can be useful as part of an overall healthy eating pattern because high-fiber foods can help with fullness and may support better blood glucose management.
However, not every vegetarian diet is automatically healthy. Highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates, added sugars, and excessive calories can still be part of a vegetarian diet.
The quality of the overall diet matters.
Kidney Transplant Study Finds Changes Linked to Donor Diabetes
A separate 2026 study examined how diabetes-related gene activity in donated kidneys changes after transplantation.
Researchers studied 288 kidney biopsies from deceased donors. They compared tissue from donors with diabetes with tissue from donors without diabetes.
The researchers identified several gene activity patterns associated with diabetes, including changes involving AKR1C2, AKR1B10, AKR1B15, VNN1, VCAN, and other transcripts.
They then examined kidney tissue after transplantation.
Among kidneys from donors with diabetes that were transplanted into recipients without diabetes, some diabetes-associated gene activity became less pronounced after three months.
In particular, the researchers observed decreases in AKR1C2, AKR1B10, and NQO1, while SERPINF2 increased.
These changes were not seen in the control groups.
What Does This Mean for Kidney Transplant Patients?
The findings suggest that the metabolic environment of a kidney may influence gene activity after transplantation.
However, the study does not prove that diabetes-related kidney damage was reversed.
The researchers examined molecular changes rather than demonstrating that these changes directly improved long-term kidney function or transplant survival.
More research involving larger groups and longer follow-up will be needed.
What These Two Studies Tell Us
The two studies provide different but interesting insights into diabetes and metabolic health.
The first study suggests that a structured lacto-vegetarian diet combined with 14-hour time-restricted eating may improve several measures of diabetes control in women with Type 2 diabetes.
The second study suggests that some diabetes-associated gene activity in transplanted kidneys may change after the kidney enters a new metabolic environment.
Both studies also highlight the importance of looking beyond a single factor.
In the diabetes diet study, fasting was combined with dietary changes and nutritional support. In the kidney study, researchers examined how the transplanted organ responded to a different metabolic environment.
Final Takeaway
A lacto-vegetarian diet combined with a 14-hour overnight fast may be a promising lifestyle approach for improving blood glucose and other metabolic measures in some women with Type 2 diabetes.
The study's results are encouraging, particularly because the intervention used a relatively moderate fasting period rather than a highly restrictive approach.
However, the research does not prove that fasting alone caused the improvements. More studies are needed to determine which part of the program produced the greatest benefit and whether the results apply to men, older adults, people using insulin, and other populations.
The kidney transplant research also provides an interesting look at how diabetes-related molecular patterns can change after transplantation.
Together, these findings show why continued research into diet, metabolism, diabetes, and organ health remains important.
Medical note: This article is for general educational purposes and should not replace advice from a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. People with diabetes should consult their healthcare team before changing their diet, fasting schedule, or medication routine.
Outbound Links
For readers who want reliable background information on diabetes, link the phrase "Type 2 diabetes" to the official National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) diabetes information.
For information about healthy eating and diabetes management, you can also link to the American Diabetes Association food and nutrition resources.
Research References
Mahajan A et al. Effect of a lacto-vegetarian diet combined with 14-hour time-restricted eating on metabolic outcomes in women with Type 2 diabetes: a 24-week randomized controlled trial. Nutrition & Diabetes. 2026.
Girman P et al. Evolution of kidney transcriptomic signatures associated with donors' diabetes in non-diabetic transplant recipients: prospective observational study.
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