Fig. 1.

Intermittent FMD intervenes in type 2 diabetes in db/db mice. a Experimental scheme to determine effects of the FMD in T2D in leptin-receptor-deficient db/db mice. Six-week-old male db/db mice were assigned to two groups: control and FMD (n = 8 for each group). Each FMD cycle entails 7 days of FMD and 7 days of ad libitum feeding (AL). During free feeding, mice received a regular chow identical to that given prior to the FMD and that given to the ad libitum (AL) controls. b Food intake. c Body weight. d Blood glucose levels. Blood samples were collected on the last day of each cycle. Mice were fasted for 6 h (morning fasting) for blood glucose measurements (n = 8 for each group). A fasting blood glucose level of > 11.1 mmol/L was defined as diabetic (dotted line). e, f Glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test at week 9. The area under the curve is shown on the right. g, h Homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) of insulin resistance (IR) and steady-state β cell function (%B) at week 9. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM, n = 8 per group. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, ns for nonsignificant