Type 2 Diabetes Is 'reversible Through Weight Loss'
Many doctors and patients do not realize that weight loss can reverse type 2 diabetes. Instead, there is a widespread belief that the disease is "progressive and incurable," according to a new report published in the BMJ. This is despite there being "consistent evidence" that shedding around 33 pounds (15 kilograms) often produces "total remission" of type 2 diabetes, note Prof. Mike E. J. Lean and other researchers from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. The thrust of their paper is that greater awareness, when combined with better recording and monitoring of remissions, could result in many more patients no longer having to live with type 2 diabetes and a massive reduction in healthcare costs. The global burden of type 2 diabetes has nearly quadrupled over the past 35 years. In 1980, there were around 108 million people with the disease, and by 2014, this number had risen to 422 million. The vast majority of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetes, which is a disease that results when the body becomes less effective at using insulin to help cells to convert blood sugar, or glucose, into energy. Excess body weight is a main cause of this type of diabetes. In the United States, an estimated 30.3 million people, or around 9.4 percent of the population, have diabetes - including around 7.2 million who do not realize it. Diabetes accounts for a high portion of the national bill for taking care of the sick. The total direct and indirect cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. was estimated to be $245 billion in 2012. In that year, of the $13,700 average medical spend for people with diagnosed diabetes, more than half (around $7,900) was directly attributed to the disease. Treatment 'focuses on drugs' Prof. Lean and colleagues note that the current management guideli Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
Katy Wiley began her struggle with Type 2 diabetes in 1990, when she was pregnant with her second child. The disease progressed, and at eight weeks she started insulin treatment, hoping that once her son was born, the diabetes would disappear. Instead, her condition steadily declined. Vision problems and nerve damage, common complications of diabetes, began to appear. Her A1C blood glucose (sugar) levels were increasing, she was at least 50 pounds overweight and the medication metformin had been added to her daily therapy routine of insulin injection. That's when she read about a Type 2 diabetes study at Cleveland Clinic that was recruiting patients to participate in one of three arms of treatments to study the effectiveness of methods to treat and possibly reverse Type 2 diabetes. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) says that Type 2 diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance or the inability of the fat, muscle and liver cells to use the insulin produced in the pancreas to carry sugar into the body's cells to use for energy. At first, the pancreas will work harder to make extra insulin, but eventually it won't be able to keep making enough to maintain normal blood glucose levels, and glucose will build up in the blood instead of nourishing the cells. That's when diabetes Type 2 has developed and needs to be treated. In the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 29.1 million people — 9.3 percent of the population — have diabetes. About 95 percent of those people have Type 2 diabetes, a disease that can be prevented, reversed and maybe even cured. "While lifestyle factors of obesity, poor diet and exercise are risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, a genetic component frequently predisposes an individual t Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Is Reversible: Eating Just 600 Calories A Day For 8 Weeks Can Save The Lives Of Millions Of Sufferers
Type 2 diabetes can be reversed by going on a low calorie diet, new research shows. Consuming just 600 calories a day for eight weeks can save the lives of millions of sufferers of the preventable condition. Newcastle University scientists said that excess calories lead to a fatty liver, which causes the liver to produce too much glucose. The excess fat is then passed to the pancreas, which causes the insulin-producing cells to fail and thus causing diabetes. Losing less than one gram of fat from the pancreas can re-start insulin production, reversing type 2 diabetes, the researchers found. This reversal of diabetes remains possible for at least ten years after the onset of the condition, lead author Professor Roy Taylor said. Such a diet helps bring about 15kg of weight loss on average. Weight loss has long been known to help reverse the condition. It's down to the patients Professor Taylor, who has spent almost four decades studying the condition, said: 'I think the real importance of this work is for the patients themselves. 'Many have described to me how embarking on the low calorie diet has been the only option to prevent what they thought - or had been told - was an inevitable decline into further medication and further ill health because of their diabetes. 'By studying the underlying mechanisms we have been able to demonstrate the simplicity of type 2 diabetes.' What did the study find? The study showed results within just a week of starting the diet. It caused a profound fall in insulin sensitivity. Fasting blood sugar levels, of which diabetes patients have significantly higher, became normal within the same time frame. Often thought of as harmless, type 2 diabetes is a hidden killer and can lead to heart failure, blindness, kidney disease and leg amputations. Continue reading >>
Is Diabetes Reversible? Let’s Bust Some Myths
When it comes to type 2 diabetes we hear lots of things, myths, and stories, and often don't know what to believe. Here at Diabetes Meal Plans we bust myths and cut through the confusion so you have the facts! One of my favorite diabetes books is ‘The Blood Sugar Solution' written by Dr Mark Hyman. Have you read it? One of the chapters inside covers 7 myths around diabetes, including is it reversible, a question that comes up a lot. So I've taken that chapter and condensed it here for you now, covering 6 of the common myths around diabetes. Myth #1: Diabetes Is Genetic While it is true that we do inherent certain genes that may put us at higher risk for things. This isn't an automatic life sentence and doesn't mean you will develop the disease. We have lots of control over what genes get turned on or off through the information we give our body. This may sound strange but it's called epigenetics. Food is information. Exercise is information. Stress is information. Our lifestyle is information. And all of this information can either switch on, or switch off certain genes. So while you might have slightly higher genetic risk, type 2 diabetes is a direct outcome of dietary, lifestyle, and environmental factors turning the wrong genes on. So if we change the information, we can change the genes. Myth #2: Diabetes is Not Reversible Catch it early and treat it aggressively through lifestyle intervention and nutritional support, sometimes meds. Yes you can ‘reverse' it. Even later stages of diabetes can be treated with intensive lifestyle change, supplements, and the help of medications. Yes you can ‘reverse' it. Studies show type 2 diabetes is reversible! There is evidence to show that people can get back to normal. I've seen plenty of people completely turn their life Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
I just wrote an answer to this question about 5 minutes ago and will answer it again because it is so very important for you and for millions of other people. The answer to your question is yes. From my personal experience Type 2 Diabetes can be reversed. In March of 2017 I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. It really scared me. My father was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 60 and I watched him have to inject insulin 2 times a day. His body still deteriorated due to the diabetes. I did not want to end up like that. I was a chocoholic and ate huge portions. I was too heavy for my height and did not get enough exercise. I immediately got on the internet and started researching for cures for Type II Diabetes. I read all the information at the American Diabetes Association website and was thoroughly depressed. I was being told that I had a progressive disease with no cure that would last the rest of my life and finally cause my death. I learned that I would have to take progressively stronger medications to control my diabetes and BG, (Blood glucose levels). I decided that this path was not for me. I knew there had to be a cure for this terrible disease even if all these doctors and pharmaceutical companies were saying that there is no cure. I read everything I could find on T2 Diabetes. Causes, treatments, reversal and cure. I decided that changing my diet drastically to a low carb high fat diet, LCHF, was the way to go. I found a great deal of good information at Diet Doctor - Making low carb simple. So I did it. I absolutely changed my diet completely from that day. It was very difficult. My body was craving carbohydrates, especially sweets. I had physical flu symptoms from the body adjusting to this new diet. I used meditation and mindful eating to get through those Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
Type 2 diabetes is a serious, long-term medical condition. It develops mostly in adults but is becoming more common in children as obesity rates rise across all age groups. Several factors contribute to type 2 diabetes. Being overweight or obese is the biggest risk factor. Type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening. But if treated carefully, it can be managed or even reversed. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin. When your blood sugar (glucose) levels rise, the pancreas releases insulin. This causes sugar to move from your blood to your cells, where it can be used as an energy source. As glucose levels in your blood go back down, your pancreas stops releasing insulin. Type 2 diabetes impacts how you metabolize sugar. Either your pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or your body has become resistant to its effects. This causes glucose to build up in the blood. This is called hyperglycemia. There are several symptoms of untreated type 2 diabetes, including: excessive thirst and urination fatigue increased hunger weight loss, in spite of eating more infections that heal slowly blurry vision dark patches on the skin Treatment for type 2 diabetes includes monitoring your blood sugar levels and using medications or insulin when needed. Doctors also recommend losing weight through diet and exercise. Some diabetes medications have weight loss as a side effect, which can also help reverse diabetes. If you start eating healthier, get more exercise, and lose weight, you can reduce your symptoms. Research shows that these lifestyle changes, especially physical activity, can even reverse the course of the condition. Studies that show the reversal of type 2 diabetes include participants who have lived with the condition for only a few years. Weight loss is the primary fact Continue reading >>
Reversing Type 2 Diabetes
Tweet Reversing diabetes is a term that usually refers to a significant long-term improvement in insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes that are able to get their HbA1c below 42 mmol/mol (6%) without taking diabetes medication are said to have reversed or resolved their diabetes. This also known as putting diabetes into remission. Loss of body weight can be particularly beneficial in helping to reverse the progression of diabetes. With time and dedication, type 2 diabetes can be reversed and the results can be very rewarding, with less tiredness and better all-round health. If you think you need to come off your diabetes medication, ensure you speak to your healthcare team before doing so. Understanding how diabetes progresses The most common cause of type 2 diabetes is obesity-related, which generally follows a vicious cycle pattern: Diet high in calories -particularly if high in refined carbohydrates. Insulin levels in the bloodstream rise to cope with the high- and quick-acting carb intake. Weight is gained around the belly (central or truncal obesity). Consistently high insulin levels lead to the body’s cells becoming resistant to insulin and commonly lead to weight gain. High insulin levels also increase weight gain. Insulin resistance leads to an increase in blood sugar levels, particularly after meals. The pancreas produces more insulin to cope with rising blood sugar levels. High sugar levels lead to feelings of lethargy and high insulin levels lead to increased hunger. Hunger often leads to overeating and lethargy, with less physical activity being taken. Overeating, less activity and high insulin levels all lead to further weight gain and more insulin resistance. Consistently high demand on the pancreas to produce ext Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
In medical school, Dr. Peter Attia learned that type 2 diabetes was a chronic irreversible disease. But is that really true? Virta Health, a tech company, is actually reversing the disease in patients, using a simple dietary modification (i.e. low carb) and tech-enabled coaching, and documenting their results. Here are comments from journalists, investors and advisors: The ending of the last article above is fantastic. The journalist acknowledges that the results are really promising with people revolutionizing their health, cutting their need for medications by a lot and generally feeling great. But how will they keep it up, asks the journalist, when donuts are delicious? It’s more than a little condescending. Or perhaps it’s the carb addiction speaking. I believe hundreds of millions of people with type 2 diabetes would successfully decide to avoid a slow, medicated and painful death, when they know they have the option. Instead, they can choose a good life, with purpose. There’s more to life, after all, than donuts. Earlier The Upsides and Challenges of Building a Tech Company in Healthcare Another Victory for Keto as a Type 2 Diabetes Treatment More Low Carb for Beginners Top videos about type 2 diabetes Continue reading >>
Is This The Formula For Reversing Type 2 Diabetes?
The first-year results of a clinical trial have shown that almost half of people partaking in an intensive weight management program delivered through primary care achieved remission of their type 2 diabetes without medication. The trial, which is called the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), builds on earlier work by co-lead investigator Prof. Roy Taylor, director of the Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. The earlier work showed that a radical change in diet can reverse type 2 diabetes. The results of the trial, recently reported in The Lancet, suggest that remission of type 2 diabetes may be achievable through intensive weight management programs supported by routine primary care. The team's findings revealed that after 12 months of radical weight management, participants lost an average of 10 kilograms (22 pounds), and that 45.6 percent of them went back to being non-diabetic without medication. 'Long-term maintenance of weight loss' focus Prof. Taylor says that significant weight loss reduces the amount of fat in the liver and pancreas so that they can start working normally again. "What we're seeing from DiRECT," he remarks, "is that losing weight isn't just linked to better management of type 2 diabetes: significant weight loss could actually result in lasting remission." "Our findings suggest that even if you have had type 2 diabetes for 6 years," adds trial co-leader Prof. Michael Lean, chair of Human Nutrition at the University of Glasgow in the U.K., "putting the disease into remission is feasible." He says that their approach differs from the conventional way of managing type 2 diabetes in that it focuses "on the need for long-term maintenance of weight loss through diet and exercise and encourage[s] flexibility Continue reading >>
Radical Diet Can Reverse Type 2 Diabetes, New Study Shows
A radical low-calorie diet can reverse type 2 diabetes, even six years into the disease, a new study has found. The number of cases of type 2 diabetes is soaring, related to the obesity epidemic. Fat accumulated in the abdomen prevents the proper function of the pancreas. It can lead to serious and life-threatening complications, including blindness and foot amputations, heart and kidney disease. A new study from Newcastle and Glasgow Universities shows that the disease can be reversed by losing weight, so that sufferers no longer have to take medication and are free of the symptoms and risks. Nine out of 10 people in the trial who lost 15kg (two-and-a-half stone) or more put their type 2 diabetes into remission. Prof Roy Taylor from Newcastle University, lead researcher in the trial funded by Diabetes UK, said: “These findings are very exciting. They could revolutionise the way type 2 diabetes is treated. This builds on the work into the underlying cause of the condition, so that we can target management effectively. “Substantial weight loss results in reduced fat inside the liver and pancreas, allowing these organs to return to normal function. What we’re seeing … is that losing weight isn’t just linked to better management of type 2 diabetes: significant weight loss could actually result in lasting remission.” Worldwide, the number of people with type 2 diabetes has quadrupled over 35 years, rising from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. This is expected to climb to 642 million by 2040. Type 2 diabetes affects almost 1 in 10 adults in the UK and costs the NHS about £14bn a year. Type 2 diabetes is usually treated with medication and in some cases, bariatric surgery to restrict stomach capacity, which has also been shown to reverse the disease. � Continue reading >>
Doctors Now Show How Type 2 Diabetes Is Fully Reversible
Today, medical doctors say that Type 2 diabetes is completely reversible. In a video titled “The Two Big Lies of Type 2 Diabetes”, Jason Fung, M.D. makes a very bold assertion. He says “Diabetes is not a chronic, progressive disease. It is completely reversible; not only that, it is very quickly reversible.” Take a minute. Let that sink in. “TYPE-2-DIABETES-IS-COMPLETELY-REVERSIBLE” A doctor with a mainstream medical degree who claims complete reversal of diabetes should attract debate, discussion and curiosity, right? Unfortunately, the video itself is quite technical in parts because it’s a presentation at a medical conference. So, that might have held back some popularity. Equally, if not more importantly, maybe it is because his assertion flies in the face of everything we have been taught about T2D. We all believe that: A.Diabetes is a disease for life B.All one can do is progressively increase their medication to control the blood sugar (even as diabetes complications continue to affect other organ systems – from the kidneys to the nerves to the eyes and the heart.) Those, according to Dr. Fung, are the Two Big Lies of Type 2 Diabetes. He’s taking on the American Diabetes Association with these assertions. Luckily, he’s not the only M.D. who believes this. Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Joseph Mercola, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Andrew Weil are just a few of the heavyweights in the small, but growing, pack of functional medicine doctors who are not just stating that Type 2 Diabetes is reversible, but are actually proving this at their clinics! Mantra #1 for Reversing Diabetes: Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) Diet Dr. Fung defines diabetes as a “curable dietary disease.” If the disease is dietary, it stands to reason that the cure would be dietary too. The Continue reading >>
Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes?
It sounds too good to be true: reversing type 2 diabetes through exercise and healthy eating. While certain lifestyle changes are key to managing diabetes, whether you can actually turn back time so that it's like you never had diabetes is a different matter. That depends on how long you've had the condition, how severe it is, and your genes. "The term 'reversal' is used when people can go off medication but still must engage in a lifestyle program in order to stay off," says Ann Albright, PhD, RD. She's the director of diabetes translation at the CDC. Shedding extra pounds and keeping them off can help you better control your blood sugar. For some people, reaching a healthier weight will mean taking fewer medications, or in rarer cases, no longer needing those medications at all. Losing 5% to 10% of your body weight and building up to 150 minutes of exercise a week may help you to slow or stop the progress of type 2 diabetes. "If you sit [inactive] most of the day, 5 or 10 minutes is going to be great," Albright says. "Walk to your mailbox. Do something that gets you moving, knowing that you're looking to move towards 30 minutes most days of the week." In one study, people with type 2 diabetes exercised for 175 minutes a week, limited their calories to 1,200 to 1,800 per day, and got weekly counseling and education on these lifestyle changes. Within a year, about 10% got off their diabetes medications or improved to the point where their blood sugar level was no longer in the diabetes range, and was instead classified as prediabetes. Results were best for those who lost the most weight or who started the program with less severe or newly diagnosed diabetes. Fifteen percent to 20% of these people were able to stop taking their diabetes medications. Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible? Yes, And For The Long Term, Say Researchers
It is possible to not only reverse Type 2 diabetes, but to stay free of the condition long term, according to a new study from Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Approximately 29 million people in the United States have Type 2 diabetes, and another 86 million have prediabetes. Previous research by Professor Roy Taylor, MD, FRCP, indicated that following a roughly 800-calorie-a-day diet could reverse Type 2 diabetes. However, the study only lasted eight weeks, so it was not clear whether the diabetes would stay away for the long term. To evaluate this, Taylor and his team worked with 30 people who had had Type 2 for six months to 23 years and who were overweight or obese. During the first eight weeks of the study, the volunteers consumed three diet shakes per day, along with about 240 grams of nonstarchy vegetables, for a total of about 600 to 700 calories daily. After eight weeks, solid food was gradually reintroduced at weight-maintaining levels of roughly 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day, or roughly one-third less than the participants had been eating before the study. The volunteers were also seen once a month for six months and provided with an individualized weight maintenance program. On average, the participants lost 14 kilograms, or about 31 pounds, and did not regain any weight during the six-month study period. And although they remained overweight or obese despite the weight loss, 12 of the participants who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the last 10 years reversed their condition and remained diabetes-free six months later. And after six months, another subject reversed his diabetes. These participants, the researchers say, had lost enough weight to take the fat out of their pancreases and restore normal insulin function. “We have sh Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes
Reversal of type 2 diabetes to normal metabolic control by either bariatric surgery or hypocaloric diet allows for the time sequence of underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms to be observed. In reverse order, the same mechanisms are likely to determine the events leading to the onset of hyperglycemia and permit insight into the etiology of type 2 diabetes. Within 7 days of instituting a substantial negative calorie balance by either dietary intervention or bariatric surgery, fasting plasma glucose levels can normalize. This rapid change relates to a substantial fall in liver fat content and return of normal hepatic insulin sensitivity. Over 8 weeks, first phase and maximal rates of insulin secretion steadily return to normal, and this change is in step with steadily decreasing pancreatic fat content. The difference in time course of these two processes is striking. Recent information on the intracellular effects of excess lipid intermediaries explains the likely biochemical basis, which simplifies both the basic understanding of the condition and the concepts used to determine appropriate management. Recent large, long-duration population studies on time course of plasma glucose and insulin secretion before the diagnosis of diabetes are consistent with this new understanding. Type 2 diabetes has long been regarded as inevitably progressive, requiring increasing numbers of oral hypoglycemic agents and eventually insulin, but it is now certain that the disease process can be halted with restoration of normal carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Type 2 diabetes can be understood as a potentially reversible metabolic state precipitated by the single cause of chronic excess intraorgan fat. Type 2 diabetes has long been known to progress despite glucose-lowering treatment, with 5 Continue reading >>
'more People Need To Know Type 2 Diabetes Is Reversible' Argues Report
What is the issue? "Type 2 diabetes could be beaten into remission if patients shed around 15kg, [2.4 stones]," reports BBC News. In the past type 2 diabetes was thought to be a lifelong condition. There is increasing evidence that even if it can't be cured, it is possible to put the condition into remission through weight loss. A pressing problem is, as The Daily Telegraph reports, that "less than 1 in 1,000 people" achieve remission. Achieving weight loss through a combination of diet and exercise could mean that you do not have to start taking medication for type 2 diabetes. What is diabetes remission? Type 2 diabetes means the body can no longer maintain healthy blood sugar levels through production of the hormone insulin. When average blood sugar rises to harmful levels (usually described as 6.5% or 48mmol/moll HbA1c, a measure of long-term blood sugar control), people are diagnosed with diabetes. While improved diet and exercise is recommended, most people with diabetes are treated with anti-diabetic medicines to manage their blood sugar. The aim is to prevent the development of complications such as heart disease, leg ulcers and eye damage. Although many factors affect the development of type 2 diabetes, it often accompanies weight gain. In recent years, doctors have noticed that some obese patients who lose a lot of weight, whether through very low calorie diets or weight loss surgery, have blood sugar levels that drop back to normal, and stay that way without diabetes medicines. This has fueled interest in "reversing" diabetes through major weight loss. Instead of curing diabetes, doctors talk about diabetes being "in remission". This is because it can be a two-way process – if people put weight back on, they may become diabetic again. What is the basis for t Continue reading >>
