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 >>
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 >>
Type 2 Diabetes Reversal — The Quick Start Guide
Type 2 Diabetes Reversal — The Quick Start Guide How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes — The Quick Start Guide Twenty years ago, when you bought a brand sparkly new VCR machine, you would also get a thick instruction manual. Read this thoroughly before you start, the manufacturer would implore. There would be detailed setup procedures and troubleshooting guides. Most of us ignored the manual, just plugged it in and tried to figure out the rest. That’s why we all had the blinking 12:00 on. Today, most new electronics now come with a quick start guide which has the most basic 4 or 5 steps to get your machine working and then anything else you needed, you could reference the detailed instruction manual. Instruction manuals are just so much more useful this way. Well, I don’t know much about VCRs, but I do know about type 2 diabetes. I could write an entire book about obesity (oh, wait, I did that already), or fasting (oh, wait, done too) or type 2 diabetes (next up for 2018). But many of you will not want to go through the entire instruction manual. So this is your quick start guide for reversing your type 2 diabetes. A Fully Reversible Disease Most doctors, dietitians and diabetes specialists claim that type 2 diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease. The American Diabetes Association, for example, almost proudly proclaims this on its website. Once you get the diagnosis, it’s a life sentence. But, it’s actually a great big lie. Type 2 diabetes is almost always reversible and this is almost ridiculously easy to prove. This is great news for the more than 50% of American adults who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes. Recognizing this truth is the crucial first step in reversing your diabetes or pre-diabetes. Actually, it something that most people a 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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
Very Low-Calorie Diet and 6 Months of Weight Stability in Type 2 Diabetes: Pathophysiological Changes in Responders and Nonresponders (Diabetes Care 2016;39:808815. doi: 10.2337/dc15-1942) What is the problem and what is known about it so far? Type 2 diabetes is generally thought to be an irreversible chronic condition. Studies have shown that, with worsening blood glucose control, the disease is inevitably progressive. At diagnosis, patients are told to accept having a lifelong disease. Within 10 years of diagnosis, 50% of individuals need to use insulin to control their blood glucose levels. Why did the researchers do this particular study? Diabetes may be reversible! Normal blood glucose control is possible after weight loss in some individuals. This happens most commonly after bariatric surgery, but it can also happen when eating dramatically fewer calories. This return to normal can happen when following a very-low-calorie diet, but researchers wanted to see if blood glucose could remain under control after a return to eating normally and maintaining weight loss for 6 months. The study included 30 people with type 2 diabetes. Some of the subjects had diabetes for a shorter time (short-duration diabetes, less than 4 years), and some had diabetes for a longer time (long-duration diabetes, more than 8 years). The study had three parts. First, subjects were put on a very-low-calorie liquid diet for 8 weeks after stopping all diabetes medications. Next, over two weeks, they returned to solid food. Last, the subjects spent 6 months maintaining their weight loss. Fasting blood glucose levels were measured before the diet, at the end of the diet after the return to solid food, and again after 6 months. Immediately after the 8-week very-low-calorie diet, 12 of 30 participa 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 >>
Turns Out Type 2 Diabetes Is Reversible, After All
If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, no doubt you've been told to change your eating habits (more veggies, less sweets) and get more exercise. These actions were thought to control your diabetes but not to reverse it. But a paper published in The BMJ says that Type 2 diabetes is indeed reversible for many Type 2 diabetes patients who lose around 15 kilograms, or 33 pounds. Diabetes is a chronic disease that has been rising rapidly throughout the world. It affected 8.5 percent of the world's population in 2014 (about 422 million people), up from 4.7 percent in 1980. The most common form of diabetes is Type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes. It occurs when the body doesn't effectively use the insulin it produces (insulin is the hormone that regulates blood sugar.) If your blood sugar level is too high and not treated, it can lead to severe problems, like blindness, stroke, kidney failure and foot amputations. Type 2 diabetes is almost always directly tied to physical inactivity and extra body weight. "The belief amongst doctors and scientists is that Type 2 diabetes is irreversible, always gets steadily worse, demanding more and more drugs, then insulin. Patient groups advise that the first step for someone newly diagnosed is to get used to the idea of dealing with a life-long illness," explains paper co-author Roy Taylor, professor of medicine and metabolism at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom in an email interview. His research is the latest chapter in years' worth of investigation about Type 2 diabetes. In 2006, he noticed that liver function tests done in Type 2 patients were usually abnormal or on the high side. Then, he saw research that Type 2 patients who'd undergone bariatric surgery enjoyed normal fasting glucose levels within one week Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes May Be Reversible With Weight Loss, Study Finds
A British study has found that type 2 diabetes could potentially be reversed through weight loss and with the long-term support of a medical professional. The initial findings come from an ongoing trial study called DiRECT (Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial), which aims to find an effective accessible way to put type 2 diabetes into remission long-term. Led by Prof. Roy Taylor, from Newcastle University, and Prof. Mike Lean, from Glasgow University, the study recruited 298 people and gave half standard diabetes care from their GP, while the other half were placed on a structured weight management program which included a low calorie, nutrient-complete diet for three to five months, food reintroduction, and long-term support to maintain weight loss. The team found that diabetes remission was closely linked with weight loss, with almost nine out of 10 people (86 per cent) who lost 15kg or more putting their type 2 diabetes into remission. Over half (57 per cent) of those who lost 10 to 15kg also achieved remission, along with a third (34 per cent) of those who lost five to 10kg. In comparison, only 4 per cent of the control group, who received standard care, achieved remission. Prof. Taylor commented on the first year results saying, "These findings are very exciting. They could revolutionise the way type 2 diabetes is treated." "The study 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 from DiRECT is that losing weight isn't just linked to better management of type 2 diabetes: significant weight loss could actually result in lasting remission." Type 2 diabetes is a Continue reading >>
Diabetes Is Reversible!
Inheritance. Many people make the observation that their family history is very strong for diabetes, or obesity, or some other serious condition, even cancer. They say, for example, my dad died of heart disease at a young age, so that’s why I had a heart attack. This can be very true and another example is that about 50 percent of the world’s population does have a genetic tendency toward type 2 diabetes. However, most chronic and debilitating diseases are caused by our LIFESTYLE. It has been said that genetics loads the gun but lifestyle determines whether or not you pull the trigger. And, you don’t have to pull the trigger! A loaded gun that is locked up cannot hurt you! This is especially true in the case of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Not all inherited conditions may be prevented and you should still be regularly checked for those conditions that your family has been prone to. However, even about 75% to 90% of cancer related deaths can be traced back to lifestyle. So, it’s good to remember that the risks of family history can be greatly improved by changing your lifestyle. It’s What We Eat and What We Don’t Do It is very important to understand how lifestyle affects your risks for developing obesity, type 2 diabetes and other debilitating conditions. It is the high-fat foods, the junk food, over-eating, stress, lack of sleep, lack of exercise and lack of sunshine that pull the trigger on your health whatever your genetics may be. Sugar is the Fuel on Which Our Bodies Run Our bodies run on sugar. All the carbohydrates (sugars) are used for energy so that we can function. It is like the fuel in an automobile. Without gasoline, you cannot go at all. If you forget to fill the tank, you run out of gas and must pull over to the side of the road. All sta Continue reading >>
Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible? Your Guide In 2017
“Is type 2 diabetes reversible, doctor?” It’s a common question I get asked by many people that I meet. When I was back in medical school more than 10 years ago, we were all taught that type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease. Which means that it will be there with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it doesn’t go away. Essentially, it is incurable. And once you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, the best you can do is to try to manage it as best as you can. Today, the answer is no longer clear cut. Thankfully, in a positive way. Let’s take a deeper look at what the science tells us. What is Type 2 diabetes? Type 2 diabetes is a relatively common metabolic disorder that results in high blood glucose levels in your body. Did you know that over 415 million people today are living with diabetes globally? If you have diabetes, you’re far from being alone. The condition arises from a combination of high insulin resistance in the tissues of our body and decreased insulin secretion by the pancreas, an internal organ. Insulin is an important hormone that allows our cells to properly absorb and use glucose. Insulin serves to regulate our blood glucose levels and keep it at a constant, normal level. Some factors that can put you at higher risk of Type 2 diabetes include a strong family history of the disease (genetics), obesity (lifestyle) and age. If you’re worried that you may have diabetes, you can find out more about the symptoms of diabetes here. Is Type 2 diabetes reversible? Even though diabetes is commonly thought of as a chronic disease, our understanding of it has improved greatly over the past few years. Here is where I want to point to 2 particular areas that can shed some light on this matter: 1. Sustainable weight loss may answer the question “is type Continue reading >>
