Reversing type 2 diabetes with diet?

[scottmandue]

Over a year ago we went to a seminar (at my wife's pleading) and paid some money, got some supplements and a diet plan.

Long story short the plan was to get off all my meds but I'm still on metaformin and januvia but the good news is I lost 20 pounds (would like to lose another 5-10 lbs... I'm around 180 now)

Glucose has gone down from 140-180 to 90-120.

My co-workers husband (type 2) went on the Atkins diet and got off all his meds.

I have an appointment with my Dr. and will arrange a meeting with a nutritionist.

I know we have some diabetics here and curious is anyone has reversed their type 2 (because there is no shortage of advertising on the internet claiming it can be done).

TIA

[pwd72s]

No reversal through diet here. Applause to those who do it though.

[Stanley]

My brother is a doctor for a company that does exactly what your topic is. Its called Virta Health and they just recently "went live" after publishing the results of their clinical study. Its amazing that through a low carb and high fat diet, people can get off their diabetes medications.

This is their website https://www.virtahealth.com/

Article in Forbes about them https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidshaywitz/2017/03/08/can-silicon-valley-cure-diabetes-with-low-carbs-and-high-tech/#5d7bf010190a

[Tobra]

Not reverse, control with diet and exercise, rather than medications.

[Ronbo]

It also depends on how severe your diabetes is. I'm a Type 2 and despite a very low carb diet, exercise twice daily, I still need 2000 mg of metformin and 36 units of basaglar insulin per day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Not reverse, control with diet and exercise, rather than medications.

Sorry, my bad... I was just parroting what the diet ads claim... you are correct.

Low carb high fat... isn't that basically Atkins?

[Tobra]

Yes, Atkins diet

Body weight plays a significant role too.

[rfloz]

I lost 37# (249 to 212) and went fron an A1C hovering around 7.6 to 6.1; glucose level on 24 hour fasting from 140ish down to 100-106.

Doc cut my meds, Janumet - Sitagliptin/Metformin 50/500 mg x2, in half. He said when I lose another 25#, he expects me to be able to discontinue the meds completely.

So, worked or me, so far.

BTW, I lost that 37# largely by cutting carb intake about 60% - max one small to medium helping of carbs/meal and cut soft drinks in half. This was over a three year period.

Recently, I finally dropped soft drinks completely and I expect to lose the last 25# in a year or so with increased exercise.

These are ongoing life changes, not dieting. I took steps I could commiit to.

Will this reduce the neuropathy effects I have sustained? No, but so far it has kept them from getting worse.

Keep at it.

Good luck.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Stanley

My brother is a doctor for a company that does exactly what your topic is. Its called Virta Health and they just recently "went live" after publishing the results of their clinical study. Its amazing that through a low carb and high fat diet, people can get off their diabetes medications.

This is their website https://www.virtahealth.com/

Article in Forbes about them https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidshaywitz/2017/03/08/can-silicon-valley-cure-diabetes-with-low-carbs-and-high-tech/#5d7bf010190a

But then with low carb high fat diet, you can develop cardio problems. I was recently diagnosed with Afib...so not so sure high fat is what I need. If I want to commit suicide through diet, think I'll head to a bakery instead of the butcher shop. Pastry has been off my diet for years...damn, I miss it!

[Don Ro]

I have to ask...would a Vegan diet, with little to no carbs, get the desired results?
Also, what about that "Raw" diet?

[jhynesrockmtn]

From my thread about recently getting diagnosed with Type 1.5. Check out this author and his book Eat?

Rick Mystrom | Diabetes Patient, Author & Expert

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

But then with low carb high fat diet, you can develop cardio problems. I was recently diagnosed with Afib...so not so sure high fat is what I need. If I want to commit suicide through diet, think I'll head to a bakery instead of the butcher shop. Pastry has been off my diet for years...damn, I miss it!

This is the biggest thing keeping me away for Atkins... I don't have afib but do have a family history of heart disease so going high fat scares me (I can and have cut the carbs to get where I am today).

And +1 that pastry is my kryptonite...

Originally Posted by Tobra

Yes, Atkins diet

Body weight plays a significant role too.

No disrespect to those posting links to 'progams' and books touting diabetes "reversal" (which the good doctor has rightly already called BS on)...

Call me jaded (because I have been sucked into one program for a bunch of $$$ and a few books) and really it isn't rocket science. All you need is a low carb diet (which you can get from the Atkins website for free).

When I was diagnosed with type 2 twenty years ago I was all "whaaaa? I don't have a sweet tooth!!!"

But what I thought was a healthy meal was a big bowl of white rice with steamed veggies... and we have a big population of Italians in my town = lots of pasta and pizza... and of course in Socal we have a huge Latino population so there is all that super yummy bad for you food available.

But as my coworker said it is all about changing your mind about what is good food. For instance I can still go to my favorite Mexican restaurant and have a big plate of carnitas with beans (no rice) and guacamole.

[atcjorg]

been type 2 for about15 yrs , couple of good ways to control it, check out body for life, also medifast to lose weight and help control diabetes is good.

[sjf911]

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your pancreatic insulin production can no longer overcome the combination of inborn and acquired insulin resistance with your glycemic load. So there are essentially 4 variables.
1. Genetic insulin resistance. This is unmodifiable except some medications and varies from very mild to extreme.
2. Pancreatic reserve. Starting capacity for insulin production determined essentially at birth but declines with age and likely affected by certain preventable factors.
3. Glycemic load.
4. Acquired insulin resistance. This is how much body fat you acquire and your exercise status. Even seemingly trivial amounts of excess body fat (as little as 1-2 pounds of intra-abdominal or visceral fat in the extremely genetically sensitive) can trigger diabetes. Certain medication may contribute as well such as steroids (glucocorticoids) and statins.
If you become diabetic requiring medication, then the chance of normalizing your metabolism is dependent on whether you are capable of getting your combined insulin resistance low enough that your residual pancreatic function is sufficient for your glycemic load. That can mean only modest changes if you still have a large pancreatic reserve and milder genetic predisposition or extreme changes if you have worse genetics or pancreatic reserve or any combination.
Most Americans that I see with diabetes have relatively mild genetic predisposition but have very poor diet and exercise habits with substantial obesity. I would estimate that at least 80% could get off of all medications even insulin if they tried but less than 1-2% ever succeed for any meaningful period of time.

[GWN7]

About 12 years ago my blood sugar was 11.2 (200) I was 235 lbs My GP put me on Metformin 500 mg daily. I went on a diet and lost 10 lbs in a month by cutting out sodas. I then lost a further 25 lbs by adjusting my calorie daily intake (instead of 2000 calories a day I targeted for 1600- 4 meals a day). This was over a 5 month period. My at rest blood sugars were then 6.6 (115) I stopped taking the Metformin and there was no increase in my blood sugars. I then worked at loosing another 20 lbs over the next couple years. I tested my blood over that period occasionally and it was around 6 (106) So I quit testing and my weight was 180.

This was all good until a year ago when I had my MI. They tested me in the ER that night and I was 27 (500) My exact words were "Holley Shunt" or something like that. The Er Dr. explained while high it was good and bad. Bad because it was high and good because the body recognised there was something wrong and was dumping all available sugars into the system to help with what was wrong. I had two insulin injections over 2 days to reduce the levels. Currently taking 500 mg Metformin a day again to keep my levels around 7.2-7.5 I expect to be able to reduce that level and ultimately quit the metformin again by increasing my activity levels which I haven't been able to do because of complications from my MI.

You can control it by diet and exercise but as the body ages it might become more difficult.

[hcoles]

@sjf911 and others - My a1C got to 5.8 or so maybe a bit higher. I decided to get a grip on my weight or % body fat using exercise and diet. We'll see how far my a1C goes down, last time was 5.5. I've lost about 10-15 pounds and have put 1,500 miles on my "new" road bike in the last 6 months. Also have made efforts to get carbs out of the kitchen cabinets and suggest to the wife to reduce carbs and also meat in cooking. She is part Italian so likes to cook. I have high triglycerides and bad LDL/HDL ratio but total cholesterol is around 200. Carotid scan came up with not good results. Like we having been hearing forever - diet and exercise. I'm retired now so I have time to invest in this and at this point it is my hobby along with fixing all the things around the house and cars.

[RKDinOKC]

Read the book on the Atkins Diet!

You eat meat and fat only a couple of weeks. You come up with the amount of carbs you can eat by how much your weight changes over those two weeks. Then you add only the amount of carbs back to your diet your body can deal with.

Which is actually a pretty good starter for diabetics since carbs are the main thing to effect your blood sugar levels.

The book even goes on to explain what good carbs and bad carbs are and how to help manage those. Also a major plus for managing blood sugar.

There are good and bad fats, but the main thing is to help you manage your carb intake. Most eat more carbs than they know.

Warning: You will really really want something crunchy and chewy durning those first two weeks. Those are carbs!

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by sjf911

Type 2 diabetes occurs when your pancreatic insulin production can no longer overcome the combination of inborn and acquired insulin resistance with your glycemic load. So there are essentially 4 variables.
1. Genetic insulin resistance. This is unmodifiable except some medications and varies from very mild to extreme.
2. Pancreatic reserve. Starting capacity for insulin production determined essentially at birth but declines with age and likely affected by certain preventable factors.
3. Glycemic load.
4. Acquired insulin resistance. This is how much body fat you acquire and your exercise status. Even seemingly trivial amounts of excess body fat (as little as 1-2 pounds of intra-abdominal or visceral fat in the extremely genetically sensitive) can trigger diabetes. Certain medication may contribute as well such as steroids (glucocorticoids) and statins.
If you become diabetic requiring medication, then the chance of normalizing your metabolism is dependent on whether you are capable of getting your combined insulin resistance low enough that your residual pancreatic function is sufficient for your glycemic load. That can mean only modest changes if you still have a large pancreatic reserve and milder genetic predisposition or extreme changes if you have worse genetics or pancreatic reserve or any combination.
Most Americans that I see with diabetes have relatively mild genetic predisposition but have very poor diet and exercise habits with substantial obesity. I would estimate that at least 80% could get off of all medications even insulin if they tried but less than 1-2% ever succeed for any meaningful period of time.

Oh sure... there you go using science and logic!

This is the internet... I want magic pills to make all my problems go away!

But seriously... as for me I will just stick to a common sense (low carb diet) and exercise.. I'm done blowing money an diet books and 'programs'

Originally Posted by RKDinOKC

Read the book on the Atkins Diet!

You eat meat and fat only a couple of weeks. You come up with the amount of carbs you can eat by how much your weight changes over those two weeks. Then you add only the amount of carbs back to your diet your body can deal with.

Which is actually a pretty good starter for diabetics since carbs are the main thing to effect your blood sugar levels.

The book even goes on to explain what good carbs and bad carbs are and how to help manage those. Also a major plus for managing blood sugar.

I'm pretty much switching to the Atkins diet at this point... but you can get everything you need to know about that diet from their website for free.

[RKDinOKC]

Have not seen the Atkins web site. Recommended reading the book because that is all I've seen.

Most people think it is just about carb fasting or lowering their carbs. But it is the fasting that helps determine just how many carbs you need in your diet so you don't go overboard.

[kach22i]

I woke up at 3:00 AM unable to sleep so I watched TV for about 30 minutes. Watched this doctor on PBS for a while, he recommended getting off grains completely. He said sugar (and grains which covert to sugar readily) can coat your protein, and that is bad.

Smart Fat
Smart Fat – Steven Masley, M.D.

About Steven Masley

Dr. Masley sees patients from across North America at the Masley Optimal Health Center in St Petersburg, FL. Dr. Masley has published numerous scientific articles and several health books, including The 30 Day Heart Tune-Up, Ten Years Younger and SMART FAT. His work has been featured on the Discovery Channel, the Today Show, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), plus over 250 media interviews. He also completed a chef internship at the Four Seasons Restaurant in Seattle, WA, and he has performed cooking demonstrations at Canyon Ranch, the Pritikin Longevity Center, and for multiple television appearances.

As a speaker during his career, Dr. Masley has spoken for over 300 physician continuing medical education (CME) events, and for over 700 public presentations on a variety of topics related to health, aging, and cardiovascular disease.

He said most of what people think they know about fat stems from the 1970's-2000's and the studies done then which he was part of. In the last decade new studies prove most of what they thought was wrong - oh great.

Smart Fat

Your arteries, brain, joints, blood sugar levels, hormones and so forth are all affected by what you eat.

He said at one point that 40% of the human brain's weight is from oil/fat, giving new meaning to feed your brain I suppose.

Good fat
Many oils from nuts, seeds and avocados (ie their logo), and olive oil.

Neutral fat
Coconut oil and so forth.

Bad fat
Hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils, many animal fats because that's where non-organic animals store pesticides and growth hormones. Good oils can become bad fats if overheated - never let olive oil smoke for example.

That's about all I can remember, I was half asleep.

Eggs were okay if free range, and fresh herbs and spices are good for you, basil, curry etc..........

Get off of cereal. .............eating protein is important at breakfast time. Beans for breakfast? They showed a bowl, I can do a Mexican breakfast once in a while. I'm sure there was more to it.

In short, another diet which claims to control Type-2 Diabetes.

Standard
American
Diet

SAD