Hello, I am Ty Mason of thediabetescouncil.com, researcher, writer and I have type 2 diabetes.
Today I want to talk about Diabetes Reversal.
After you watch the video today, I invite you check out the description box for my new
ebook.
This is one of the most comprehensive diabetes meal planning book you can find.
It contains diabetes friendly meals/recipes, recipes for different goals such as 800-1800
calories per day meal plan, diabetes meal planning tips and tricks.
There are also tons of diabetes friendly recipes for everyone!
Let me begin by saying categorically that at the time of this video, there is no cure
for diabetes.
There are literally thousands of claims out there saying their product or their program
can cure your diabetes.
Simply put, they cannot.
But, this question asks if diabetes can be reversed.
So to begin this conversation we need to define what we mean by reversed.
If we are saying we can take our bodies back to the time before we had diabetes, then no.
If we are talking about a state in which we can control our blood sugar without the use
of any medications, then the answer is maybe.
Let’s talk about those with Type 1 diabetes first.
If you have Type 1 then you are insulin dependent.
When you were first diagnosed, you may have gone through what is called a “honeymoon
period” in which your blood sugar kept dropping and dropping and you used less and less insulin.
You may have even stopped using it altogether.
(By the way, researchers now feel that Type 1’s need to continue small insulin injections
to protect what insulin producing cells they still have.)
But this honeymoon period will not last forever.
If you have Type 1 Diabetes, then approximately 90% of your insulin producing cells have been
destroyed.
They have not been damaged with a chance of repair, they are gone.
It is impossible to reverse the damage done.
While some think their diabetes has been cured or even reversed, this is a false sense of
security.
The process that destroyed the 90% of insulin producing cells with destroy the remaining
10%.
Ultimately you will be totally dependent on insulin.
Type 1 diabetes cannot be reversed.
And this is not my opinion, it is the opinion of the foremost diabetes center in the world,
the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.
As far as Type 2 Diabetes, as long as we are clear on the definition of reversal I will
say it is possible.
Remember, I am adamant about the fact that there is NO CURE for diabetes, but I do feel
it is possible for a person with Type 2 to be able to go off their diabetes meds, for
a time, and control their blood sugar.
That would be a reversal.
We cannot go back and reverse the damage done by having diabetes, but it is possible to
control diabetes without medication.
The most recent reliable research I could find on this subject was conducted in March
of 2016.
It was conducted Professor Roy Taylor, Professor of Medicine and Metabolism at Newcastle University
in New Castle, England.
The work was an extension of a 2011 study that was in question, because of the brevity
of the study.
That study had a theory that “This research is part of a growing body of evidence showing
that people with Type 2 diabetes who successfully lose weight can reverse their condition because
fat is removed from their pancreas, returning insulin production to normal.”
In the 2016 study, 30 volunteers with Type 2 went on a strict diet of 650 calories per
day for 6 months.
Now, let me warn you right now, that is not a lot of food in 650 calories.
However, the participants lost an average of 30 pounds.
They had to keep this weight off for another 6 months.
The results were that 12 of those with Type 2 who had been diagnosed less than10 years,
reversed their diabetes.
For those who had been diagnosed longer did not have the same results.
The key to reversing diabetes is to lose weight and regular exercise.
In another study discussed by Michael Dansinger, MD, “ those with Type 2 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.”
In every study I researched, it was apparent that the numbers of those who were able to
reverse their diabetes were largely dependent on the date of diagnosis.
Those who were “newbies” had a better chance of reversal.
But even at that, the average of those who have been able to reverse their diabetes has
been about 10%.
Weight loss and exercise will not work for everyone.
Part of that reason is that some people are simply predisposed to diabetes.
It’s in your genes.
The reason we also call this a reversal rather than a cure?
For those who have experienced reversal and then gained their weight back, guess what
happens?
They need to start their diabetes meds again.
I can attest to that first hand.
As a 400 pound man I was in bad shape in more ways that one.
I dropped 185 pounds on a fad diet.
It was great!
I no longer needed any diabetes meds, I felt awesome and this went on for about 3 years.
But then the diet I was on started affecting other parts of my body.
I got very ill.
I was told I had to stop the fad diet and try to return to a “normal” diet or something
bad was going to happen.
When I went off the fad diet I immediately gained 100 pounds in a very short period of
time.
I had to go back on my diabetes meds.
I have since lost 60 pounds through diet and exercise.
But I still take my diabetes meds.
Did I reverse my diabetes?
For a time, yes I did.
Is it possible to keep diabetes in a reversal mode?
Yes it is.
But don’t fall these gimmick programs that promise to cure or even reverse diabetes.
Scientific research says it is possible, but not with a pill or a potion.
It is possible through hard work of maintaining your diet and getting plenty of exercise.
If you want to start a plan to begin a process that will hopefully reverse your diabetes,
the first place to go is to see your health care provider.
They will have safe plans for you to try.
And if you need further assistance, my ebook has lots of great ideas for those who want
to begin this process.
You can find a download for it in the description box below.
I hope this has answered your question concerning diabetes being reversed.
Don’t forget to get my new ebook and please, subscribe to our channel for many more videos
like this one in the future.
Thanks for watching.
I am Ty Mason.