Can you completely reverse adult onset type 2 diabetes? Yes! I'm a living example that not only can it can be done through diet, but also without medicine.
"Let Food Be Thy Medicine" is a quote attributed to the father of medicine, Hippocrates. Given the science available during his lifetime a few hundred years before Christ, it's astonishing how accurate this concept is.
Here's my short story. I'm in my mid 50's. A couple years ago during my annual physical my doctor told me I was approaching prediabetes numbers and that I needed to cut back on my sugar. I'm not that into sweets, so I figured that wasn't going to be a big deal. At my next physical a year later, he told me my numbers continued to deteriorate and if I didn't cut back on sugar and get more exercise I'd need to go on medicine. He instructed me to go to diabetes.org to learn more.
What he didn't say at that time was based on my A1c of 8.2%, I was already a diabetic. In other words, I was greater than the 6.4% threshold needed to be Diabetic.
Another year goes by and this time my A1c was crazy high at 12.4%, nearly twice the threshold. Now we are having a conversation about starting insulin shots and medicine to get this under control. After a long hard evaluation of my options, knowing I was doing everything I could to limit my sugar intake, I decided to start Metformin first, in an effort to help reduce my A1c. If that wasn't enough then I would add insulin.
I started taking the Metformin on 12/14 and by 1/22 my stomach and body had had enough! I felt horrible. I figured there has to be a better way to deal with this condition.
So I started searching online... I found countless resources who helped me better understand that sugar is in just about everything we eat, and that the ADA recommendation for healthy meals didn't go far enough to reverse this disease.
Basically, I didn't realize I was a "carboholic!" As I now know, carbs convert into sugars in the same way a candy bar, fruit, or even milk does. It was a real eye opener for me to learn about the hidden sugar in carbs.
So I set off on a low carb, diet. I started reading nutrition labels and started making better choices for foods with lower carbs. I started to avoid breads, pasta, milk, sugary fruits and juices, and perhaps the hardest to give up, potatoes! I didn't follow any particular diet, however If I had to pick one I'd say what I was doing was along the lines of Keto.
My lab results on 7/7 demonstrated a complete reversal of my diabetes with my A1c at just 5.6%, a number I haven't seen in years. In addition, my cholesterol was excellent and even my triglycerides were normal.
Finally, despite eating a never ending supply of Slim Jim's and string cheese for the better part of 3 months while on the road, I managed to lose 20 pounds and 4" off my waist during my journey. If I can completely reversed my diabetes, you can reverse yours, too!
