How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes
By Jason Fung, MD
Is type 2 diabetes reversible? YES. But not by taking medications. Type 2 diabetes is largely a dietary disease, and therefore, only improving the diet can reverse this disease. Weight loss plays a large role in remission. If you lose weight, it’s highly likely that your type 2 diabetes will improve substantially, even to the point of remission.
How can I put type 2 diabetes in remission? Type 2 diabetes is essentially the result of the body having too much sugar (glucose). Once the body’s storage capacity for glucose is exceeded, it will spill over into the blood. Think of your body like a sugar bowl. You can put sugar in, and you can take some out (to use for energy). If you are putting more in than comes out, it will fill up. Once full, it will spill over.
To reverse type 2 diabetes, there are only two things you need to focus on.
1. Put less sugar in
2. Burn the sugar off
Put Less Sugar In – The Low Carbohydrate Diet – Carbohydrates are composed of chains of glucose, and therefore raises the blood glucose more than other nutrients. Carbohydrates contain food energy (calories) but no essential nutrients. Therefore, reducing the carbs (glucose) in the diet will help reverse type 2 diabetes.
Some foods raise your blood glucose. Eat less of those. This includes starchy and sugary foods such as white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, sweets and some fruits.
Some foods don’t raise your blood glucose. Eat more of those. This includes vegetables, meats, seafood, fish, and eggs.
Burn the Sugar off – Time Restricted Eating (TRE) – Give your body a break from eating. By limiting the number of hours we are eating in a day, we increase the hours spent fasting. During fasting, our body will naturally burn sugar for energy, which helps lower blood sugar and move towards remission.
Further Resources:
Dr. Jason Fung’s YouTube channel