'Can diabetes be cured' (or not) is a complicated question that still needs a lot of research to answer.
Likewise, even though it might not be possible to cure diabetes permanently in all cases, certain lifestyle strategies can help you reverse diabetes. Exercising regularly, managing your stress levels, and maintaining a healthy weight are 3 of the most prominent of these.
Moreover, you can also adopt a diabetes-reversal diet and include healthy and nutritious food items in your daily routine to reverse diabetes permanently. We have described these in more detail in the sections below.
Do you know:
- Diabetes is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders across the world. According to the statistics given by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 108 million cases of diabetes were reported in 1980.
- Plus, diabetes-related deaths have been increasing rapidly since the year 2000.
- Likewise, from 2000-2019, there was a 3% hike in loss of lives due to diabetes. 1
Can Diabetes Be Reversed for Everyone?
If you're wondering, 'Is diabetes reversible for everyone?' Then here is what you need to know: Whether diabetes can be reversed or not depends on a lot of factors. Some of these include the patient's—
- Age
- Gender
- Type of diabetes they have (type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or gestational diabetes)
- Presence or absence of other medical disorders along with diabetes
- Lifestyle habits
Below, we have answered the questions that surround diabetes reversal based on the 2 main types of diabetes.
1. Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is hereditary. This means that a person inherits the genes that become the primary cause of the disease. In simpler terms, a person is more likely to have type 1 diabetes when they have a family history of diabetes.
In type 1 diabetes, your pancreas' ability to make enough insulin (the amount that is required by your body) is compromised. As a result, there is an improper breakdown of the sugar that you intake, leading to diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes cannot be cured. What's worse is that it is not possible to reverse type 1 diabetes permanently either.
Still, medicines can help you manage it effectively. 2
2. Type 2 Diabetes
Similar to type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes also cannot be cured permanently. However, there is a possibility that some people can reverse diabetes type 2 by following a diabetes reversal diet plan and losing weight. 3
Apart from these, finding out what level of blood sugar is dangerous is important for diabetes reversal regardless of the type that you are suffering from. This is because both hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar levels) and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) can become a hindrance in your process of reversing diabetes.
In such a situation, following a diabetes reversal diet can help you manage these and keep your blood sugar levels under control.
What Happens in The Body During Diabetes Reversal?
Diabetes reversal methods, whether it is a good diet plan or lifestyle changes, improve insulin sensitivity, bring down your blood sugar levels, and decrease the fat around your stomach.
While these factors might not always help to cure diabetes permanently, they indeed have the potential to reverse diabetes with time.
Below is a detailed description of how these factors initiate diabetes reversal.
Insulin Sensitivity Improvement
Insulin sensitivity refers to how well your body's cells respond to the insulin that your pancreas produces. It helps in balancing your blood sugar levels.
When your insulin sensitivity is not good, your blood sugar levels will be high. High blood sugar for long durations can lead to an increased risk of—
Diabetes reversal methods aim to improve your insulin sensitivity by the use of a combination of methods such as—
- Diabetes reversal diet plans
- Exercise
- More relaxing sleeping patterns and many others 4
Reduction In Blood Sugar Levels
High blood sugar, also called hyperglycaemia, not only decreases insulin sensitivity but also brings in many other complications, such as—
- Heart disease: It can result in heart attack and stroke
- Kidney damage: It can lead to kidney failure
- Nerve damage: It's also diabetic neuropathy
- Vision loss: It starts from blurry vision and can ultimately cause partial or complete blindness
- Infections: Examples include skin infections and irritation and itching on feet and limbs
- Dental issues: Gum infections and other teeth-related problems 5
That is why reducing blood sugar levels is a prominent step in the process of how to reverse diabetes permanently.
So, if you're wondering if your diabetes is curable, then you can book a sugar test at home to get an accurate analysis of your current blood sugar levels. If the disease hasn't progressed to a later stage, you can search for ways to cure diabetes permanently based on your individual situation.
Following the test results, you can adopt the following methods to reduce your blood sugar levels and reverse diabetes naturally—
- Exercise more frequently
- Increase your water intake
- Modify your diet to include low glycaemic index foods
- Eat more fibre
- Track your blood sugar levels regularly 6
Decrease In Visceral Fat (Belly Fat)
Visceral fat means the fat that gets gathered around your stomach. It is commonly called belly fat.
Research has shown that losing belly fat has the potential to reverse diabetes permanently, especially in the case of people who have type 2 diabetes. While losing weight in general is an excellent diabetes reversal method, getting rid of your belly fat is, in fact, even more beneficial. 7
Here is how reducing belly fat or visceral fat helps to reverse diabetes—
- The fat that gets gathered around your pancreas stops the beta cells from producing insulin
- Excess of fat in the liver does not allow insulin to function normally
Exercising and following a healthy diet initiates weight loss around your belly area. Hence, ultimately, when you lose belly fat, your body's capacity to use insulin appropriately is enhanced, leading to faster diabetes reversal.
Factors Influencing Diabetes Reversal
Your genes and your lifestyle habits dictate the way diabetes is going to affect your body. These are also the 2 most crucial factors that determine how well your body is going to undertake diabetes reversal.
Role Of Genetics and Lifestyle
It can be difficult to figure out the main cause of type 2 diabetes in people whose family history includes the disease. While lifestyle habits play an equally important role, genetic makeup is also responsible for their response to methods intended for diabetes reversal.
At the same time, it is essential to understand that not every person will yield the same results from a diabetes reversal diet.8
Importance Of Early Intervention
The main warning signs and symptoms of diabetes include—
- The urge to urinate more often than normal
- Feeling thirstier than before
- Unexpected weight loss
- Slow healing of wounds
- Blurry vision
- Increased tiredness and body weakness 9
Having these symptoms over a certain duration is indicative of prediabetes. Hence, you have to understand better about how to reverse diabetes permanently since timely action can prevent further complications.
For this, the first step is knowing what type of diabetes you have. Likewise, there is a long list of lab tests for diabetes patients, including a glycosylated haemoglobin test that can help you determine the severity of your situation.
Once you know the cause, choosing a diabetes reversal diet becomes easy. It also makes it simpler for your doctor to suggest other ways to reverse diabetes.
Diabetes Reversal Diet
A diabetes reversal diet comprises reducing your calorie, fat, and carbohydrate intake, drinking more water, and adding more diabetes-friendly nutritious food items to your daily routine.
Key Components of Diabetes Reversal Diet
Diabetes might not always be curable, but you can manage it by eating a healthy diet. For this, you will have to add and eliminate some elements from your diabetes reversal diet. Below is a brief list of these.
1. Fibre Rich Foods
Fibre plays an important role in slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates in your body and the absorption of sugar in your blood. Therefore, it lowers your blood sugar levels. That is why eating fibre-rich food can help you to reverse diabetes naturally.
Some examples of high-fibre foods include—
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- Legumes
- Whole grains
2. Low Glycaemic Index Foods
A glycaemic index is a measure of how fast your body is able to break down carbs and absorb them. This time is directly proportional to high blood sugar levels.
Some examples of low glycaemic index foods include the following—
- Oats
- Whole wheat pasta
- Beans
- Barley
- Lentils
- Legumes
- Non-starchy vegetables
- Unsweetened Greek yogurt
3. Chromium-rich foods
Chromium is an important micronutrient responsible for the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. Hence, it can help in diabetes reversal by improving the action of insulin.
Some foods that contain a good quantity of chromium include—
- Beef
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Whole grains like barley
- Green beans
- Apples
- Almonds
4. Magnesium-Rich Foods
Research has shown that low magnesium levels in your body can decrease insulin sensitivity. When this happens, your tolerance towards glucose also decreases. That is why consuming food items that have plenty of magnesium is important to reverse diabetes.
Some examples of magnesium-rich foods include—
- Dark, leafy green vegetables
- Squash seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Tuna
- Whole grains
- Dark chocolate
- Bananas
- Avocados
- Beans
5. Probiotic-rich Foods
Probiotic refers to gut-friendly bacteria that offer a wide variety of health benefits. It forms an important component of your diabetes reversal diet plan because of its ability to improve the regulation of blood sugar. Apart from this, it also—
- Lowers your fasting blood sugar
- Brings down HbA1c scores
- Reduces insulin resistance (or increases insulin sensitivity)
Here is a list of some good examples of probiotic-rich food items—
- Yoghurt
- Tempeh
- Sauerkraut
- Kimchi
Sample Meal Plan to Reverse Diabetes
The below table shows a sample diabetes reversal diet plan covering 5 meals in a day. 10
Lifestyle Changes to Complement Diabetes Reversal Diet
When looking for ways to reverse diabetes permanently, dietary changes alone might not be that beneficial. Likewise, it is essential to bring a change into your lifestyle along with eating a healthy diet to make diabetes curable to the maximum extent.
Hence, here are 3 lifestyle strategies that can help in diabetes reversal:
1. Exercise Regularly
Staying physically inactive is a risk factor for obesity, that is, unhealthy weight gain. Obesity worsens the symptoms of diabetes. Therefore, indulging in regular exercise helps you to remain physically fit and avoid obesity.
Apart from this, exercising daily also has many other benefits, such as—
- It improves your mental health
- It lowers your blood sugar
- It increases insulin sensitivity
That is why you must perform moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour for a minimum of 5 times a week.
Remember that exercising regularly is the first and the most important lifestyle strategy for people trying to reverse diabetes permanently. However, it is important to combine it with a good diabetes reversal diet to get the best results.
2. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Having more fat around the belly area is directly linked to greater insulin resistance (or lesser insulin sensitivity). Therefore, exercising regularly, as already mentioned above, is a great way to lose extra fat from your body.
Losing extra fat can help you maintain a healthy weight, which is a great way to reverse diabetes since it helps balance out your blood sugar levels.
3. Avoid Smoking
You might have heard that smoking increases the risk of heart attack and lung cancer. But smoking is also a threat for diabetes patients, which is a lesser-known fact.
That is why, among all the lifestyle strategies and dietary modifications, one habit that you must quit to reverse diabetes permanently is smoking. This is because smoking is known to increase insulin resistance and worsen the symptoms of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Here are some methods that can help you to quit smoking eventually
- Nicotine gum
- Nicotine patches
- Prescription medicines
- Smoking Cessation Programmes 11
All in all, let's circle back to the main question: 'Is diabetes curable'? Having read the article, we're sure you must be aware now that it is a broad concept question that revolves around factors like the patient's age and their individual circumstances.
Therefore, to understand the best methods you can adopt for diabetes reversal, you can take an online blood test at home. This test can help you have an overview of your situation so that you can take the next steps accordingly.
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