How to reverse Type 2 Diabetes

[Praveen55]

Here is a presentation by Dr Jason Fung, a well known expert in Intermittent fasting to resolve life style issues like obesity and diabetes. More video presentations by Dr Jasons are available on youtube.

youtu.be/Ekqq6DE8vGE(Not working as expected?)

[Luckysugar]

Thanks Praveen55 for sharing this video. This is really great messages bases on clinical trials that show outcomes of different treatments to control BSL. I personally agree that long-term using medications or/insulin especially those who eat whatever they want or being inactive as they believe the drugs/insulin will fix their high blood sugar problem, will face unpleasant complications. This could happen to both T1 and T2 diabetics.

Making lifestyle changes by eating low carb diet, practising IF and exercising regularly is much worth trying. Hopefully this would pay off one day to reverse T2 conditions. What we do know is that this natural pathway has helped many diabetics maintaining BSL in healthy ranges or even come off their medications. So please be patient to making lifestyle changes and work harder for a sake of our own health.

[barani19 Administrator]

Praveen55, Thanks for sharing this video.

Has any one tried intermittent fasting practically in this group and noticed its effect on lowering the blood sugar? I would like to try this approach. Please provide your suggestions. Thanks

[Luckysugar in reply to barani19]

I have been fasting for almost two years and my BSL is in good control. Having said this it doesn't mean IF alone will lower sugar levels because eating too many carbs will always spike BS. Living with T2 requires the right diet especially low carbs with good natural fats and regular exercises. I believe these natural measures improve insulin sensitivity and hopefully reverse T2. For those who takes medication or insulin also require to maintain healthy lifestyle to enhance the effectiveness of treatment. There are many articles about benefits of IF online, you can read one of them here.

healthline.com/nutrition/10...

[kendriyavidyalaya in reply to barani19]

Yes, fasting works. You can be on only salads / one fruit per day (like Apple, Pomegranate, Papaya) and it will work to reduce your sugar levels. Its mainly boils down to have no carbs and good exercise.

As per my experience, weight loss results in lowering sugar levels to great extent. I started with Hb1AC of 9.8 with weight of 78 Kg (for person with height of 5.7, this is definitely higher). Within 3 months, my Hb1AC was 6.2 with weight at 70. So, key is to reduce weight and fasting definitely helps.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to kendriyavidyalaya]

Every person needs some carbs. to keep the brain and the rest of the body functioning the correct way. If a person doesn't eat any carbs., then they may have severe lows or worse. No one wants that to happen to anyone.

[rnpath]

Intermittent fasting is a meaningless proposal for a non-obese Diabetic and worse still will promote insulin resistance in the long run. It can potentially harm those on insulin or oral pills. The claim of reversing Diabetes is false.

[Praveen55 Moderator]

barani19

There are some people in this group who have used IF along with LCHF diet. I will suggest you should read more about IF before you decide to use it. It is better to assess its suitability on case by case basis. It is not a one-size-fits-all solution.

According to my understanding IF helps to lose weight and keep it off and people who benefit most are overweight/obese who are not able to lose weight /or have reached a plateau on LCHF diet alone. In the process one loses fat around the organs like liver and pancreas which help to improve insulin sensitivity. This in turn lowers the blood sugar levels. This has also been demonstrated with starvation diet for a short period of time by a research group led by Prof. Taylor in the UK. Whether it is starvation diet or IF, both keep the insulin at low levels so that body fat can be used for energy.

If one is of healthy weight or slightly overweight, LCHF diet alone may be enough to resolve high blood sugar issues.

The easiest and most popular IF protocol is 16/8 where one remains in fasted state for 16 hours and there is eating window of 8 hours. This can be implemented by skipping breakfast, for example. To start with one can practice this once in a week and with time it can progress further.

Those on diabetes medication/insulin need to be more vigilant to avoid Hypo episodes. This is true for any approach which can lower blood sugar. Medicine/insulin dose has to be reduced accordingly. That is why it is suggested that people who may be at risk of Hypo should do IF or any fasting protocol under medical supervision.

On a lighter note-

“ He who eats until he is sick must fast until he is well.” – English proverb

“The light of the world will illuminate within you when you fast and purify yourself.” – Mahatma Gandhi

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Praveen55]

That sounds really fantastic, Praveen55 . Any person who wants to go on any diet should consult their doctor, first to make sure it's going to be safe for them to start that certain type of diet.

[Luckysugar in reply to Praveen55]

Very good comment and advice Praveen55 on IF especially for diabetics who are on medications/insulin. I agree that IF will enormously benefits overweight diabetics (also non-diabetics) because it helps them lose weight quickly. I am on 16:8 pretty much everyday by skipping BF and I am always in a healthy weight. As a drug-free diabetic I never have issues with BSL while fasting even I sometimes fast 18 -20 hours. I think it's quite convenient if you aren't a breakfast person like me and I do have more time for something else such as making lunch boxes for my kids, doing yoga/ going for a walk or watching morning News on TV. Eating two good quality & quantity (LCHF) meals works well for me.

[Praveen55 Moderator in reply to Luckysugar]

Thanks Luckysugar for sharing your dietary routine. Eating three main meals a day and three or more snacks in between is a recent phenomenon in human history and has been promoted for commercial gains and not for good health. We are introduced to such highly processed food items that do not provide satiety so that we can consume more and more.

[Luckysugar in reply to Praveen55]

You are exactly right Praveen55, nowadays people tend to eat too much than what their body actually need especially cheap and highly processed foods and beverages. Eating the right food, right portion and right time is essential for diabetics.

[suramo Star]

I have one question if someone can answer. What's more important - a1c or s insulin levels? This i'm asking because my a1c is still 6.84 but s insulin levels - fbs 3.31 & 2 hr pp 10.21.

[nyonyo in reply to suramo]

If the alternatives are:

A. Fasting Insulin 3.3 & HbA1c 6.8%

B. Fasting Insulin 7.4 & HbA1c 5.7%

I will definitely choose B. There is no use in lowering insulin and having optimal (minimal) insulin resistance if we are still diabetic.

[suramo Star in reply to nyonyo]

Yes, that's true. Blood sugar control is more important than ir, but many people put stress on bringing down ir. They attribute all the complications to ir. We need a long study to come to a definite conclusion.

[Praveen55 Moderator in reply to nyonyo]

Blood sugar is always the first priority. I have not come across any one who is trying to fix insulin at the cost of high BS. In fact, very few T2D even go for insulin test. No doctors recommend.

[Praveen55 Moderator]

Both A1c and s insulin levels are important.

Serum Insulin:

Low < 3uIU/mL

Optimal 3 - 8 uIU/mL

High > 8 uIU/mL

As such your number 3.3 is in optimal range but on the lower side. Combination of low s insulin and high A1c is not good.

1. Low s insulin and high A1c can be caused by loss of beta cells due to LADA

2. Low insulin can also be caused by consuming insufficient calories

3. Overexercise without adequate recovery time is also a possibility.

4. Going for extremely low carb diet without being IR can also give low insulin.

How is your HOMA - IR? It may be a good idea to go for further tests to rule out LADA.

[nyonyo in reply to Praveen55]

in my opinion fung's theory only apply to those type 2 who are obese or at least overweight, i know for certain many people whose insulin level are very very optimal, +/- 3 with Homa IR 0.5-0.6 and BMI < 20, yet their glucose level are in the range of full-blown diabetes or at least pre diabetes, by your definition, my insulin level is also in the optimal range with BMI never touch 25 but i'am full-blown diabetic, so imo type 2 should be grouped into more categories, obese type 2, senile type 2 etc........ All of his success patients always lost more than at least 20 pounds, but how can type 2 people with BMI <18.5 lose more than 20 pounds? they will be bags of bones for sure

Fung himself who keeps preaching the important of lowering insulin and insulin resistance never sets the target (the exact number or range) we should reach for insulin and insulin resistance level

[Praveen55 Moderator in reply to nyonyo]

nyonyo

I agree with you that Dr. Fung's approach to resolving diabetes is for overweight/severely overweight/obese people. Same is true for Dr. Taylor's approach. Unfortunately, majority of people suffering from diabetes happen to be overweight/obese particularly in North America where Dr. Fung practices. I am sure he will not recommend fasting for lean persons suffering from diabetes.

I also agree not all T2D are same. In fact, real diabetes ( not induced by too much fat around organs) may not be reversible at all by diets or exercise. However, currently there is an epidemic in T2D due to faulty eating habits and lifestyle which can be addressed by following suitable dietary changes.

One more thing. The recommended BMI range is also not suitable for all. They are mainly for western populations. For example, at a BMI of less than 25 most Indian population will be overweight. Many of us tend to be TOFI ( Thin outside fat inside) who will still benefit from losing weight if diabetics.

As you will know, the use of blood insulin level is still not in clinical practice because of lack of data on larger populations. Their use is limited to research purposes. Even the HOMA model to IR is not approved as standard diagnostic tool in clinical practice.

[suramo Star in reply to Praveen55]

I think ir theory is not perfect. Or with lowering of insulin whereby meaning that ir has been overcome would have controlled blood sugar perfectly. Low insulin doesn't mean lada esp in the people having high insulin initially and brought down by idm.There are people whose body is good, but have bad diet. These people when put on idm recover faster and to a great extent. And there are people whose body is *bad* and despite idm their blood sugar can't be controlled. There also people who've extraordinarily good sugar control with a1c @ 5 but they've central obesity, fatty liver and conked lipid profile. These people have wnl fasting insulin but they have more than normal pp insulin. These are the people who have silent high inflammatory processes in their body and are subject for catastrophic deaths. Actually, high lipids suggest high inflammation, but the doctors instead of diffusing the fire scribble statins adding fuel to the fire. Heart suddenly giving up having massive heart attack at the outset. They don't get warning, don't take medical advice, don't think need of one, doctors have yet to train themselves to find out such people by subjecting them to s insulin assays, joseph kraft test if possible.

[suramo Star in reply to Praveen55]

But for sure i'm losing abdominal fat. Also, there are people like me who seldom achieve smooth blood sugar control, but they live relatively complication-free lives or the complications are delayed considerably.

[suramo Star in reply to Praveen55]

Consuming less calories is one of the keys to reverse t2d in obese people. Thin people with t2d should not cut down on calories. They need to eat the recommended calories but should cut down on carbs to the extent that the bs is within normal limits and insulin also comes down within normal range.

[Praveen55 Moderator in reply to suramo]

Thanks suramo for your excellent replies. While you are here let me ask you another question. What do you think about the 2 hr post-meal numbers below? One has to be concerned about any possible heart issue?

Pre-meal = 110

Post-meal 1 = 230 after eating wheat based meal.

Post- meal 2 = 68 -70 on simple carb like white rice and or sugary drink.

Post -meal 3 = 120 - 125 on low carb high fat meal.

In case two there must be too much insulin?

[suramo Star in reply to Praveen55]

Yes.Ir overcome by insulin. Deficient 1st phase response. That's what i said. Joseph kraft test.High insulin levels will suggest possible cardiac risk.