How to cure type 2 diabetes

April 16 2011 by in Diabetes

Jay Wortman, MD, tells the spectacular story of how he got rid of his rampant type 2 diabetes using a simple dietary change. Eight years later he is still free from the disease and needs no medication. Basically he stopped eating the foods that turn to sugar in the gut.

During the last few years several well designed scientific studies has proven that this common sense approach works very well. You can read more about it on Dr. Wortman’s website or use the detailed guidelines here at DietDoctor.com (completely free).

In the video above (filmed during the Baltimore conference this month) dr Wortman also talks about his experience using a very low carb (ketogenic) diet for kids and how his wife used it during pregnancy, very interesting subjects.

13 comments

1
Peggy Holloway
June 9 2011
So glad to see this!
I "adore" Jay Wortman, having participated in his blog for quite some time as well as having engaged in some great conversations with him on Huffpo blogs. His comments there are always a breath of fresh ari. It was a treat to see him interviewed in person.
2
MaryB
September 7 2011
He was fortunate enough to get on the very low carb diet while he still had enough beta cells alive.

I was giving different advice from my doctor and the ADA so, though I eat a very low carb and very careful diet, I will never be able to control my diabetes with diet alone.

The ADA told me as long as my Blood Sugar, 2 hours after eating, was no higher than 170 I was doing correctly. Naturally my beta cells were destroyed! Because the ADA and most doctors are giving very bad advice to new diabetics.

It took me over 2 years to discover the very low carb diet that works so well for diabetes. The day I was diagnosed with diabetes, I asked my doctor if I could go on a low carb diet and he said he did not believe in low carb diets, so I was on the ADA diet for the first 2 years. I should have listened to my instincts instead of my doctor's advice.
3
winston persad
September 13 2015
I recently started the LCHF diet -two weeks ago-, since then i have lost 8 pounds and my body shape has been reverting to hopefully what it used to be during my 30,s and 40,s.
I was using 60 units of insulin per day and I am now down to 20 units and the expectation is to remove insulin injections permanently within one month.
It is and has been very difficult to stay away from carbs, however the urges are lessening as time progresses
I am doing light exercises and walking, however, I am experiencing severe pains in my legs, calves and feet which rapidly subsides ten minutes after exercise.
Is there any advice concerning the removal of these pains (non surgical). I have been diagnosed with PAD.
4
Jennifer
March 15 2016
If you are talking about muscle cramps, you may be experiencing low potassium and possible dehydration if you are low-carbing. When I went low carb, although I was drinking tons of water, I began to get horrible muscle cramps. My doctor ran some tests and said I was low on sodium and low on potassium. I had cut out all fruits from my diet and wasn't getting enough potassium. I was also dehydrated, she said, which can also cause muscle cramps. Being deficient in sodium and potassium makes the body unable to hold enough water even if you are drinking a lot. She prescribed adding some salt, and 1/4 cup of fruit each day , banana being very high in potassium. I should also add the 'salt substitute', which if you read it, is potassium. Do not overdo it on the postassium though because too much can cause heart problems or even be fatal. Anyway, based on the doctors advice I kept up the massive drinking of water, added salt, added salt substitute, and added 1/4 cup fruit each day, especially banana, -- it cured my muscle cramps both during the day and at night.
5
Andy
October 25 2018
I'm a diabetic on a keto diet but I keep seeing stuff with titles like this article "How to cure type 2 diabetes" - Keto is not a cure, it never has been and never will be. It's a method of keeping your blood sugar down and under control. If any of the people who claim it to be so had actually cured their type 2 diabetes then they'd be able to eat a "normal" meal with carbs and their blood glucose wouldn't spike out of control and they'd be like my colleague who throws bags of Skittles down his throat and still maintains 5.0mmol/l
6
Sue
November 14 2018
Andy, you are right. It seems though I am seeing more people saying their diabetes is controlled or in remission. As you said, if diabetes were reversed or cured we could eat anything we wanted and that is never going to happen.
I’ll take remission any day!
7
Cindy G
February 6
Help! I have been doing lchf for 5 days and my bs is still in the 200’s. Type 2 on metformin, glimepiride and pioglitizone!! What am I doing wrong??

Reply: #8
8
Reply to comment #7 by Cindy G
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
February 7

Help! I have been doing lchf for 5 days and my bs is still in the 200’s. Type 2 on metformin, glimepiride and pioglitizone!! What am I doing wrong??

As you are on medication, please work with your doctor to adjust dosage as necessary.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/with-diabetes-medications
9
Linda
February 18
I asked my Dr several years ago why do my feet feel like pins and needles all the time. He said it was due to my back. I recently found out I have type 2. I've gotten my blood levels down to 116 to 125 but my fingers have been feeling like pins and needles now is there anything to stop this in hands and feet?

Reply: #10
10
Reply to comment #9 by Linda
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
February 18

I asked my Dr several years ago why do my feet feel like pins and needles all the time. He said it was due to my back. I recently found out I have type 2. I've gotten my blood levels down to 116 to 125 but my fingers have been feeling like pins and needles now is there anything to stop this in hands and feet?

It could be related to diabetes, not due to your back. In this case, controlling your blood sugar with keto/lchf will help with the healing.
https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/pins-needles-diabetes/
11
Gail
June 3
I have followed a low carb WOE since the early 90s, but have fallen off at holiday times. My A1c has been between 5.3 and 5.6 for that entire time. Last year and again this year I have experienced the tingling in the toes and fingers; this time for 3 months. Also experiencing the extreme thirst without excessive urination with fluid retention in the thighs, and periodic blurry vision. My doc said that I could not have diabetes when I inquired because of my numbers and because I am so thin. Now, after reading the info here as well as listening to your many videos, I am wondering if I have had diabetes now for years. In the early 90s I had a 5 hour fasting glucose test. The doc than told me that I had some sort of reactive hypoglycemia. Another doctor reviewed the results and said that I had sugar n my urine during the test, but never said another word. Have made an appointment with an endocrinologist, but that is not until the end of July. Am restarting my low carb diet with intermittent fasting. Anything else I should do in the meantime? Thanks for all of the info on this website.
12
Linda
July 11
Linda
I just had an A1c test that rated 8.8 more than a month ago. This was a wake up call for me. I had not been able to get myself off the delicious carbs no matter how hard I tried. Well I finally did it and have been checking my blood sugar daily which has gone from a fasting morning 200mg and after eating 300mg to a much lowered blood sugar of fasting/morning 115mg and after eating 130mg. Normal blood sugar is 70-100mg. My doctor had upped my dose of metformin from 1000mg to 2000mg. It's hard to understand who to trust cause, even though my doctor is a naturopath, she is prescribing a pharmaceutical drug which she says works better for diabetes than any herb. Well I kept trying to cut the dosage of metformin down on my own despite her objections. At 1500mg I still felt good and that not alot was different. Then I tried to go even lower to 1000mg. As soon as I did this, I got alot of symptoms that suggested neuropathy (sharp pains, tingling, and numbness in feet, legs, and fingers). This freaked me out and turned into another wake up call and I started taking the doctor's suggested dosage of 2000mg again which did help the symptoms but not completely. Now I think of developed neuropathy. I loathe to take prescription drugs and wish there was an herbal way to truly heal my body. I just hope the metformin doesn't somehow cause neuropathy....Any advice or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks for reading this!

Reply: #13
13
Reply to comment #12 by Linda
Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
6 days ago

Linda
I just had an A1c test that rated 8.8 more than a month ago. This was a wake up call for me. I had not been able to get myself off the delicious carbs no matter how hard I tried. Well I finally did it and have been checking my blood sugar daily which has gone from a fasting morning 200mg and after eating 300mg to a much lowered blood sugar of fasting/morning 115mg and after eating 130mg. Normal blood sugar is 70-100mg. My doctor had upped my dose of metformin from 1000mg to 2000mg. It's hard to understand who to trust cause, even though my doctor is a naturopath, she is prescribing a pharmaceutical drug which she says works better for diabetes than any herb. Well I kept trying to cut the dosage of metformin down on my own despite her objections. At 1500mg I still felt good and that not alot was different. Then I tried to go even lower to 1000mg. As soon as I did this, I got alot of symptoms that suggested neuropathy (sharp pains, tingling, and numbness in feet, legs, and fingers). This freaked me out and turned into another wake up call and I started taking the doctor's suggested dosage of 2000mg again which did help the symptoms but not completely. Now I think of developed neuropathy. I loathe to take prescription drugs and wish there was an herbal way to truly heal my body. I just hope the metformin doesn't somehow cause neuropathy....Any advice or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks for reading this!

It sounds like you are making good progress! I would definitely recommend continuing to work with your doctor on this. Sometimes, medicine is necessary while we heal our body from previous.

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