Is type 2 diabetes reversible?

March 9 2017 by in Diabetes

Diabetes sugar disease ill illness healthy health doctor

In medical school, Dr. Peter Attia learned that type 2 diabetes was a chronic irreversible disease. But is that really true?

Virta Health, a tech company, is actually reversing the disease in patients, using a simple dietary modification (i.e. low carb) and tech-enabled coaching, and documenting their results.

Here are comments from journalists, investors and advisors:

The ending of the last article above is fantastic. The journalist acknowledges that the results are really promising with people revolutionizing their health, cutting their need for medications by a lot and generally feeling great. But how will they keep it up, asks the journalist, when donuts are delicious?

It’s more than a little condescending. Or perhaps it’s the carb addiction speaking.

I believe hundreds of millions of people with type 2 diabetes would successfully decide to avoid a slow, medicated and painful death, when they know they have the option. Instead, they can choose a good life, with purpose.

There’s more to life, after all, than donuts.

Earlier

The Upsides and Challenges of Building a Tech Company in Healthcare

Another Victory for Keto as a Type 2 Diabetes Treatment

Low Carb for Beginners

Top videos about type 2 diabetes

Living low carb with John Holding
04:57
John used to suffer from a myriad of aches and pains which he simply dismissed as “normal”. Known as the big guy at work, he was constantly hungry and grabbing for snacks.
My low-carb story with Marc Gossange
03:01
After living somewhat of a high-carb life and then living in France for a few years enjoying croissants and freshly baked baguettes, Marc was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The essential problem with type 2 diabetes
05:09
Dr. Fung's diabetes course part 2: What exactly is the essential problem of type 2 diabetes?
Living low carb with Chris Hannaway
08:19
What does living low carb look like? Chris Hannaway shares his success story, takes us for a spin in the gym and orders food at the local pub.

10 comments

1
gbl
March 9 2017
I think the ending is right on the money.

We still don't know, or you haven't asked or have but then didn't tell us, how many here are still on their diets over five years. Where's the report Doc, or are you afraid we might learn something you don't want us to know.

I celebrate that those with Diabetes 2 can get it under control. But, when the plant leaves the hothouse, how's it doing? Not six months later, but a real reporting of anyone low-carbing for more than five years, and their numbers, and also a report from everyone you've featured here in celebration. It's been said people can lose weight, and it seems, control meds and numbers (to some extent) with weight loss. But are they still there vis a vis Diabetes 2?

You really have to give your members and the public your numbers.

Replies: #4, #8, #10
2
IsKetosisthecure
March 9 2017
I agree with you gbl. I've been on a ketogenic diet for the last 7 years, mostly. Before that I did the atkins on and off. I did my first Atkins over 15 years ago. I agree that now that I'm doing ketogenic with better understanding and measuring ketones constantly, I'm able to control my weight better. But whenever there is a life circumstance like a job with a lot of travelling or some stressful times, I have found myself back to eating carbs. (or e.g. exercising too much and getting overloaded without carbs, then having to recover for 6 months by eating carbs). Though, my HbA1c is not even prediabetic, I don't know what it would be, had I eaten carbs for the past 15 years. But saying that ketogenic reverses diabetes might be misleading. I think it is a bit like saying that one has found a cure for alcoholism - by having alcoholics not drink. It's true when they do not drink, but over years or decades there comes a situation in life when they might find themselves drinking once for whatever reason then finding themselves binge drinking for a month. Was that a cure for alcoholism, then? But maybe the intermittent fasting is something that really turns on the autophagy and cures diabetes? So doing intermittent fasting for, say 2 years - would that reverse insulin resistance enough, so that one could resume eating "normal" amount of carbs? (until of course if you find yourself overeating carbs for 5 years and becoming insulin resistant again)
3
Tim H
March 10 2017 3
My HbA1c in April, 2011, was over 10. That's when I went LCHF. By March, 2013, it was down to 5.4. That's below pre-diabetes. In June, 2016, it was 4.7. OK, so I'm probably as healthy, as far as glucose control goes, as I was when I graduated from highschool 50 years ago. Am I cured? That depends on what you consider to be "cured". By the ADA's definition, 5 years without symptoms, I'll be cured this time next year. I'm considering doing a series of Dr Joseph Kraft type insulin tests. Baseline, then oral glucose bolus, then insulin again at 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 minutes. Just to see how close I come to Kraft's curve for persons who are not even "diabetes in situ". I suppose that would be a pretty good measure of cure.

I ate a high-carb diet for 62 years, extra high-carb vegetarian for 43 years, and it was not merely my glucose control that was damaged. Do all the co-morbities have to resolve, too, before you pronounce me cured? In that case, not in this lifetime. Atherosclerosis doesn't reverse easily if at all. I have no doubt that the atherosclerosis built up by all that heavy carb eating is still with me. I've been eating ketogenic for 4+ years now and may continue for life but will my arteries become clean as a whistle? I don't thing it's realistic to even dream of that.

But return to a high carb lifestyle? You're crazy. I smoked too, and quit. So should I wish to smoke again? Just to see how long it takes to get a smoking related disease? Aside from blood glucose control, LCHF has given me so much more. Health, of course, but also convenience. I can work or travel all day or days without the inconvenience of food breaks. That's freedom!

High carb is high-risk behavior. I survived the first time around. Driving a motorbike at high speed, casual unprotected sex, visiting a combat zone to see what it's like. These are high-risk behaviors, too. Do I need them? No way.

Reply: #5
4
Reply to comment #1 by gbl
Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD Team Diet Doctor
March 10 2017 4
gbl,
Not saying it's easy to do low carb long term. Just like it's not easy to give up other rewarding addictive things, like smoking. But it's certainly possible.

And giving up in advance just because it's not easy... well, at least that should be the decision of actual person with diabetes, right? Nobody should decide for someone else what they can or cannot do.

What diabetes educators do now – discounting low carb because of perceived difficulties – is as bad as if we encouraged people to keep smoking, saying it's too hard to quit anyway, don't even attempt to quit, as "smoking is delicious".
5
Reply to comment #3 by Tim H
bill
March 10 2017 1
" I'm considering doing a series of Dr Joseph Kraft type insulin tests. Baseline, then oral glucose bolus, then insulin again at 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300 minutes. Just to see how close I come to Kraft's curve..."

I recommend you don't do that. Why would you
want to ingest glucose at a high rate? ...to find
out what? And what would you do if you find
out something? And what if you have a false
positive, i.e. physiological insulin resistance?
Not worth it.

You can always do HbA1c or fasting glucose or
fasting insulin. They'll tell you all you need to
know.

I foolishly did a Kraft test a few years ago and it
kicked my butt. Glucose is nothing to mess
around with.
6
Bruce
March 10 2017 2
gbl,

I suggest you look around the website, and maybe watch a few videos. There are a lot of examples.

The problem is that society is against this lifestyle, so that's why a majority of the people quit. It's not because they want to, it's because social pressures telling people "This is a bad idea", force them to quit.

The solution is there, and proven. Now we need the establishment to hop on board, and end the obesity crisis.
7
Eric
March 10 2017
Read the articles on resveratrol feed mice as fecal donors for fecal transplants.
Why not lchf and time restricted feeding and fecal transplant? Science may make t2 a worry no longer
8
Reply to comment #1 by gbl
Susan
March 10 2017 1
I suspect what we are going to accept in time with more research is that sugar (sucrose which is a molecule of glucose and fructose) is toxic. No amount of sugar is not toxic--but different people have different tolerances and that tolerance changes (erodes) over time. If you gave someone tiny amounts of poison in their diet and over time they became sick then you remove the poison and they become well, is it practical to ask if you go back to the poison will they still be cured? I don't nor have I ever had much of a weight issue. I've stayed within about a 15 pound range my whole adult life--for me that's the heavier end of normal BMI range. I gain weight when I eat sugar/sucrose. I don't think for me starches (such as in rice) create much of a problem for me in gaining weight, but they do make me crave more carbs which drives me toward eating not just more starches but sugar. And then everything goes to hell and I gain 5-10 pounds. So I stay away from it all as much as I can, and when I succumb I enjoy it but try not to let it snowball. If it does snowballs I can reprogram with intermittent fasting. It seems very sustainable, but no I don't think anybody can ever go back to "normal amount of carbs" if that includes sucrose and still be considered "cured."
9
chris
August 27 2017
I am a diabetic, I was first diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, I bought a guide from online 7 steps health approach , it given a dramatic results in my life , i have been taken off the insulin and other diabetes medication, read the full guide from here >> go2l.ink/1diabetes )
all the best have a great day
10
Reply to comment #1 by gbl
eric
August 27 2017
I am a diabetes man and was recently diagnosed as being a borderline diabetic, i knew something was wrong because, i have always been healthy my whole life, but of late began feeling exhausted all the time, my doctor prescribed some medication, but before filling it i decided to do some research on the internet which led me to the 7 steps to health, after reading the eBook and applying the methods, my scepticism turned to 100% belied, i noticed that my energy levels increased significantly and i felt more rested in the morning, i recommended to all,
i put the link here >> go2l.ink/1diabetes )
Have a great day