Can You Reverse Type 2 Diabetes? (video/podcast)

Over the past few decades, type 2 diabetes has become extremely common both in the United States and worldwide. Moreover, people are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at increasingly younger ages. What is causing the rise in this illness — and can type 2 diabetes be reversed?

In this video, San Diego Health host Susan Taylor talks with Gabriela Jordan, MD, an endocrinologist at Scripps Clinic Hillcrest, about what causes type 2 diabetes and recommendations for preventing or even reversing the disease.

There are two main types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that prevents the pancreas from producing enough of the hormone insulin, which helps regulate the body’s levels of glucose, or blood sugar.

Usually diagnosed in childhood, type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition that requires insulin treatments to manage blood sugar.  

In people with type 2 diabetes, which has typically been diagnosed in adulthood, the pancreas is able to produce insulin. Over time, however, insulin production decreases and/or the body becomes resistant to it. Eventually, patients may need medications or insulin to avoid complications. 

Unlike type 1, type 2 diabetes is not an autoimmune disease. Rather, a number of factors may raise the risk of developing the condition. People who have a strong family history of it are most at risk. If one or both of your parents have type 2 diabetes, you are two to four times more likely than the general population to have it. 

Certain ethnicities, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, also have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. 

Lifestyle factors also play a role. Having a sedentary lifestyle, being overweight or obese, having high blood pressure or high cholesterol, taking certain medications and having medical conditions, such as fatty liver disease, can also increase your risk.

Several of these type 2 diabetes risk factors may account for the rise in the disease among younger people, including teens.

“We now spend more time in front of screens starting at a very young age. And there is an abundance of highly processed, high-sugar, high carbohydrate foods that are readily accessible,” says Dr. Jordan. “The combination of genetic factors and this environment that we live in has significantly contributed to developing prediabetes and obesity at younger ages.”

Even in this environment, Dr. Jordan says developing type 2 diabetes is not inevitable.

“Studies of thousands of patients have shown that a healthy diet and regular exercise, at least 150 minutes per week, is effective in delaying or even preventing type 2 diabetes compared to not implementing those changes,” she explains.

Such lifestyle changes, she adds, can even help reverse type 2 diabetes.

 “While there is no specific cure or treatment that can absolutely eliminate diabetes, it is possible to reverse it and keep your blood sugars under control with diet and lifestyle changes and monitoring your glucose levels,” Dr. Jordan says.

What should you eat? One of the most-studied diets that has been shown to help with weight loss — as well as improve blood sugar control and help prevent diabetes — is the Mediterranean diet. More of a lifestyle plan than a diet, this approach emphasizes plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, seeds, legumes and nuts, along with lean proteins like chicken and fish, low-fat dairy and healthy oils like olive oil. Try to avoid sugary and highly processed foods.

Along with diet and exercise, monitoring blood glucose levels is an important part of preventing or reversing type 2 diabetes. Fortunately, innovative technology has made it easier and more convenient to track blood sugar in real time without pricking your finger several times a day. A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is a very small device that you place on your arm or abdomen; it provides continuous glucose measurements and can be worn for 10-14 days at a time. 

As with many conditions, the earlier type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat or even reverse.

“It is very important to meet with your primary care doctor annually and discuss any concerns about type 2 diabetes, especially if you have any risk factors,” says Dr. Jordan. “And if you have type 2 diabetes, know that it can be reversed with diet and lifestyle changes.”

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