Diabetes is a commonly occurring systemic disease. We all have a family member or colleague affected by diabetes. Diabetes is controlled by taking insulin or pills daily for the rest of your life. This leads to a question. Is reversing diabetes possible? A situation where reversing type 2 diabetes is possible without lifelong medication.
When we say reversing diabetes, it means controlling high blood sugar levels over an extended period without medication. To understand how this is possible, let us first understand what diabetes is and how it affects our bodies.
The body utilises the food we consume in the form of sugar. Insulin is required for our body to use sugar. Insulin is produced in the pancreas. B-cells are responsible for producing insulin. In healthy individuals, insulin is produced that helps in processing sugar, thereby avoiding an abnormal increase in blood sugar levels.
In a diabetic patient, high blood glucose levels lead to glucose toxicity. Glucose toxicity decreases the function of b-cells, and there is a decrease in insulin production. Depending on the severity of diabetes, b-cells stop producing insulin or the body cannot utilise insulin.
Diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance or decreased insulin production.
Reversing diabetes of all types is not possible. We can manage diabetes.
These are the different types of diabetes:
Type 1 Diabetes:
This type of diabetes is hereditary or genetically acquired. Individuals are affected from a young age. Insulin is not produced in this case. The patient’s immune system is responsible for killing the b-cells in the pancreas. Therefore, the patients are completely dependent on insulin from outside the body. Reversing diabetes naturally is not possible in this case of diabetes. No remission is seen here.
Type 2 Diabetes:
This is the most common type of diabetes. Commonly seen in middle-aged people from the age of 30 and onwards. Obese Individuals develop insulin resistance owing to high glucose levels. Long-term glucose toxicity decreases the function of b-cells in the pancreas.
Reversing type 2 diabetes is possible because controlling the high glucose levels will restore the function of the b-cells of the pancreas. We will discuss reversing diabetes naturally later in this article.
Gestational Diabetes:
Pregnant women may develop diabetes during or post-pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is common and acquired.
Diabetes is a lifestyle disease. The affected individuals must take medications daily to control their high glucose levels. Reversing diabetes means restoring the function of b-cells to normal. It is a vicious cycle. We have to break the cycle to reverse diabetes.