Is type 2 diabetes reversible? With better diet, exercise, and weight loss, some patients can return to normal blood glucose and insulin levels and may no longer need medication. This is not possible for every patient, and success depends on the duration and severity of the disease and the patient’s genetics.
Many people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. The higher the weight value, the harder it is for the pancreas to produce the amount of insulin needed to control blood sugar, said Dr. Yehuda Handelsman, an endocrinologist in Tarzana, Calif.
That’s why when diabetes is first diagnosed, doctors often recommend losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight and trying to increase your exercise time by 150 minutes a week.
Losing 5-10% of your body weight should be enough to manage your diabetes. But how do you reverse the disease?” says Handelsman, “It may require a 25% weight loss.” The amount of weight a patient needs to lose to get insulin and blood sugar back to non-diabetic levels varies from person to person, and it takes a dramatic change to get to normal levels.
In one study in the United Kingdom, researchers monitored 11 patients with type 2 diabetes who reduced their energy intake to 600 calories per day for 2 months. During that time, each patient lost about 30 pounds and their diabetes went into remission. After three months, 7 of the 11 patients were still diabetes-free.
In order to continue to maintain that status, weight loss was necessary. Patients use the word ‘reversal’ when they can stop the medication,” said Dr. Ann Albright, chief of the CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, “but in fact, it takes ongoing adherence to healthy habits to stay off the medication. That may mean more exercise and a stricter diet to keep diabetes under control.
However, lifestyle itself does not cause disease. “Not everyone who is overweight or obese will develop diabetes,” Handelsman said. “People with diabetes usually have a genetic predisposition.” If diabetes is reversed through lifestyle changes, people with diabetes may have a higher risk of developing diabetes again than those who have never had it. The longer you have type 2 diabetes, the harder it is to reverse it because it damages insulin-producing cells. “If you’ve had diabetes for about 20 years,” Handelsman said, “even if you can lose weight, your body may not have any insulin-producing cells at all.”