Question: Is there a cure for Type 2 diabetes?
Dr. Hibberd's Answer:
Type 2 diabetes is controllable and can be controlled so well that no one would know you have it.
The secret is optimal weight together with a healthy low-fat, high-fiber, calorie-restricted diet with regular exercise.
Unfortunately, most people with Type 2 diabetes need medications to assist in controlling their condition as well as Insulin supplementation on occasion of severe illness or stress.
However, there is no "cure" for diabetes yet.
Type 2 diabetes is different from Type 1 in that Type 1 diabetics are deficient in natural insulin secretion from the pancreas. Type 2 Diabetics have an excess of insulin as a result of peripheral tissue resistance (often due to obesity) to their own natural insulin. The pancreas tries to correct for the lack of insulin effect by increasing its insulin secretion.
Type 2 diabetes most often presents in an overweight individual, but some medications can exacerbate or trigger Type 2 diabetes as well.
If weight goals are reached, body fat stores optimized, and adequate muscle bulk obtained by conditioning and exercise, it is not at all unusual for Type 2 diabetes to "disappear," i.e. become normal. I would not say it is "cured' as that implies the condition will not return. Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with obesity and can be controlled by weight loss alone in some patients.
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