How to Reverse Diabetes Naturally?
Whether you are recently diagnosed with diabetes or suspect you have it, “how to reverse diabetes naturally” should come first on your search engines. The thought of living with the consequences of diabetes every day is just dreadful.
Statistics linked to this have also been alarming. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released the 2022 National Diabetes Statistics Report. According to this study, more than 130 million adults in the United States have diabetes or prediabetes. Another shocking statistic is, there had been an estimated 1.4 million new cases of diabetes diagnosed among people ages 18 and older in 2019!
As the world still regards diabetes as a lifelong, incurable disease, it’s easy to lose hope. Fortunately, in the right stage of diagnosis and with the right approach, you can naturally reverse the effects of diabetes. Yes, it’s possible! We have been doing this at Montgomery Heart and Wellness for years, so you can trust us to help you throughout this journey.
Diabetes reversal is undeniably life-changing to the point where you might no longer need to take medications. Read on to find out more about this.
What is Diabetes Reversal?
Before we delve further into diabetes reversal or commonly known as “diabetes remission,” it is important to first understand the two classifications of diabetes.
By identifying the stage where you’re currently (through a diagnosis from a doctor), it’s easier to know if diabetes reversal is right for you.
Type 1 diabetes:
The body’s immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, glucose stays in the blood resulting in high blood sugar. A person with type 1 diabetes needs daily insulin shots to manage their condition. Scientists still haven’t found a way to reverse this type of diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes:
Cells lose their ability to respond to insulin, which impairs their ability to absorb glucose from the blood – commonly known as insulin resistance. However, it has been discovered in different studies that losing weight can help someone with type 2 diabetes reverse their disease.
Reversing diabetes naturally – without surgery or medications – is possible for Type 2 diabetics. Once in diabetes remission, the person’s blood sugar levels are normal for six months or even longer.
But of course, it’s best to remember that remission is not a cure for type 2 diabetes, either, as the condition could come back.
Exercising frequently and losing weight can help you reverse insulin resistance if you have prediabetes. These measures could stop or delay the progression to type 2 diabetes.
How Long Does Diabetes Remission Generally Last?
Sustainability is another question related to remission, particularly for diet and lifestyle treatments. Is long-term reversal possible?
Sustained diabetes reversal could be challenging in the conventional doctor-patient relationship when appointments with health professionals rarely occur yearly. Without the right support, starting and maintaining lifestyle changes can be challenging.
That’s why it’s crucial to have a healthcare partner that will provide you with continuous or around-the-clock support. For example, Montgomery Health and Wellness provides close monitoring as you undergo our personal approach to diabetes reversal. Our team monitors biomarkers (such as blood sugar and weight) to help you rapidly wean or discontinue medications.
First, you’ll stop taking blood sugar-lowering medications such as sulfonylureas and insulin, which can be occasionally removed in as little as two days or two weeks. As long as you maintain normal blood sugar, you can stop taking other medications such as SGLT-2 inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors, GLP-1 receptor agonists, and metformin.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that it’s possible to be in diabetes remission for up to 15 years. Your trusted healthcare partner should assure you of a stress-free journey in diabetes remission.
5 Ways to Start Reversing Diabetes Naturally
After knowing the basic knowledge about diabetes remission, your next question, for sure, is, “How do I start?”.
Exercising regularly and losing weight are the keys to managing your blood sugar levels. But there are still other ways you can take to manage or reverse diabetes naturally, and these are the following:
Build a healthy diet
Reducing calories, especially carbs, should be part of any diet that aims to reverse diabetes. It would help if you chose a low-carbohydrate diet. Nutritionists suggest consuming no more than 200 grams of carbohydrates daily, or 45-60 grams per meal.
But remember, spending time tracking calories might be a waste of time. It would be best if you focused on the food quality and never had to worry about calorie control.
In a nutshell, eating less is always better!
Choose a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains, and lean proteins like eggs, lentils, soy, beans, chicken, etc. While you can effortlessly search from tons of reversing diabetes recipes online, a nutritionist can help you craft a diabetes reversal diet plan that best suits your situation.
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Start moving
By decreasing roughly 5-7% of the body weight, a person with prediabetes and excess weight can lower their chance of progressing to type 2 diabetes. That translates to 10–14 pounds for a 200-pound person.
Getting into an exercise routine is crucial for people with diabetes because it naturally helps in weight loss and reversing your symptoms. Regular exercise, such as walking, can reverse insulin resistance and prediabetes.
If you are inactive or don’t regularly exercise, you can begin by going for a 5- to 10-minute walk most days of the week and work your way up to 30 minutes.
Avoid smoking and limit your alcohol consumption
According to research, nicotine exposure reduces the effectiveness of insulin in people with type 2 diabetes. With alcohol, the American Diabetes Association advises drinking alcohol in moderation.
As much as it’s pleasurable to keep these old habits, cutting them off will certainly give you a favorable result on your health in the long term, so don’t worry!
Make sleep a priority
Studies reported that Americans had decreased sleep by about 1.5 to 2 hours every night over the previous 50 years. Diabetes and obesity rates have sharply increased throughout that period. Although this does not imply that insufficient sleep causes diabetes or obesity, there is evidence that these two conditions are linked.
The “healthy average” is 7.5 hours per night, and a substantial body of data indicates that the more you deviate in any direction from the average, the greater your chance of developing diabetes. So, prioritize sleep to get back on track and protect your health.
Find a good medical partner
Lean on your medical team, which may include a therapist for mental healthcare, a podiatrist, an RDN, a CDCES, and other specialist healthcare providers. Your medical team may also include an endocrinologist. Your primary care doctor will frequently serve as your primary source of diabetic care.
That said, make sure to find a healthcare partner that you can trust. Do a background of their team and the service itself. Reversing diabetes is not easy, but with the right healthcare team on your side, you will never feel alone in the journey.
Trust Montgomery Heart & Wellness to Help You!
Although there is no known cure for diabetes, there are several ways you can use to manage your condition and lower the risk of complications. Diet, exercise, and, in certain situations, medication are methods for achieving this.
Each person will have a unique experience with diabetes. Thus, only a reliable doctor can assist you in creating a plan that meets your personal needs. As a trusted healthcare partner in Houston, our unique approach at Montgomery Health & Wellness to reversing diabetes helps us stand out from other professionals in the field.
We will monitor your progress to safely reduce the number of medications you take as your body heal naturally inside and out.
Talk to our healthcare professionals today or visit our site to learn more about our health center and wellness programs.