Research suggests that one out of three adults have prediabetes; of this group, nine out of 10 don’t know they have it. 29.1 million people in the United States have diabetes, but 8.1 million may be undiagnosed and unaware of their condition.¹ About 1.4 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in the United States every year.² More than one in every 10 adults who are 20 years or older has Type 2 diabetes;³ for seniors 65 years and older, that figure rises to more than one in four.⁴  Cases of diagnosed diabetes cost the United States an estimated $245 billion in 2012,⁵ and this cost is expected to rise with the increasing diagnoses.

It has long been thought that once you have Type 2 diabetes, you are stuck with it and will have to manage it through medication and lifestyle for the remainder of your years. However, recent studies and research have dispelled this presumption, and have proven that lifestyle changes alone can have dramatic results in reversing the Type 2 diabetes.⁶ Certainly, medication can be of great help and is often needed to calm the symptoms and improve blood sugar levels. In time, it is possible to shed the meds and live a happy, healthy life. All one needs to do is make lifestyle adjustments. On a side note, the medication metformin, a commonly prescribed drug to help control blood sugar, has been shown to have some positive benefits; it’s one of the few pharmaceuticals that seem to do more good than harm.⁷

Certainly, there are cases where someone might have a higher genetic predisposition toward contracting Type 2 diabetes. Even then, proper nutrition, exercise and sleep can do wonders toward helping control blood sugar and reduce the risk of developing associated diseases. Having Type 2 diabetes significantly increases the risk of contracting coronary artery disease, sleep apnea, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, stroke and cancer.⁸ These are the comorbidities of diabetes, and having diabetes significantly increases your risk contracting secondary diseases.

Just remember to take one step at a time. Eliminate one poor food choice and replace it with a healthier one. As an example, start with not drinking your calories. Drop the soda, juice and other sweetened beverages, and replace them with unsweetened varieties, seltzer, water or herbal teas. This one step alone will have a dramatic effect on your system, reduce inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity and help you lose weight. Also, replacing your current beverage with a sugar-free or diet version does not help. Research has proven this over and over again. Diet and sugar-free foods often result in the consumption of approximately 300-400 additional calories per day.⁹

Reversing diabetes takes time and effort, but since we know that having this disease can reduce life expectancy and overall quality of life, doesn’t it make sense to take steps now to reverse it? Most of the effort will be spent making healthy nutritional choices, but it’s also important to be more physically active. Certainly, eliminating highly-refined carbohydrates is essential, but also the total amount of carbs we take in is just as important—quality and quantity. Nourish the body, don’t just feed it.

Sources:

1.-5. http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/  

7. http://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5641; https://www.diabetes.co.uk/reversing-diabetes.html; https://futurism.com/new-study-researchers-claim-found-way-reverse-type-2-diabetes/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25880265; http://drc.bmj.com/content/3/1/e000093; https://www.healio.com/endocrinology/diabetes/news/in-the-journals/%7Be8d2355d-0624-4b22-9870-5047a797b526%7D/prevalence-of-comorbidities-high-in-type-2-diabetes; https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/comorbidities.htm
9. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature13793.epdf?referrer_access_token=onhmOtKZ2cJT0R67SIgu5NRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NBdpwZGPexYAm1DpqpwgjJCiooURkJp00jM8VAJhIpSPkWW9odMP2N-MHMvXd69IeOwnHedk48DpicZ2rjIxXOUOTsZRb2SppaZErZjULLBfEL55PybigiAZkERCwRGS0RNbTziT5KBqgecRhXMcH4G5x0Pa9sZJ5Q0DMTI1Bevw%3D%3D&tracking_referrer=time.com; http://time.com/4859012/artificial-sweeteners-weight-loss/

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