I think a lot depends on the individual… including whether you’re primarily insulin resistant, how well your beta cells are functioning, and how seriously you take the matter into your own hands. Since I adopted the raw, natural foods based diet, added a few daily supplements to my treatment, and incorporated plenty of daily exercise (I walk, briskly, at least 5 miles a day), my T2DM has reversed significantly. So much so, in fact, that I quit taking all meds in December of 2007 and my blood sugar is, for all intents, normal. I can even get away with an occasional pizza. I have two regular customers (T2) where I work, who have also discovered the nutrition secret. Both are off the meds and living a normal life also. Another customer, unfortunately, can’t seem to make the switch to a healthy lifestyle and is reporting BGLs in the 200s.
Personally, I think the medical industry in general is not interested in helping T2s get off the meds. There’s no money in it. Besides, it’s too difficult for the average person to adopt the necessary healthy lifestyle. It wasn’t until I stopped making excuses, listening to others, and started finding solutions that I found the solution. Outside of avoiding refined carbohydrates, I eat anything I want to. I just make sure that what I want is healthy. Once the mindset shifts from living to eat to eating to live, things can change dramatically. It’s not just about lowering your carbohydrate intake, either. It’s more about getting an adequate daily supply of the proper nutrients which you won’t find in Special K, or any other manufactured food. Nothing, man made, beats raw fruits, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables when it comes to nutrition.
So, if insulin resistance is your main issue, I don’t see how anyone can say it’s progressive. Too many people are making the adjustment, getting off the meds, and living a healthy life. Drs. Fuhrman, McDougall, and Barnard are getting people healthy all the time. Check them out.
I am still using Metformin, but off everything else for my T2. ( still needing blood pressure control though). Metformin seems to have anti-cancer properties and I’m not having any trouble with it. My dose is quite low, either 1000 or 1500 mg per day. Depending on what I’m eating. I have pretty much stopped eating carbs. and use Fresh whole foods. meat, fish, dairy and fresh vegetables with a LITTLE fruit. My snacks are mainly nuts, but sometimes a piece of cheese or cold meat. I drink tea( I am British) and about 1 cup of coffee per day. I walk miles
I can’t handle grains, whole or otherwise Last HbA1c ( as we Brits call it) was 5.6%. Next one is due soon and I’m hoping it will be about the same, but perhaps even better.
Hi Hana, I’m in the UK too. How are you getting on? I have been trying raw food diet for about 4 months now, am type II on Gliclazide 30mg only, at first I managed to get my bg to around 6-7 but not getting my bg under 9 at the moment. however, I am feeling tired, no energy and pretty miserable, do you have any tips?
Hi Linda: Yes, most studies that look at the decline in beta cell function in Type 2 diabetes do not screen out LADAs. And LADAs often remain misdiagnosed and included in with Type 2 diabetics, thus skewing results. In “Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults: Definition, Prevalence, Beta Cell Function and Treatment” in Diabetes Vol. 54, Supplement 2, December 2005 the authors point out that if you remove people with autoimmune markers for Type 1a diabetes (aka slow onset Type 1 diabetes in adults almost always misdiagnosed as Type 2) from studies of Type 2 diabetics, “beta cell function was unaffected and preserved 12 years after diagnosis among individuals without islet antibodies.” If patients with LADA are appropriately removed from studies looking at beta cell function in Type 2 diabetics, there is no decline in production of insulin in the true Type 2 diabetics.
