Prediabetes and Diabetes Reversal

Remission and Reversal

Did you know that if you catch diabetes within the first 6 years, going into remission is possible. Remission is similar to reversal but slightly different. It means the disease goes away, however, it can come back again. A good analogy is that if you put out a fire, the embers are still there and can reignite. This is why a long-term lifestyle change is so important.

I’m going to jump around a bit and give you some information, stay with me because I promise I will tie everything together in the end. Now that you know that diabetes can go into remission within the first 6 years, there are more concepts you need to know.

What is Insulin?

Insulin is like a taxi that moves sugar from the blood into the cells where they belong. These cells make up muscle, skin, organs, and basically everything else in your body. Your body needs blood sugar for fuel, and sometimes, there is a traffic jam. There is something blocking the insulin from moving the sugar into the cells. This is very important because it is the foundation type 2 diabetes. This essentially means that carbohydrate foods (food that turns to sugar in the blood) is not the problem, the real culprit is insulin resistance.

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance not only causes type 2 diabetes, but can cause many other diseases as well such as cardiovascular system impairment and oxidative stress (think of your body rusting). It can slowly damage several organs. A good chart can be found here.

Insulin resistance is not completely understood. But I will give you some information about it in the following sections.

Insulin Sensitivity

This concept is opposite to insulin resistance. Insulin sensitivity means the taxi (insulin) has an easy time pushing sugar into the muscle, skin, and organs. Insulin sensitivity is good! You want to build insulin sensitivity for overall health and to help prevent diabetes or put it into remission.

Tying it Together

The goal is to reduce insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity. How do we do that? A big culprit is saturated fat consumption from animal products. Foods like meat, high fat dairy, and even chicken are high in saturated fats. Saturated fats "block" the insulin from delivering sugar into the cells. Belly fat is another contributor, a large waistline can also block insulin. Think of it as fat sticking to your organs (it’s not just under your skin which is why it’s so concerning). Two more important factors are low muscle tone and lack of physical activity. Leg muscle is particularly important. Leg muscle is associated with longevity. It is your insulin sensitivity, longevity, and metabolism. Your legs and glutes support your back and posture. If I had insulin resistance, I would focus on building large amounts of leg muscle to help reverse it.

What can you do to improve your insulin resistance?

• Transition to more of a plant-based diet, even a semi plant based diet is very helpful.

  • A plant-based diet is actually low in protein (vegetables have protein but it’s not significant, it’s only like 1 gram).

  • Beans are not protein dense - you have to eat several cups to get enough protein.

  • Therefore I would recommend protein shakes or fish if you’re comfortable.

• Build leg muscle:

  • Try to do at least 6000 steps a day (a side note: walking is a slow form of exercise which means it also pulls from fat stores).

  • Spend 2 and a 1/2 hours in the gym a week doing heavy lifting (exercise specifics should be based on guidance of your doctor).

  • You also need a moderate to high protein diet to build muscle (1 gram of protein per KILOGRAM [not pound] of body weight if you are a normal weight).

  • You don’t need to load your body with protein like it’s your sole life’s mission (you will just be making expensive pee).

• Exercise: Do both gentle and aerobic exercise (running, jogging, biking, swimming, sports, etc. - exercise that raises your heart rate) regularly.

• Eat moderate calories: Don’t overdo a calorie restriction or you could lose muscle.

  • Most adults need about 2000 calories a day but it varies.

    • If you’re a 20 year old tall man, you may need an upwards of 4000.

    • If you are an older woman you may only be able to have 1400 without putting on extra weight.

• Have a balanced diet (balanced doesn't sound edgy in our diet-culture world, but I promise it actually works).

  • A low glycemic-load diet is generally the same as a balanced diet

• Intermittent fasting may be helpful however the evidence is not conclusive.

  • There is some evidence that it helps to build muscle mass but only if you eat the same amount of calories as in non-fasting.

  • I don’t like fasting for people with kidney diseases because I feel like it has negative consequences for the kidneys.

Hope that helps! If you have any questions, feel free to send an email.