Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. With diabetes, your body either doesn’t make enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it does make. When you eat, most of your food is broken down into sugar (glucose) and released into your bloodstream. Your pancreas responds by releasing insulin. Insulin acts as a key to allow blood sugar into your body’s cells for use as energy. If you have diabetes, this process doesn’t work as it should.
Over time, high blood sugar can damage your eyes, kidneys, nerves and other parts of your body. But if you are able to get your diabetes under control, either through lifestyle changes, medication, or sometimes even bariatric surgery, it is possible for the damaging effects of diabetes to be reversed and your blood sugar levels to return to normal.
Signs that diabetes may be reversing
If you have been able to get your A1C level (your average blood sugar level over the past 2-3 months) down to below 6.5% (the range for a normal A1C is under 5.7%), this is a good indication that your diabetes is well-controlled and potentially reversing. Other signs that your diabetes may be reversing include:
- Need for less medication – If you have been able to lower doses or stop taking diabetes medication entirely under doctor supervision, this indicates your body is becoming more sensitive to insulin.
- Lower fasting blood glucose – A fasting blood glucose level between 70-100 mg/dL is considered normal. If your levels start trending down into this range, it shows your blood sugar control is improving.
- Weight loss – Losing a moderate amount of weight if you are overweight and maintaining the weight loss can help reverse diabetes.
- Increase in insulin sensitivity – Insulin resistance is a core problem in type 2 diabetes. As your insulin sensitivity improves, it becomes easier to maintain normal blood sugars.
These signs indicate that the underlying causes of diabetes are improving and your body is better able to regulate blood sugar on its own. However, periodic monitoring is still required to ensure blood sugars remain controlled over the long-term.
When can diabetes be considered “reversed”?
Diabetes is generally considered to be “reversed” if you are able to achieve and maintain normal blood sugar levels without taking diabetes medication. Some key benchmarks for diabetes reversal include:
- A1C level reduced to below 6.5% and maintained for at least 3 months without medication
- Fasting blood glucose stays between 70-100 mg/dL over time
- 2 hour blood glucose after a meal remains under 140 mg/dL
- No hypoglycemic episodes
If you are able to reach the above targets and hold them consistently without needing diabetes medication, your doctor will likely determine your diabetes has reversed. However, periodic monitoring of A1C and blood glucose levels is still important to ensure your blood sugars remain in the normal range long-term.
Is diabetes reversal permanent?
For most people who are able to reverse their diabetes, this does not necessarily mean they are “cured” permanently. The underlying predisposition that led to diabetes in the first place is still there. If old lifestyle habits creep back in, blood sugars can begin to rise again. That said, long-term reversal is possible for many people if they continue following a healthy lifestyle program. Here are some key factors to maintaining diabetes reversal:
- Weight control – Maintaining a healthy weight is vital to prevent blood sugars from rising again. Continuing to exercise and sticking to a healthy diet can help keep weight under control.
- Nutrition – Focus on whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats. Limit sugar, refined carbs, and processed foods which can spike blood sugar.
- Exercise – Regular physical activity, both cardio and strength training, helps increase insulin sensitivity and maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
- Stress management – Chronic stress can affect blood sugar levels. Managing stress through relaxation techniques, social connection, meditation, etc. may help sustain diabetes reversal.
While it requires commitment to lifestyle changes, many people are able to maintain normal blood sugars and keep diabetes in remission over the long-term through close monitoring and a healthy lifestyle.
Should diabetes medication be stopped?
If your blood sugar levels have improved significantly, you may be wondering if it’s OK to stop taking your diabetes medication entirely. However, you should never stop or change prescribed diabetes medication without first consulting your doctor.
Your doctor will want to see consistent blood sugar levels in the normal range for a period of time before considering stopping medication. They will then work with you on a careful process of lowering dose or frequency and monitoring blood sugars to see if they remain controlled. Abruptly quitting medication on your own could lead to complications.
Some key considerations on stopping diabetes medication:
- Work closely with your doctor – They will monitor your blood sugar levels and determine if/when you’re ready to begin reducing medication.
- Don’t go cold turkey – Medication will be gradually reduced in a controlled manner to ensure blood sugar stability.
- Monitor diligently – Frequent monitoring will be required to ensure blood glucose levels remain in check during and after the transition.
- Have a backup plan – Your doctor will advise you on steps to quickly resume medication if needed to avoid complications.
While it may be possible to eventually transition off medication, this process requires close medical supervision. Stay in contact with your diabetes care team before making any changes.
Lifestyle changes to reverse diabetes
Making improvements to your diet, activity levels, and other lifestyle factors is key to reversing diabetes. Here are some effective strategies:
Follow a diabetes-friendly meal plan
Focus your diet on minimally processed foods that are low in added sugars, refined grains, and unhealthy fats. Emphasize vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins like fish, chicken, tofu or eggs. Portion sizes are also important for weight management. A registered dietitian or diabetes educator can help create an optimal meal plan.
Get regular exercise
Aim for 150 minutes or more of moderate intensity exercise like brisk walking each week, along with 2-3 strength training sessions. This level of activity can help with weight loss and improve insulin sensitivity. Speak to your doctor before significantly increasing physical activity.
Lose excess weight
Carrying extra weight, especially in the abdominal area, can directly contribute to insulin resistance. Losing 5-10% of your body weight if overweight or obese can help reverse diabetes. Work with your doctor on a safe weight loss regimen.
Limit alcohol intake
Drinking alcohol, especially in excess, can worsen diabetes. Limit consumption to no more than 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.
Stop smoking
Smoking increases risk for diabetes complications. Quitting can help reverse diabetes damage and remove added stress on your body.
Manage stress
High stress hormones like cortisol can raise blood sugars. Making time to relax, get quality sleep, practice mindfulness, and take part in relaxing activities can improve diabetes control.
Monitor blood sugars
Check your blood sugar levels regularly as advised by your doctor so you can see your progress and make adjustments as needed to your lifestyle habits to optimize blood sugar control.
Medical interventions that reverse diabetes
Beyond lifestyle measures, some medical and surgical interventions may help with diabetes reversal for certain people. These include:
Bariatric surgery
For obese individuals, procedures like gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and gastric banding can dramatically reduce excess body weight, resulting in significant improvements in blood sugar levels. Diabetes remission rates one year after surgery can be as high as 80% depending on the procedure.
Insulin pump therapy
Using an insulin pump provides precise insulin delivery throughout the day to stabilize blood glucose. Some people with type 2 diabetes are able to stop insulin injections entirely and reverse daily insulin dependence using pump therapy under medical guidance.
Medication adjustments
If initial diabetes treatment included medications inappropriate for your diabetes type, adjusting medications under doctor supervision may help normalize blood sugars. For example, changing from insulin to metformin for some type 2 diabetics can aid reversal.
Discuss any major medication changes with your healthcare team to ensure they are appropriate for your unique situation.
Can type 1 diabetes be reversed?
While type 1 diabetes cannot currently be fully reversed or cured, new research is making progress on understanding how to regenerate insulin-producing cells in people with type 1 diabetes. Some key areas researchers are exploring include:
- Stem cell therapy – Using stem cells to coax the pancreas into producing new insulin-secreting beta cells that can replace damaged ones.
- Immunotherapy – Modulating the autoimmune response in type 1 diabetes to stop further loss of beta cells.
- Islet transplantation – Transplanting donor pancreatic islet cells into people with type 1 diabetes to replace destroyed beta cells.
While still in the research phase, these approaches may one day make it possible to truly reverse type 1 diabetes. Right now the focus for people with type 1 is keeping blood sugars as well controlled as possible using insulin therapy and lifestyle strategies.
Can diabetes be reversed without medication?
It is sometimes possible to reverse diabetes to the point of no longer needing medications by implementing intensive lifestyle changes. However, this approach requires a high level of commitment. Key steps include:
- Following a low calorie, nutrient-dense, minimal processed food diet focusing on produce, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats and avoiding sugar and refined carbs.
- Engaging in consistent moderate-to-high intensity aerobic and strength training exercise (at least 30-60 minutes most days).
- Reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight.
- Making sustainability changes to reduce stress and improve sleep quality.
- Closely monitoring blood glucose with a glucose meter to assess progress.
A comprehensive lifestyle improvement program like this may make it possible to control diabetes without medication under physician guidance. However, this approach requires intensive long-term commitment to nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes.
Can you reverse diabetes naturally?
Here are some ways you may be able to reverse diabetes using natural methods:
Plant-based diet
Consuming a diet high in plants, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds may help reverse diabetes. Plants are low in calories and high in fiber, supporting weight loss. They also contain antioxidants and phytonutrients beneficial for blood sugar control.
Stress management
Chronic stress contributes to high blood sugar. Relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, deep breathing and guided visualization can activate the body’s relaxation response, lowering stress hormones.
Sleep optimization
Getting quality sleep of 7-9 hours per night supports the metabolism and can aid reversal of diabetes. Natural sleep aids like chamomile tea, valerian root and magnesium supplements can improve sleep duration.
Supplements
Some supplements like berberine, zinc, magnesium, cinnamon and chromium picolinate may improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, aiding diabetes reversal.
Apple cider vinegar
Having 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar diluted with water before meals may help moderate blood sugar spikes, potentially contributing to diabetes reversal over time.
While natural approaches require commitment and take patience, they may support diabetes reversal for some people under a doctor’s care.
Sustaining diabetes reversal long-term
Here are some tips for making diabetes reversal last for the long run:
- Monitor blood glucose regularly – This helps identify any rebounds in blood sugar before they escalate.
- Continue with regular medical care – Ongoing oversight from your healthcare team is essential to sustain results.
- Maintain lifestyle changes – Keep following your eating plan, exercise regimen, and healthy habits to prevent backsliding.
- Manage stress proactively – Unmanaged stress can compromise your blood sugar control, so have a plan for handling stress effectively.
- Stay vigilant about portions and calories – It’s easy to slip into old overeating patterns, so keep focusing on appropriate portions and calorie intake.
- Get support if needed – Having family, friends or a support group in your corner improves your odds of sustaining diabetes reversal success.
Reversing diabetes requires permanent lifestyle change. But sustaining these new healthy habits leads to better health, improved quality of life, and reduced risk of diabetes complications over the long term.
Can diabetes be temporarily reversed?
It is possible for some people to temporarily improve their blood sugar control and even temporarily reverse diabetes by implementing intensive lifestyle interventions or undergoing bariatric surgery. However, diabetes reversal is generally only considered temporary in these scenarios:
- Blood sugars improve but the person regains weight or returns to old lifestyle habits, causing diabetes progression to resume.
- Bariatric surgery leads to short term reversal by facilitating weight loss, but then blood sugars rise again due to “diabetes relapse” from hormonal changes over time.
- The individual is able to reverse diabetes while actively following an intensive lifestyle regimen but blood sugars increase if they stop the program.
For diabetes reversal to be sustained over the long term, permanent healthy lifestyle changes must be maintained. As long as weight, nutrition, exercise and other habits remain consistent, reversal can potentially be maintained as well. But if old habits resume, diabetes will typically recur.
Takeaway points on reversing diabetes
Here are some key takeaways on reversing diabetes:
- Reversal involves getting A1C under 6.5%, fasting blood glucose 70-100 mg/dL and no hypoglycemia without medication.
- Permanent lifestyle changes to diet, exercise, weight, and stress are key to sustain reversal.
- Work closely with your medical team before reducing diabetes medication.
- Type 1 diabetes cannot yet be fully reversed but research is making progress.
- Natural methods like diet, stress reduction, sleep, and supplements can aid reversal.
- Consistent lifestyle management is crucial for maintaining normal blood sugars long-term.
Reversing diabetes is possible for some with dedication to lifestyle changes and medical support. But even if reversal is not achieved, living a healthier lifestyle provides benefits for blood sugar control and reduces risks for complications.
Conclusion
Getting diabetes under control and even reversing high blood sugar to normal levels is possible – with diligent lifestyle efforts, medical oversight, and patience. Work closely with your doctor if aiming to reverse diabetes to ensure safety and efficacy. consistency with all healthy habits is key to maintain normal blood sugars lifelong. Reversing diabetes takes commitment but pays dividends in the form of improved health and quality of life.