Is Type II Diabetes Reversible?
According to the CDC, 49.3% of the US population over 18-years-old has diabetes or prediabetes. Can that be right? Almost half of the people in the United States are diabetic or headed in that direction?
On what side of that statistic do you fall?
Diabetes is associated with an enormous number of complications including heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, blindness, Alzheimer’s disease and depression, among many other diseases. I have been an ER doctor for years, so I see significant complications every single shift: people on dialysis, with lost limbs, suffering from strokes, or heart attacks. This is WHY I went into Lifestyle Medicine.
With type 2 diabetes having so many potential complications, you may wonder if you can reverse it. I have good news for you! Many people CAN! The wording is often debated. Some say reversed, while others say in remission, but the fact is that many people can take their A1c from a diabetic or prediabetic range to normal for life! They are no longer “managing” diabetes, they have kicked it to the curb.
Lifestyle Medicine and Type II Diabetes
Lifestyle medicine promotes a whole-food, plant-rich eating pattern. We don’t count calories or carbs. We don’t weigh our food or track macros. This is probably different from what you have learned in the past about managing diabetes, but, plant-based and mediterranean eating patterns are actually both included in the American Diabetes Association clinical practice recommendations. These eating patterns work by improving the root cause of diabetes, insulin resistance, instead of the typical approach of focusing on managing and controlling your blood sugar despite progressively worsening insulin resistance.
Is this easy? Not initially. We live in a world where a diabetes-promoting lifestyle is front and center. So, changing the way you eat and move may not be the easy or obvious choice. At first it takes commitment and a bold decision not to go down the typical path that diabetes leads. The thing is, that once you start adjusting your eating pattern and creating daily habits that promote health, it can become easy, natural, and enjoyable.
Is this your moment to take charge of your health?
Click here for the National Diabetes Statistics Report.
Click here for the ADA’s current clinical practice recommendations.
Dena DePiazza is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach and is certified as a Certified Pain Management Coach. She is your personal advocate for living an energized and passionate life. She works with clients to help them create healthy lives in a way that is flexible, fun, and free of denial and unsustainable discipline. By working together, you can discover lifestyle choices that best support you. Dena helps you learn to make gradual, lifelong changes that will enable you to reach your current and future health goals.
with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutritional Sciences. She is a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
Nadia enjoys providing the guidance and support people need to achieve good health and considers herself their biggest cheerleader when they decide to make their health a priority. As a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Nadia works with clients one on one to help them optimize their health through holistic health practices. She helps reduce the symptoms of chronic illness through nutrition and lifestyle practices, but is not limited to helping anyone who wants to learn how to make better choices. She teaches clients basic kitchen skills, how to read labels and will even do grocery tours. As a personal trainer, Nadia works with clients of all levels, ages and in various settings. She has taught group fitness classes and worked with clients one on one. She emphasizes the importance of staying injury free and building strength to move about their day without pain.
Karissa originally attended Westmont College in beautiful Santa Barbara, and began her B.S. in Psychology, then transferred to Montreat College, in the Appalachian hills of North Carolina, graduating Cum Laude with a B.S. in Music Therapy, and a double minor in Psychology and Music Business.
