doesn’t have to be permanent for everyone, research suggests.
Can you actually cure type 2 diabetes? Talk to just
about any credible source, and it’s typically called a chronic condition – but
that may not always be the case, according to a new analysis published in The
BMJ.
After reviewing remission criteria, blood
sugar guidelines, and recent clinical trials, the authors of the paper found
that maintaining a weight loss of 33 pounds can actually reverse diabetes for
specific patients.
Past research has led to promising findings.
patients to 700 calories a day for two months led to an average 31-pound weight
loss. As a result, nearly half of the people studied experienced a significant
drop in their blood sugar levels, taking many patients to pre-diabetic levels
instead.
When the researchers followed up with those people after 6
months of maintaining their weight loss, they were still
diabetes-free.
If you’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, your doctor will
generally prescribe medication and offer general advice about improving your
diet and exercise — but the key to this study, and others like it, is weight
loss.
That’s because too much fat buildup in your pancreas tampers with
the organ’s ability to produce insulin, which helps control your blood sugar.
When you lose weight, you first lose fat in your organs, Roy Taylor, M.D.,
author of the Newcastle University study and the recent analysis explained to us
last year.
“In the first 10 to 14 kilograms [22 to 31 pounds] of weight
loss, this relatively small amount of fat that’s actually within the organs gets
used up, and the organs can go back to normal function,” he explained. This
helps the cells that produce insulin in your body react more quickly to the
sugar in your bloodstream.
While anyone carrying excess pounds is likely
to benefit from some kind of weight loss, that doesn’t mean everyperson
diagnosed with type 2 diabetes can reverse it. Your best chances come within the
first five years of being diagnosed, Mike Lean, professor of human nutrition at
the University of Glasgow in Scotland and an author of the new analysis told
TIME.
He believes weight loss programs that have been proven to work
through clinical trials are the most effective method at beating diabetes. If
you want to get started with a similar program, talk to an obesity specialist
(you can find one here) about your options, since it has become a more
recognized treatment option as new research continues to surface.
