Type 2 diabetes: Ways to help reverse the condition

Type 2 diabetes is a common condition that affects more people now than ever. It is estimated that more than five million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2025. Knowing what symptoms to look out for and speaking with your GP are ways to help prevent the condition worsening. To mark Diabetes Awareness Week on the 10th – 16th June, consultant surgeon Professor Rubino offers advice on how to help reverse type 2 diabetes.

Around 90 per cent of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, a condition that involves the bodies blood glucose levels to rise higher than normal.

When the body does not use insulin properly it is known as insulin resistance.

The symptoms to look out for include an increased thirst which means frequent urination, constant hunger and fatigue, blurry vision, slow healing wounds and a tingling in the hands or feet.

Professor Francesco Rubino, consultant surgeon at the London Bridge Hospital Metabolic and Bariatric Centre and Chair of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery at King’s College London and King’s College Hospital said: “Type 2 diabetes has been considered invariably progressive and irreversible for almost a century, but that simply isn’t the case.

“Research over the past two decades has shown that certain gastrointestinal operations referred to as a metabolic surgery can induce complete and durable normalisation of blood sugar levels without the need to take insulin or other medications.

Studies show that about 50 per cent of patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo such surgery maintain remission for ten years and beyond and that surgery can reduce incidence of heart attack, stroke, renal failure and other complications of diabetes, imp

Professor Francesco Rubino consultant surgeon at London Bridge Hospital

“Studies show that about 50 per cent of patients with type 2 diabetes who undergo such surgery maintain remission for ten years and beyond and that surgery can reduce incidence of heart attack, stroke, renal failure and other complications of diabetes, improving overall survival.”

“Although it is true that diet and exercise can be very effective at preventing diabetes or improving it at a very early stage, there is no scientific evidence that weight loss alone can cure type 2 diabetes.

“Many people develop obesity and diabetes not because they merely eat too much food, but because they are exposed to a modern food environment that promotes disease.”

Humans are exposed to a mixture of toxins including pesticides and other environmental chemicals from multiple sources.

Animals and what they have consumed, plants and their exposure to chemicals as well as direct contact with contaminants in soil, air and water are all factors we should be looking at in the foods consumed.

Drinking more water, consuming a balanced diet of whole foods, eating more celery, legumes and increasing protein are all ways to increase the ability for the body to eliminate harmful toxins.

Professor Rubin concluded: “We need to take diabetes more seriously and consider all available treatment options, not just manage it by weight loss alone. When diet and exercise are not sufficient to improve the condition, treatments including drugs, insulin or surgery, should be escalated in a timely fashion to mitigate the risk of diabetes complications.”

Other ways to help reverse type 2 diabetes:

• Low calorie diet
• Exercise
• Reduce sugar intake
• Drink more water
• Get more sleep
• Heal the guts microbiome

If you suspect you might have early type 2 diabetes it is important to speak with your GP about ways to help prevent the condition to get worse.

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