Can diabetes be reversed? That’s the question many diabetes sufferers ask. The diagnosis of diabetes seems like a slow punishment to some as there’s currently no cure for this common chronic disease. Not to mention many complications like heart attack, kidney failure and amputation due to not healing wounds.
The modern day lifestyle has increased people with diabetes tremendously and the longevity will add extra burden to the society. This is never seen before as diabetes was never an issue in ancient times. The urgency is stronger than ever to find a solution to reverse diabetes.
To find out if diabetes can be reversed, one needs to understand the disease itself. From the medical research thus far, the disorder is related to the dysfunction of beta cells in pancreas. This consequently will reduce the insulin production to breakdown the high glucose in the blood. Insulin is vital with regulating glucose and fat metabolism of the body by making sure glucose is taken up from blood and store as glycogen (primary energy source) in liver and muscle.
Can Diabetes Be Reversed? Things You Need To Understand
In those with type 1 diabetes, injecting insulin is vital to help provide enough energy requirement for daily activities. Type 2 diabetes on the other hand has both features of peripheral insulin resistance and inadequate production of insulin by pancreas. The type 2 diabetes patients will eventually require insulin injections when the beta cells become totally destructed.
Diabetes since being described in medical world centuries ago has yet to find a cure. The diabetes medications and insulin can only help with managing the symptoms and try to stall the progression of further destruction of beta cells. Nonetheless, many research has been made to find an answer to – can diabetes be reversed.
There is a conspiracy theory implying pharmaceutical companies interfere with research to reverse diabetes as they fear the treatment will cause all the diabetes patients stop taking diabetes medications. This may or may not be true but research funds for diabetes research rely heavily on academic institutions.
Recent advancement of stem cell technology seems to bring a glimpse of hope to reverse diabetes. The idea is to use stem cell to replace the dysfunctional beta cells in pancreas and thus regain the production of insulin. It is still in the very early days of this research to actually claim eureka. Human testing has not been done yet as it is currently a laboratory experimental stage.
A more conventional way to address can diabetes be reversed question is through much advocated diet and exercise. This is particularly important for those at pre diabetes. The basic backbone principle is to lose weight and slow progression to diabetes.
Choosing the right diet is essential to perhaps reverse pre diabetes. Not all carbohydrates are same and care should be taken to limit simple carbohydrates. Secondly is to pay attention to how the food is prepared. Glycemic index was introduced as a standard to look for carbohydrate source as energy that can sustain. Low glycemic index food is desirable. Some promote vegetarian diet to help with glucose control. It may be effective but care should be taken to include some nutrients only found in animals.
Have a structured exercise program to lose the extra kilos is crucial to make reverse diabetes possible. A lot of people fail in this segment because the motivation weaned after some time. This can be overcome by choosing a passionate physical activity or having a buddy to give support.
Can diabetes be reversed? This will have an answer in the near future with more ongoing research.