Controlling type 2 diabetes with diet alone

Hi @chesterc . I'm afraid that the answer to your question is "it depends." It depends on a lot of things - how far progressed your illness is, how high your sugars are, and how much your pancreas is still functioning. If your doctor hasn't already suggested it, you might ask for a referral to a dietician who specializes in diabetes. (In the U.S. we call them a "diabetes educator"). They can be really helpful at helping you figure out how to eat in this new way and balance what you eat with your blood sugar test results. They can also help you identify which foods impact your blood sugar the most and therefore need to be eaten less frequently. Some type II diabetics can manage their blood sugar with diet alone, some with diet and exercise, and others need medication.

In my case, I had to be on medication for several years. Right now I am able to manage with diet only. That probably won't last forever, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. 🙂

Best of luck to you.

Hi @chesterc . I'm afraid that the answer to your question is "it depends." It depends on a lot of things - how far progressed your illness is, how high your sugars are, and how much your pancreas is still functioning. If your doctor hasn't already suggested it, you might ask for a referral to a dietician who specializes in diabetes. (In the U.S. we call them a "diabetes educator"). They can be really helpful at helping you figure out how to eat in this new way and balance what you eat with your blood sugar test results. They can also help you identify which foods impact your blood sugar the most and therefore need to be eaten less frequently. Some type II diabetics can manage their blood sugar with diet alone, some with diet and exercise, and others need medication.

In my case, I had to be on medication for several years. Right now I am able to manage with diet only. That probably won't last forever, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. 🙂

Best of luck to you.

Hi @chesterc, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @lisalucier and others that have posted here. I started working on my diet 4 or 5 years ago because I was looking to improve my health some. I have been told I'm pre-diabetic but that's been for years and I've never crossed into the full blown diabetes. I was also looking for answers for my small fiber peripheral neuropathy when I found Dr Terry Wahls book "The Wahls Protocol". She has an interesting story that she used diet to reduce and get rid of most of her MS symptoms - https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/. Her book started me looking into changing my lifestyle from live to eat to eat to live (as much as possible anyway).

There is a lot of information out there on what to eat and what not to eat but I'm finding out the real key is to reduce or eliminate sugar, eliminating processed foods as much as possible, eating/buying organic food as much as possible, and zero fast foods - hamburgers and french fries were my nemesis. That's what I strive for but I will be the first to admit I start the day with good intentions and a cookie will find it's way into my hands and it's gone. When I do fall a little, I try to get back on the wagon so to speak.

I found this study (it links to a PDF) on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/) which is a great place to search for health information and studies. It is from the JAMA Network (The Journal of the American Medical Association):

Controlling Diabetes with Diet:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/579572
John

Hi @chesterc, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @lisalucier and others that have posted here. I started working on my diet 4 or 5 years ago because I was looking to improve my health some. I have been told I'm pre-diabetic but that's been for years and I've never crossed into the full blown diabetes. I was also looking for answers for my small fiber peripheral neuropathy when I found Dr Terry Wahls book "The Wahls Protocol". She has an interesting story that she used diet to reduce and get rid of most of her MS symptoms - https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/. Her book started me looking into changing my lifestyle from live to eat to eat to live (as much as possible anyway).

There is a lot of information out there on what to eat and what not to eat but I'm finding out the real key is to reduce or eliminate sugar, eliminating processed foods as much as possible, eating/buying organic food as much as possible, and zero fast foods - hamburgers and french fries were my nemesis. That's what I strive for but I will be the first to admit I start the day with good intentions and a cookie will find it's way into my hands and it's gone. When I do fall a little, I try to get back on the wagon so to speak.

I found this study (it links to a PDF) on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/) which is a great place to search for health information and studies. It is from the JAMA Network (The Journal of the American Medical Association):

Controlling Diabetes with Diet:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/579572
John

Hi @chesterc, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @lisalucier and others that have posted here. I started working on my diet 4 or 5 years ago because I was looking to improve my health some. I have been told I'm pre-diabetic but that's been for years and I've never crossed into the full blown diabetes. I was also looking for answers for my small fiber peripheral neuropathy when I found Dr Terry Wahls book "The Wahls Protocol". She has an interesting story that she used diet to reduce and get rid of most of her MS symptoms - https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/. Her book started me looking into changing my lifestyle from live to eat to eat to live (as much as possible anyway).

There is a lot of information out there on what to eat and what not to eat but I'm finding out the real key is to reduce or eliminate sugar, eliminating processed foods as much as possible, eating/buying organic food as much as possible, and zero fast foods - hamburgers and french fries were my nemesis. That's what I strive for but I will be the first to admit I start the day with good intentions and a cookie will find it's way into my hands and it's gone. When I do fall a little, I try to get back on the wagon so to speak.

I found this study (it links to a PDF) on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/) which is a great place to search for health information and studies. It is from the JAMA Network (The Journal of the American Medical Association):

Controlling Diabetes with Diet:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/579572
John

Hi @chesterc, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @lisalucier and others that have posted here. I started working on my diet 4 or 5 years ago because I was looking to improve my health some. I have been told I'm pre-diabetic but that's been for years and I've never crossed into the full blown diabetes. I was also looking for answers for my small fiber peripheral neuropathy when I found Dr Terry Wahls book "The Wahls Protocol". She has an interesting story that she used diet to reduce and get rid of most of her MS symptoms - https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/. Her book started me looking into changing my lifestyle from live to eat to eat to live (as much as possible anyway).

There is a lot of information out there on what to eat and what not to eat but I'm finding out the real key is to reduce or eliminate sugar, eliminating processed foods as much as possible, eating/buying organic food as much as possible, and zero fast foods - hamburgers and french fries were my nemesis. That's what I strive for but I will be the first to admit I start the day with good intentions and a cookie will find it's way into my hands and it's gone. When I do fall a little, I try to get back on the wagon so to speak.

I found this study (it links to a PDF) on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/) which is a great place to search for health information and studies. It is from the JAMA Network (The Journal of the American Medical Association):

Controlling Diabetes with Diet:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/579572
John

Hi @chesterc, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @lisalucier and others that have posted here. I started working on my diet 4 or 5 years ago because I was looking to improve my health some. I have been told I'm pre-diabetic but that's been for years and I've never crossed into the full blown diabetes. I was also looking for answers for my small fiber peripheral neuropathy when I found Dr Terry Wahls book "The Wahls Protocol". She has an interesting story that she used diet to reduce and get rid of most of her MS symptoms - https://terrywahls.com/about/about-terry-wahls/. Her book started me looking into changing my lifestyle from live to eat to eat to live (as much as possible anyway).

There is a lot of information out there on what to eat and what not to eat but I'm finding out the real key is to reduce or eliminate sugar, eliminating processed foods as much as possible, eating/buying organic food as much as possible, and zero fast foods - hamburgers and french fries were my nemesis. That's what I strive for but I will be the first to admit I start the day with good intentions and a cookie will find it's way into my hands and it's gone. When I do fall a little, I try to get back on the wagon so to speak.

I found this study (it links to a PDF) on Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/) which is a great place to search for health information and studies. It is from the JAMA Network (The Journal of the American Medical Association):

Controlling Diabetes with Diet:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/579572
John