In Type 2 diabetes, the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels is gradually degraded. The condition typically develops in mid-life but is sometimes seen in children or young adults. If left unchecked, Type 2 diabetes (which affects about 1 in 10 Americans) can lead to a host of disfiguring and even deadly consequences: blindness, loss of limbs, kidney failure, heart disease, and even premature death.
Restoring the body's ability to deal with blood sugar naturally would be far preferable to treating it for the rest of your life with drugs.
Accordingly, a lot of time and money is spent screening and treating people for the disease. Metformin, a drug used to lower high blood sugar, is the fourth most commonly prescribed drug in the U.S. But of course, restoring the body's ability to deal with blood sugar naturally would be far preferable to treating it for the rest of your life with drugs.
Doctors screen for Type 2 diabetes by testing your fasting blood glucose levels. A reading of 99 mg/dL is considered normal. A reading between 100 and 125 is considered pre-diabetes and a fasting blood sugar over 125 signals Type 2 diabetes.
Although diabetes can lead to severe complications, it is largely asymptomatic in its early phases. An elevated blood glucose reading is usually the first indication of trouble. At that point, it's sometimes possible to turn things around with diet and lifestyle modifications. Losing weight (if you need to), getting more exercise, and eating a healthy diet can help you restore your body's ability to process carbohydrates.
Type 1 diabetes is a completely different disease in which the body's immune system attacks the pancreas. Although the consequences of poorly controlled Type 1 diabetes are similar to those of Type 2 diabetes, it cannot be prevented or treated with diet and lifestyle modification. Type 1 diabetics will always require insulin.
Eating sugar does not give you diabetes
We used to think that eating too much sugar would eventually result in developing Type 2 diabetes—a sort of "if-you-keep-making-that-face-it'll-freeze-that-way" comeuppance for dietary indiscretions. But eating a lot of sugar does not increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes unless it leads to obesity, which does increase your risk.
However, Type 2 diabetes also develops in people who are not overweight. A family history of Type 2 diabetes increases your risk. Your risk also goes up with age.
Recent research into the microbiome has revealed another interesting clue: People with Type 2 diabetes tend to have a different array of bacteria in their guts. Among other things, they seem to have a scarcity of the type of...
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