How Regular Exercise Helps Reverse Diabetes

4th June 20244th June 2024 Glenda Thompson

There is no cure for type 2 diabetes, but some people can reverse it. They do this by changing what they eat and losing weight. This change allows them to keep their blood sugar at a normal level without¹ medications. It’s important to know that it’s possible for the symptoms to come back even after reaching remission. Yet, many who have had type 2 diabetes for a few years and haven’t needed insulin can achieve this.

Losing weight is key to turning diabetes around. It helps keep the disease in check. For some, it might even lead to a life without diabetes². Adding regular exercise to this mix is very important. It makes the body respond better to insulin and helps in losing weight. This is especially true when you also change what you eat.

Key Takeaways

Type 2 diabetes can be reversed through significant weight loss and lifestyle changes.
Remission is achievable, particularly in the early stages of the disease.
Weight loss is the primary factor in reversing diabetes, and regular exercise can contribute to this goal.
Exercise improves insulin sensitivity and aids in diabetes management.
A combination of diet, exercise, and support from healthcare professionals can lead to successful diabetes reversal.

The Role of Weight Loss in Reversing Diabetes

Studies on Very Low-Calorie Diets

In England, several key studies looked into the effects of very low-calorie diets on people with diabetes and obesity. They ate mostly liquid meals, keeping their calories to 625-850 a day for 2-5 months. After this, they shifted to a less strict diet to keep off the weight they lost. Almost half the group turned their diabetes around and kept their blood sugar in check for 6 months to a year.²

For these individuals, big weight loss proved vital for beating diabetes – most lost at least 30 pounds. Those diagnosed more recently saw better results than those who had diabetes longer.²

Importance of Early Weight Loss After Diagnosis

Studies suggest that losing weight after a diabetes diagnosis can help heal beta cells in the pancreas. This healing leads to better insulin and blood sugar control.²

A trial showed that over half the participants reached near-normal blood sugar levels without meds. They did it by walking 10k steps a day, doing 2 1/2 hours of moderate exercise each week, and cutting 500-750 calories from their daily intake.² Lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, offer hope in turning around diabetes and lowering the need for drugs.

But, only a small percentage of people are trying or managing to reverse their diabetes, despite the potential benefits. Records like the one from the Scottish Care Information Diabetes database report very low rates of remission.³ A lack of clear guidelines on how to classify remission might contribute to this situation.³ There’s a clear need for official standards on what “diabetes remission” means.³

Exercise and Improved Insulin Sensitivity

Being active helps our bodies use insulin better, making diabetes easier to manage.⁴⁵⁶ It is key to how well we keep our blood sugar levels in check.

Effects of Exercise Intensity and Volume

How much and how hard we exercise matter for better insulin use.⁴⁵ Doing one hour of aerobic exercise three times weekly for eight weeks, at a fitness-suited intensity, can bring insulin activity back to a healthy state. This is as good as for those with a healthy weight.

Even just 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, three times a week, helps our bodies use insulin better.⁴⁶ It shows a mix of exercise amount and intensity is needed to get the best effects on our insulin.

Long-Term Benefits of Exercise Training

Exercise doesn’t just help for a little while – it keeps on benefiting. Doing regular exercise can better how insulin works in people with different types of weight issues. This makes exercise’s benefits last.⁶ Plus, exercise helps our muscles take in and use sugar better than our fat, improving how our insulin works.⁶

If you exercise a lot, you’ll see good changes over time. This means less hunger, less fat around your belly, and not as big a chance of getting type 2 diabetes.⁴ Doing aerobic exercises, along with eating better, might keep your blood sugar close to normal. Sometimes, you might not even need medicine.⁴

Combining Diet and Exercise for Optimal Results

By changing what you eat and exercising, you can do a lot to manage type 2 diabetes. The DIADEM-1 trial showed this. It had people follow a low-calorie diet and exercise for a year. They lost about 26 pounds on average. This was much more than those who didn’t do the program, losing only 9 pounds on average.¹

Synergistic Effects of Diet and Exercise

The trial clearly showed how powerful combining diet changes with exercise can be. In the group that did both, 61% saw their diabetes go away after a year. This is in sharp contrast to only 12% in the other group.¹ It proves that changing what you eat and moving more can even stop diabetes.

Lifestyle Intervention Programs

The program in the DIADEM-1 trial was well thought out. It started with a 12-week, very low-calorie diet under a dietitian’s watch. Then it slowly shifted to a healthy, lower-calorie diet. They also had to walk a lot and exercise for 150 minutes weekly.¹ This way of overall diabetes care shows the strength of combining food changes with being active.

Many studies back up how lifestyle changes can really help in diabetes. For example, in the DIADEM-1 trial, people got down to using two medicines after a year. On the other hand, those not in the program kept using five.¹ So, lifestyle changes can not just turn diabetes around. They can also cut down on the need for as many medicines.

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Bariatric Surgery and Diabetes Remission

Bariatric surgery helps with weight loss by changing the stomach and digestion. It makes you eat less. This method might also help turn around diabetes, though we’re not sure how yet.⁷ One idea is that it affects hormones in your gut, making it easier for your body to control blood sugar.⁸ We think over three-quarters of people see diabetes get better after bariatric surgery. Surgeries like gastric bypass and gastric sleeve seem to work best over time.⁹

Bariatric surgery is a good option for those with obesity, a BMI over 35, and health issues like diabetes.⁸ It works better for folks who have had diabetes for five years or less and don’t need insulin.⁸ Yet, it can also be helpful for those with a BMI over 30, especially if they have trouble controlling their type 2 diabetes.

Many studies show the benefits of bariatric surgery for managing type 2 diabetes:

Kashyap SR, Gatmaitan P, Brethauer S, and Schauer P shared insights into the importance of bariatric surgery for obese individuals with type 2 diabetes.⁹
Adams TD et al. found that surgery helps more than not for very overweight people by looking at how gastric bypass patients did compared to those who did not have surgery.⁹
Sjöström L et al. noted that bariatric surgery had lasting positive health effects after ten years, improving lifestyle, diabetes, and heart health.⁹
Buchwald H et al. reviewed many studies and found that bariatric surgery leads to major weight and type 2 diabetes improvements.⁹

Changing your lifestyle by eating better and exercising might not fully stop type 2 diabetes from getting worse.⁸ However, bariatric surgery is proven to help reverse diabetes and boost health for those who qualify. It has been a reliable solution for many.

Study	Findings
Schauer PR et al. (2012)	Bariatric surgery had better results than just medicines for obese people with diabetes.⁹
Mingrone G et al. (2012)	They found bariatric surgery more beneficial than standard medical care for treating type 2 diabetes.⁹
Schauer PR et al. (2014)	The benefits of bariatric surgery were still up after three years, outdoing intensive medicine in managing diabetes.⁹

Intermittent Fasting and Diabetes Reversal

Diabetes is on the rise, affecting about 1 in 10 Americans with type 2 diabetes. To fight this, researchers are looking into new ways to manage or even reverse diabetes. One method catching eyes is intermittent fasting. This involves eating and fasting at specific times.

Therapeutic Fasting and Low-Carbohydrate Diets

A study tested therapeutic fasting’s impact on reversing diabetes. It followed three people with diabetes. They had three 24-hour fasts each week for months, eating dinner only on fast days and lunch and dinner on others. They ate low-carb meals.

The findings were positive: two participants stopped their diabetes medicines, and the third cut back. All lost between 10% – 18% of their weight. This shows intermittent fasting can help manage diabetes and lead to weight loss¹⁰.

Potential Benefits and Risks of Fasting

Research keeps exploring the benefits of intermittent fasting on diseases like diabetes. For example, 75 people with obesity and diabetes took part in a trial. The group that only ate from noon to 8 pm lost weight over six months. This method helped lower their blood sugar levels without any major side effects¹¹.

Moreover, 90% of a study’s participants, even those on blood sugar-lowering drugs, reduced their medication after fasting. Over half saw their diabetes go into remission and stopped taking their drugs for at least a year. Sixty-five percent of those in remission had diabetes for more than 6 years¹².

While these are good results, we must consider most studies are short-term. The long-term effects of ongoing fasting are not fully clear. Yet, intermittent fasting helped reduce diabetes medication costs by 77%, which could mean savings for patients¹².

Study	Remission Rate	Key Findings
Calorie Restriction	46%	Participants achieved remission through calorie restriction¹⁰.
Intensive Lifestyle Interventions	60%+	Over 60% of participants who had diabetes for less than 3 years achieved remission through intensive lifestyle interventions¹⁰.
Intermittent Fasting	47.2%	Forty-seven percent of the fasting group no longer had diabetes after 3 months. Eighteen out of 36 did not need their diabetes medications. The fasting group lost more weight than the control group¹⁰.

The table clearly shows that many different methods can help people achieve diabetes remission. Intermittent fasting holds its own, especially for early-stage diabetes. But, every person’s experience is different. It’s vital to talk to a doctor before changing your diet or trying any fasting plan.

Natural Therapies and Supplements

Some complementary treatments can’t cure diabetes alone. But, they help with stress, which affects blood sugar levels¹³. Mixing traditional and natural approaches has shown promise for managing diabetes¹³,,,. Yoga, for example, is good for nerve health in type 2 diabetes.

Despite their benefits, diabetes supplements shouldn’t be taken without a doctor’s advice. This is because some can react badly with diabetes medications¹⁴. Certain natural therapies have been linked to liver and kidney issues¹⁴. Also, some herbal treatments for obesity may have harmful metals or ingredients¹⁴.

Be skeptical of claims of a diabetes cure, as a genuine cure would have been thoroughly tested and proven successful in clinical trials.

Research is ongoing about CoQ10’s impact on blood sugar¹⁴. There’s some evidence that plant foods, like cloves and coffee, can help insulin sensitivity¹⁴. Chromium supplements might also improve diabetes control, but the evidence is not strong enough for treatment recommendations¹⁴.

Supplement	Potential Benefits	Cautions
Magnesium	Lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes when consumed through whole grains, nuts, and green leafy vegetables¹⁴	Effect on diabetes not fully understood; low levels may make blood sugar control harder¹⁴
Vanadium	Early studies showed promising results in normalizing blood sugar levels, increasing insulin sensitivity, and reducing insulin need¹⁴	More research needed on mechanisms and safety profiles

Stress management is key in diabetes care. Using techniques like deep breathing can help. However, always check with health experts before trying new products for diabetes.

Stem Cell and Islet Cell Transplantation Research

Stem cells and islet cell transplantation offer hope in the fight against diabetes.¹⁵ They are not standard treatments yet.¹⁵ Stem cells can change into different cell types and help with type 1 diabetes.¹⁵

Islet cells sense blood sugar and make insulin.¹⁵ Putting islet cells from donors into someone’s body can help it make and use insulin better.¹⁵ This lessens diabetes impacts and improves quality of life.¹⁵ But, people who get these cells must take medicine always to avoid rejecting them.

Using islet cell transplants has made some progress in the past 20 years.¹⁵ But, finding enough donors is hard.¹⁵ Still, this method could make those with type 1 diabetes less reliant on insulin.¹⁵

ViaCyte and Vertex show early study results in using stem cells for diabetes.¹⁵ The data hints at a bright future for this treatment.¹⁵

Last March, Vertex started a clinical trial with an embryonic stem cell treatment.¹⁵ It did well, showing better C-peptide levels and less need for insulin in the first person tested.¹⁵ Since 2014, ViaCyte has also been testing a device, VC-01, that could help implant pancreatic cells.¹⁵

Shapiro and others ran a study with 17 patients.¹⁵ After using the device, 6 patients saw improvements in their C-peptide levels over time.¹⁵ But, how well this worked varied.¹⁵ Things like kidney health and immune system effects can change results, not always linking less insulin use with C-peptide levels.¹⁵

A challenge to using these treatments might be the need for long-term immune suppression. It makes scientists look for other paths, like helping the body accept the new cells or finding a better place to put them.¹⁵
Devices that help keep cells safe from the body’s defense system in implants can also face problems, like getting covered in fibrous tissue.¹⁵

We look forward to more studies on using these therapies for type 1 diabetes.¹⁵ Even though they’re not the standard yet, both stem cell and islet cell treatments have the power to change diabetes care.¹⁶ The U.S., with many type 1 diabetes patients, could see big benefits from these advancements.¹⁶

Pancreas Transplantation for Diabetes

For those with type 1 diabetes, a pancreas transplant could be a way out. Especially true for those with end-stage renal disease.¹⁷ It swaps your old, faulty pancreas for a new one that works. This can cure diabetes by bringing back control over blood sugar.¹⁸

Each year, about 1,000 pancreas transplants happen in the U.S. But there’s more people who need it. This might be because many don’t know about it or can’t get the needed healthcare.¹⁹ Top places like UCLA Health do a lot of these transplants for diabetic patients. They’ve had 100% success in patient and graft survival for years.¹⁸

Dr. Jarmi highlights getting checked early for a pancreas transplant if you have diabetes. It can stop further problems and the need for other transplants.¹⁹

At UCLA Health, most patients get both a new pancreas and kidney at once. This way, liver failure is less of a worry, and dialysis as well as insulin shots are not needed after.¹⁸ The pancreas used for transplant comes from dead donors. It’s matched by blood type, not by gender or race.¹⁹

After a pancreas transplant, you’ll make your insulin naturally again. But, you must take medicine for life so your body doesn’t reject the new organ.¹⁷ People who get organ transplants are way more likely to get skin cancer. So, regular check-ups are super important.¹⁷

Beware of Unproven and Potentially Dangerous Products

More than 38 million Americans have diabetes. Almost a quarter don’t know they have it. Be careful with unproven diabetes products and illegal treatments.²⁰

The FDA has warned about companies selling dangerous supplements. These products wrongly claim to cure, treat, or prevent diabetes. In September 2021, the FDA and FTC warned 10 companies. They were misleading about their products.²⁰

Some “all-natural” types of diabetes products contain hidden drugs. These drugs were not approved for use with other medicines. The FDA works hard to warn about companies selling unapproved diabetes products. This includes dietary supplements and homeopathic items.²⁰

The FDA warns about fake online pharmacies. They sell unsafe or fake medicines. These pharmacies are dangerous for health.²⁰

Here is how to spot a real online pharmacy, according to the FDA:

You need a valid prescription
It should have a U.S. business address
Licensing by a state pharmacy board is essential
A state-licensed pharmacist must be available to answer questions

The FDA keeps a record of Internet Pharmacy Warning Letters. These letters show different violations. They include selling illegal products and medicine without valid prescriptions.²⁰

reverse diabetes

There’s no complete cure for type 2 diabetes. However, in some cases, it can be reversed. This is done through significant weight loss. This weight loss is often thanks to changes in diet and regular exercise.² Early action is key, with the first few years after diagnosis being crucial. Studies show at this time, losing a lot of weight can help a person’s body react better to insulin. This can lead to managing their blood sugar on their own, without drugs.²

Changing your lifestyle matters too. A diet that’s low in calories, more exercise, and the guidance of health experts are all important. With these steps, diabetes can be pushed back, and the need for medicine lessened.²

Nearly half of overweight people with diabetes who follow a special, very low-calorie diet can turn their condition around. They drink 625-850 calories of liquid food each day for 2-5 months. This lets them keep their blood sugar at normal levels for at least 6 months to a year.²

Most people who have beaten type 2 diabetes lost 30 pounds or more. Plus, they didn’t have diabetes for a long time before finding out. This shows how important early weight loss is.²
Experts think bariatric surgery can help 3 out of 4 people with diabetes get better. Gastric bypass and the gastric sleeve seem to offer better results over time than gastric banding.²

Fasting Approach	Details	Results
Therapeutic Fasting	Three 24-hour fasts weekly, eating meals low in carbs on other days	Two people ended all diabetes medicine, and one stopped most. They each lost 10% to 18% of their weight.²
Intermittent Fasting	Eating only 500-600 calories two days a week, and a regular diet on the other days	This approach led to weight loss and better blood sugar, just like eating 1,200-1,500 calories every day.²

Exercise and Cardiovascular Health in Diabetes

Keeping active helps a lot in handling diabetes. It also gives folks with this condition better heart health.

Improving Heart Rate Recovery

For men with diabetes, how fast your heart calms down after intense workouts matters a lot. If it’s good, this means less heart disease and other health dangers²¹.

Reducing Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Being fit and not carrying too much weight make a big difference for diabetes patients. It lowers their risk of dying from heart issues. And, working out helps their blood vessels work better, reducing the risk of heart problems from diabetes²¹.

From 1970 to 2009, experts studied how different exercises affect heart risk in type 2 diabetes patients. They looked at aerobic, strength, and a mix of both. From 645 studies, they chose 34 to include in their review²¹.

Exercise Type	Effect on Cardiovascular Risk Markers
Aerobic exercise alone	Improved HbA1c by −0.6%²¹ Reduced systolic blood pressure by −6.08 mmHg²¹ Reduced triglycerides levels by −0.3 mmol/L²¹
Combined aerobic and resistance training	Improved HbA1c by −0.67%²¹ Reduced systolic blood pressure by −3.59 mmHg²¹ Improved waist circumference by −3.1 cm²¹
Resistance exercise alone or combined with other forms	Did not show significant effects on cardiovascular risk markers in type 2 diabetes²¹

They used special software to analyze all the data. They checked whether the exercises helped with blood sugar, fat and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and weight in diabetes patients²¹.

Exercise and Diabetes Complications

Staying active through regular exercise helps to fight off and sometimes even turn around complications linked to diabetes. According to studies, working out can change the course of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. This condition features nerve damage and is hard to live with. Exercise is a hopeful method in battling it.

Effects on Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy causes numbness, tingling, and pain in the hands and feet of those with diabetes. Thankfully, regular exercise can help lessen these setbacks. It improves blood flow, cuts down inflammation, and helps nerves heal. These benefits are key in managing and maybe even undoing diabetic neuropathy.

Renal Benefits of Exercise

Exercise’s good effects are not limited to neuropathy. It also helps protect the kidneys in people with diabetes. One study discovered that exercising cuts the chances of kidney damage in those with type 2 diabetes. This damage is dangerous and can lead to death. By keeping blood sugar in check, lessening inflammation, and keeping blood pressure healthy, exercise slows down kidney function from dropping, a common concern in diabetes.

Keeping up a steady exercise schedule has many benefits for those with diabetes. It helps manage the disease and fights off complications. By making exercise a priority, people can improve their health overall. They might even need less medicine over time.

Social and Behavioral Aspects of Exercise

The ways we relate to others and our habits are key in getting people with diabetes to keep moving. Sharing social support can boost confidence and help overcome barriers to exercise because we learn from friends. This means what we do can have a big impact on others.

Increasing Physical Activity Through Social Networks

Using friendships to get moving has been found to tackle obesity and promote more exercise. A²² big look at 358 surveys from 168 countries found many people weren’t getting enough exercise in 2016. Females in Latin America, South Asia, and rich Western countries struggled the most. However, men in Oceania were more active.²²

Self-Efficacy and Overcoming Barriers

Believing in your own ability and breaking down barriers to exercise can make a big difference for people with type 2 diabetes. A²² review found exercise programs cut the risk of type 2 diabetes by 42%. The more someone moved, the more they lowered their diabetes risk.²³ Lifestyle tweaks for type 2 diabetes had good effects on heart and metabolic health. The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association both highlight how vital exercise is for type 2 diabetes (Colberg et al., 2010).

Activity	Energy Cost (METs)
Slow Walking (3 km/hour)	3
Walking up stairs	4.7
Brisk Walking (6 km/hour)	5.4
Bicycling (20 km/hour)	7.1
Running (8 km/hour)	8.2
Hockey	12.9
Boxing	13.4

This table shows how much energy different activities use, measured in METs. There’s a big gap between low-impact exercises like slow walking and high-impact sports like boxing.²² Doing moderate exercise for more than 40 minutes a week reduces diabetes risk by 64% among healthy men. Those who push harder in their workouts still benefit, seeing a 54% lower diabetes risk.

Conclusion

The road to turning around type 2 diabetes and keeping it under control is through lifestyle changes. This includes regular activity and losing weight.²⁴ Doing exercises increases how your body responds to insulin, which can help bring about remission from this disease and lessen its dangers.²⁵ By shedding a lot of weight, often through eating less and being more active, many people keep their blood sugar in check without meds.

Many research works point to big changes in life as the key to managing diabetes better. This involves eating differently, moving more, and getting help from healthcare.²⁴²⁵²⁶ The DiRECT trial is a good example. It found that almost 90% of those who lost over 15 kilograms turned their type 2 diabetes around. More than a third stayed diabetes-free, without medicines, for at least two years.²⁵ So, a forward-looking attitude on diabetes with regular activities and a new way of life can really improve how you feel and your health in the long run.

Taking on this layered strategy not just boosts your body’s response to insulin and helps you lose weight. It also brings extra good like a heart that’s in a better shape and less risk of diabetes problems.²⁴ As we learn more about how exercise, eating right, and remission are connected, the hope for beating type 2 diabetes through broad life changes is stronger than ever.

FAQ

Can regular exercise help reverse type 2 diabetes?

Yes, working out often is key to flipping type 2 diabetes around. This works even better when you also watch what you eat and lose some weight. Exercise makes your body respond better to insulin, keeps your heart healthy, and fights off diabetes problems.

How important is weight loss in reversing diabetes?

Losing weight matters a lot in beating type 2 diabetes. Studies found that dropping lots of pounds helps put diabetes to sleep. It also makes you need less medicine to keep it in check.

How does exercise improve insulin sensitivity?

Staying active makes your body more sensitive to insulin. This is good for both dealing with and possibly turning around type 2 diabetes. Exercising harder, more often, and for a long time is best for this.

What are the benefits of combining diet and exercise for diabetes management?

Changing what you eat and getting moving can do a lot together to reverse type 2 diabetes. Programs that focus on eating less, doing more, and getting help from doctors have seen good outcomes.

Can bariatric surgery help reverse diabetes?

Yes, bariatric surgery like gastric bypass or sleeve surgery can turn diabetes back for those with a BMI of 35 or more. It helps most people, about three out of four, fix their diabetes.

How can intermittent fasting potentially help with diabetes reversal?

Trying things like fasting and eating fewer carbs might help beat diabetes through dropping weight. But, we still need more facts about the safety and long-run effects of this method.

Are there any natural therapies or supplements that can cure diabetes?

There isn’t a miracle cure or supplement that can totally heal diabetes. Some lifestyle methods could aid in keeping blood sugar normal. But, always talk to your doctor before trying new supplements to avoid harm from drug interactions.

What is the potential of stem cell and islet cell transplantation in treating diabetes?

Using stem cells and transplanting islet cells looks promising in fighting diabetes. But, these treatments are still in the works. They could help fix the problem of not enough insulin being produced.

Is pancreas transplantation an option for individuals with diabetes?

Some people with severe type 1 diabetes can think about getting a new pancreas if they also need a new kidney. But, they will have to take medicine forever to keep the new organ safe.

Are there any FDA-approved products that can cure diabetes?

No, there isn’t a quick fix or product that can cure diabetes on its own or replace the medicine your doctor prescribes. The FDA warns against products that are not proven and might be unsafe, which claim to cure diabetes.

What are the key factors in reversing type 2 diabetes?

Beating type 2 diabetes involves losing a lot of weight. This can happen when you eat better, exercise more, and change your lifestyle with the help of doctors. In some cases, this can put type 2 diabetes on pause.

How does exercise benefit cardiovascular health in individuals with diabetes?

Exercise can get your heart in better shape and lower the risk of deadly heart problems. It also helps the inner linings of your blood vessels stay healthy, which is crucial for heart health.

Can exercise help mitigate diabetes complications?

Working out can lessen or even turn around issues linked to diabetes, like nerve problems and kidney harm. It can change how these issues unfold and make you healthier overall.

What are the social and behavioral aspects of exercise in diabetes management?

Hanging out with supportive friends, believing in yourself, and getting past what stops you from exercising can really ramp up how often you workout. These are important for keeping up with staying fit and healthy.