{"id":1931,"date":"2019-10-15T13:45:26","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T17:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2025-09-12T15:23:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T19:23:54","slug":"is-there-a-cure-for-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/is-there-a-cure-for-diabetes\/","title":{"rendered":"Is There a Cure for Diabetes? Some Doctors Say Yes\u2014It’s Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is there a cure for diabetes, or does your diagnosis mean you’ll be taking medication and dealing with the complications your whole life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There could be a cure for diabetes, particularly Type 2 diabetes, and it’s not medication. We’ll cover the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and how changing your diet<\/a> can help alleviate Type 1 symptoms and cure Type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of Shortform\u2019s guide to dieting<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Diabetes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we answer the question, “Is there a cure for diabetes?”, we need to know what diabetes is and what the types are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diabetes is a disease of affluence<\/a>, occurring mostly in the wealthy parts of the world. In 2012, 9.3% of American adults were diabetic, and over 200,000 kids had Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Almost one-third of diabetics don\u2019t even know they have this serious disease.
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Complications of diabetes include heart disease, kidney disease, damage to the nervous system, high blood pressure, blindness, and amputation.
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Type 1 Versus Type 2 Diabetes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile-onset diabetes and Type 2 was called adult-onset diabetes. But now, 45% of childhood diabetes diagnoses are Type 2<\/strong>, so the original terms no longer apply.
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As we\u2019ll see, both types are associated with the consumption of animal foods and both involve a malfunctioning metabolism.
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The Role of the Metabolism<\/strong> in Diabetes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A functional metabolism involves four steps:
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    \n
  1. We consume food.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Our bodies break down carbs into simple sugars like glucose (blood sugar).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Glucose enters the blood. In response, the pancreas produces insulin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Insulin lets glucose into cells, where it\u2019s used as energy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    In both types of diabetes, the breakdown of this system wreaks havoc on the body.
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    People with Type 1<\/strong> diabetes<\/strong> (5-10% of all diabetes cases) can\u2019t produce insulin<\/strong> because the pancreas cells that make it have been destroyed by the immune system. This makes Type 1 diabetes an autoimmune disease<\/a>.
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    People with Type 2 diabetes<\/strong> (90-95% of all diabetes cases) can produce insulin, but the insulin isn\u2019t effective.<\/strong> It doesn\u2019t transport glucose into cells, so the glucose isn\u2019t metabolized. It remains in the bloodstream, causing the body to produce more insulin, resulting in a vicious cycle.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Is There a Cure for Type 2 Diabetes?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    There’s evidence that dietary changes can reduce the amount of insulin people with Type 1 diabetes need to take, but the most promising studies focus on treating — and curing — Type 2 diabetes. So is there a cure for diabetes? Yes, if you have Type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Problems with Modern Diabetes Treatments<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Problem #1: <\/strong>The drugs that are currently available allow people with diabetes to function, but they don\u2019t treat diabetes at its source.<\/strong>
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    Problem #2:<\/strong> Consequently, people with diabetes spend their entire lives post-diagnosis taking daily medication.<\/strong>
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    Problem #3: <\/strong>This is costly. In 2013, the U.S. spent $245 billion a year on diabetes medication.<\/strong>
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    The Diet Cure for Diabetes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Multiple studies indicate that a plant-based diet can prevent, treat, and even cure Type 2 diabetes.
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    Seventh-Day Adventist Studies<\/strong> on Diabetes<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    First, let’s look at how diet affects your risk of getting Type 2 diabetes. We’ll see that the foods that decrease your risk of developing diabetes are the same foods that can cure you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We can observe the possible effects of a plant-based diet on diabetes risk by studying Seventh-day Adventists, whose religion advises they avoid meat, fish, and eggs, among other foods and drinks.
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    Consequently, a relatively high percentage (50%) of Seventh-day Adventists are vegetarians. The other half still eats meat, but less than the average American.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    90% of the vegetarian Adventists eat dairy and eggs, and the meat-eating Adventists don\u2019t eat much meat by American standards, so the diets of the two groups are not actually that different.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Still, vegetarian Adventists in these studies had half the rate of diabetes and almost half the rate of obesity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Research: A Cure for Diabetes?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Controlled Studies\u2014Diet as Cure Rather Than Prevention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Seventh-day Adventist studies were observational studies. Observational studies are those in which researchers observe the effect of a risk factor without trying to control who is exposed to the risk factor and who\u2019s not.
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    While observational studies provide important information, they don\u2019t always indicate as clear a cause-and-effect relationship as controlled studies.
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    Numerous controlled studies have studied people who already have diabetes. In these studies, researchers modify the participants\u2019 diets and measure the effects on the disease.
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    For instance, one experiment involved both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients. None of the participants were overweight. They all ate a high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet<\/strong>. The diet was mostly plant-based, allowing for one or two cold cuts of meat a day.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Results:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n