Can You Reverse Diabetes? Yes!
It was not long ago doctors told people with type II diabetes it was not reversible. In recent years both studies and “real world” results have shown conclusively it can indeed be reversed.
It can’t be done by everyone who has been diagnosed with type II, as there are genetic influences, and other factors (such as length of time the person has had it and other factors) but make no mistake, for a large % of people with type II, it can be reversed or at the very least, GREATLY improved.
It does however take a serious commitment by the person and is not always an easy task to be sure. But, the rewards of course are worth it.
I recently took someone from 330+ lbs, who was recently diagnosed with type II,various infections and BPH. He was in very bad shape all around. He said he didn’t wanna die like that.
I believed him, and met him half way with the tools to change it.
Changes in diet, added exercise, added supplements, and serious commitment on his part, he’s down 50lbs, and his fasting blood glucose under 100, and his doctor gave him permission as of today to go off all insulin. I’m inspired by his commitment!
His life, 180 degree turned around. I gave him the tools to do it, and by God/Allah/Shiva, he used those tools and did it. Most will not sadly.
Today he’s a happy guy who’s gotten a real second chance, and unlike many who don’t know how to take yes for an answer, he took it, ran with it, and didn’t look back.
I plan to do a full write up on his story in the near future. Stay tuned…
Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 30 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.
His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.
He’s also been published in peer reviewed journals.
Will is the author of the popular e-books, both accompanied by private members forum access , Bodybuilding Revealed & Fat Loss Revealed.
You can also buy Will’s other books on Amazon, Apple iBook, and Barnes and Noble.
What kind of diet did you put him on? Was it a standard FLR diet or did you put him on a lower carb diet because of the diabetes?
Similar diet to FLR but with some different food choices as he’s not in the US. The basic principles of low GI/high fiber carb sources, lean protein, and healthy fats essentially the same. Cals were quite low for about 4 months as he was in a emergency situation and slow steady weight loss as FLR prescribes was not the priority at that time. Once he dropped 30lbs, cals came up to typical FLR for people focused on weight loss, and the other 20lb came off slower, with changes in exercise as his weight came down and general conditioning improved, which also added to improved weight loss and ability to eat more cals.
where can i find these diets you are talking about? i find all kind of info but nothing with a plan of day to day programs, i excercise 6 days a week really hard but i have a poor diet, basically eat whatever is cheapest and easiest cause i’m on a budget. Any ideas where to start?
Shawn, they are all over this site:
Fat Loss Revealed is my weight loss program covering nutrition, supplements, exercise for weight loss
Body Building Revealed, covering nutrition, supplements, exercise for gaining muscle mass and strength .
Top of the page are links and additional info for both programs.
He’s off all diabetes meds? Looking forward to the full write up, also interested in any supps for BPH. Thanks.
He’s still on metformin. Whether that’s a med he’s ever able to get off will depend on what continued progress is made with blood sugar control. However, metformin is not problematic for long term use and may have health benefits even in non diabetics and some in the anti aging/longevity community use it.
I have not formed an opinion one way or another on non diabetics using it as I have not looked at the data in depth, but it supports at least metformin as generally non toxic med.
Great info Will…thank you for taking the time to do these. As a 44 year old male, the past 4-5 videos you did were extremely interesting to me and informative. Keep em’ coming! Have a great day.
Hi Will, Very interested in this as one of my mate has just had the hard word that he has diabetes. I note you intend to do a follow up article do you know when that would be. I would love to pass on some positive to him.
Ta
John
Nice, Will,
Good to shine a light on it for all to see.
We’ve seen it both ways. Those who run up the fat and end up diabetic, and those who get on the mat, grab the weights, and reclaim their life.
Sadly, mainstream doctors are largely clueless about this stuff and would rather prescribe insulin to the victim than try to do something about the core problem.
In a similar example, a pregnant friend was prescribed insulin because one of the issues commonly seen in pregnancy is a reduced output of insulin from the pancreas. I suggested she ask her doctor if she might simply manage her carb intake instead. The doctor was not onboard with the idea at first and under pressure gave her a week to try. We came up with a per-meal limit, and a fairly generous one, for carb intake.
Result? She never needed the insulin injections, delivered a healthy baby.
The more you know…
Very interesting. I am sure he is now eating low carb. What supplements did you recommend? There are a few known to increase insulin sensitivity like Chromium, ALA and cinnamon. I am interested to know more.
Right now, supplement intake was pretty straight forward. If you take a person who has no no real background for exercise, taking supplements, etc and overwhelm them with too much too fast, they will get turned off or discouraged.
You have to take into account the mindset of the person, so he was put on what I’d consider essential to start with, then we add in more depending on responses and how well he sticks to what he’s got to take. You give someone a big long list of supps to take who has not taken supps, and you can forget about them following through with it. But, he’s been following it to a T and so, maybe additional supps in the future. Currently:
Multi vite
Fish oil (2000mg)
D3 (5000IU) after blood work showed low 25OHD levels.
Alpha Lipoic acid (400mg)
Whey (1-2 scoops per day)
Life Extension Foundation is the brand being used. The above again, had to take into account things like $$$ and how many pills etc a person is really willing to take, etc. For example, I’d like to see him increase the fish oil dose, but he’s pretty dug in at the number of fish oil caps he has to take, so that’s where it stays for now.
Real people with real issues in the real world, psychology of the person will play a MAJOR roll in their success, and anyone who does not understand that has not worked int he real world with “free living” human beings, who got that way by making a long list of bad decisions about their health in vast majority of type II diabetes cases.
So, good nutrition (vs perfect), exercise program that’s sufficient (but not optimal), and a supp intake that’s solid (but could benefit from the addition of a few more things perhaps) gets the job done with room for improvement to be sure.
I enjoyed your comments on reversing type 2 diabetis, even though I don’t have the disease. However, I do have Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) since October 2006. I am also on a statin drug for high cholesterol and on medication for high blood pressure. As a result, I also suffer from erectile dysfunction. I began lifting weights for the first time since my high school football days. I am 65 years old and a non-drinker, non-smoker. I have lost about 20 pounds. Are you aware of any program/regimen, which will reverse CKD? Your response is appreciated.
Great vid Will.
Where can we find the info you provided to your friend to combat type 2 diabetes?
Is it on your site?
Thanks much.
Cliff
Will,
Looks like my questions were answered as I was typing.
Thanks again for a great site to access life sustaining info.
Cliff
I myself was diagnosed with Type ll diabetes in december of 2011 & was put on Metformin, & it was because of my lifestyle i was at my heaviest weight ever, i have been getting my blood work done every 3 months & i am proud to say for the last 6 months my blood sugar has been in the normal range around 5.5 everytime the doctor shows me my chart she is impressed & says good job because i have lost 50 pounds & said i could probably go off the pills soon, unfortunately i didn’t lose this weight from exercising i believe it was from my work which is pretty physical & cutting out some high carb eating late at night, yes i agree i really need to be exercising i just find it hard to do because usually by the time i come home from work i am pretty sore sometimes but i will find a way, keep up the good work will i enjoy listening & reading your helpful information.
Will,
I do enjoy your information on these topics!
My question involves being a Type 1 Diabetics. I am 55 and have been diabetics for 30yrs and have an A1C of 6.0,body-fat of 12.%. I workout hard but do not seem to get the muscle and leanness that I should and I know that it involves a hormone issue. Are you able to make suggestions on this subject?
Thinks
Type II diabetes are often low in testosterone. I don’t know if the same holds true for type I, but any man over 40 should have a full hormonal profile done early in my view, especially of you already have a hormonally related disease as you do.
I’d suggest you get a full hormonal profile done. Lots of vids and articles here discussing hormonal topics, especially testosterone.
If your hormones check out, then you’d know it was not a hormone issue per se, but perhaps nutrition, training, etc related,
FYI: For thos who wanted more details on this topic of how exactly we went about reversing diabetes in this example, i have dedicated the BrinkZone Radio program to the topic. Hit BrinkZone Radio banner on the right side of the page, and listen to the show!