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Most Common Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is the non-insulin-dependent diabetes that usually affects obese and elderly people. Insulin deficiency results when there is not enough production of insulin or when the body's immune system resists insulin. When the body fails to use insulin properly, this leads to type 2 diabetes.

  1. Proper Diet

    • The first treatment for type 2 diabetes is a proper diet. Eat more frequently, but with smaller servings. Eating fruit for snacks; limiting your intake of junk foods, sweets and fatty foods; and drinking lots of water are the most-effective, safest nutritional methods for all types of diabetes.

    Increased Physical Activity

    • Doing some type of physical exercise every day helps boost your blood circulation and regulate the blood-glucose levels in the body. With regular exercise, the ability of your muscles to properly use insulin is enhanced and your glucose is better controlled.

    Weight Loss

    • An important risk factor in developing type 2 diabetes is being overweight. By shedding pounds and maintaining an appropriate weight, your blood-glucose levels can be stabilized and kept at acceptable levels.

    Oral Medications

    • The most effective and safest measures in treating type 2 diabetes are the first three mentioned above. However, when using the first three measures are not enough to control your blood-glucose levels, you may need to combine them with oral medication. These medications include sulfonylureas, meglitinides, biguanides, thiazolidinediones, DPP-4 inhibitors and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. Because oral medications react in different ways to reduce blood-glucose levels, one oral drug may be combined with another. Several combinations may be used, but it must be done under the careful supervision of your family physician or endocrinologist, as this treatment may increase the risk of side effects.

    Insulin

    • Several factors govern whether you will need to use insulin: how long you have been suffering from diabetes, how high your blood-glucose levels are, what medications you are taking and your overall health condition.

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