Is There a Way to Overcome Diabetes?

Diabetes is a condition in which there is too much glucose (sugar) in the blood because the body does not respond properly to the hormone insulin. There are 2 types of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, the most common, affects an estimated 20 million Americans and is associated primarily with obesity and advancing age. Diabetes requires careful medical supervision and can have serious consequences if not properly cared for.

Overcoming Type 2 Diabetes

• A great deal of research is being done on the treatment, prevention and possible cure of type 2 diabetes. Recent studies by universities and hospitals have confirmed that in many patients with type 2 diabetes, symptoms can be more easily managed and even eliminated with weight loss. An average weight loss of 10 percent of a patient's body weight can eliminate symptoms in as many as 80 percent of type 2 diabetes patients, according to Beaumont Hospitals' researchers. This weight loss can be accomplished by traditional dieting or by several methods of gastric bypass surgery, according to the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, the relief from symptoms only lasts if the weight is kept off, requiring permanent lifestyle changes to avoid a recurrence of diabetic symptoms.

  Hand in hand with weight loss in many cases, but important for controlling symptoms in all cases of diabetes, is proper diet. After diagnosis, a diet is often specially created for patients with diabetes. The diabetic diet's main features are a lack of processed sugars and an emphasis on healthy, fresh foods and portion control through the use of exchanges. By following the proper diet, many type 2 diabetes sufferers can find relief from symptoms and may even be able discontinuing the use of diabetic medications.

  Anyone diagnosed with type 2 diabetes must be in close contact and work carefully with their healthcare professionals, including doctors and registered dieticians. A diabetic patient's blood glucose (sugar) levels must be closely monitored, even if he or she is addressing the symptoms of diabetes through diet and lifestyle changes alone. There is currently no "cure" for diabetes.