Prevent or Even Reverse Diabetes (Part 1)

The lifestyle of adequate exercise and healthier foods presented in the previous section will prevent almost everyone from getting type-2 diabetes. The same plan will reduce cholesterol in the blood and lower the risk of coronary artery disease. It will help 40 percent or more of those with diabetes to recover - they can have normal blood sugar and significantly reverse some of the damage diabetes has caused. If they follow the program carefully, the average time required to get well is three to six weeks, although some people respond in days. Nearly 90 percent of peripheral neuropathy disappears, and almost everyone finds relief from this often very painful condition within a few days. (Some have complete freedom from pain in just two days.)

How do I know? I’ve seen it happen at Weimer Institute, which is located near Sacramento, California. In order to reverse diabetes, we use the same plan as for losing weight: moderate daily activity and all food from unrefined plant products. (Be sure to read the previous section since we won’t repeat many of the same important points here.)

In the weight-control program we encourage participants to move judiciously but steadily. For diabetics the case is more urgent. If the hemoglobin A l c (also known as glycosylated hemoglobin) is above 6.0 percent, significant damage is taking place to virtually every tissue in the body. In fact, the medical community has concluded that it there is diabetes, then there is heart disease! So in order to halt the progressive damage, a diabetic needs to make these changes now! They must follow the plan religiously if they want to get well. Certainly there will be improvement if they make some changes, but to have normal sugar without medication requires strict adherence.

These changes are challenging for most people, but they can be done with reasonable effort and determination. We have followed this exercise and healthful-food plan ourselves for more than 30 years, and our health is great! And the food is really good. As in weight control, this plan calls for a reasonable amount of walking, two or three plant-bases meals each day (the first meal is the largest and lesser ones follow), and no snacking at all.