Type 2 diabetes is the result of years of excessive Beta cell death. Beta cells are the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. The remaining Beta cells are unable to produce enough insulin quickly enough to maintain blood glucose levels in the normal range.
In order to reverse type 2 diabetes or prediabetes we change the internal environment from one that is hostile to one where Beta cells flourish and replicate. The key to doing this involves doing three things – reducing the average workload of Beta cells, reducing the amount of time that Beta cells spend working at peak capacity, and increasing the downtime of Beta cells. To do this we encourage the reduction of dietary sugar, and encourage the substitution of protein and fat for dietary carbohydrate, but timing is everything, or at least a great deal, and we focus a lot on this.
Weight loss is not a focus. Weight stability is important, and it is helpful to lose some weight, say 4-6 kilos. Most people achieve this as a by-product of making the other changes we recommend.
Prediabetes and type II diabetes are triggered by increasing insulin resistance. More insulin is required to move the same amount of glucose into cells. We do try to reduce insulin resistance at the same time as we try to change the local internal environment of Beta cells. Some exercise at the right time is useful, as are supplements, in reducing insulin resistance.
Finally, and for those people who are happy to try it, there is the short duration very low calorie diet (several days of fasting)!
