Type 2 diabetes was once believed to be progressive and irreversible, but during the past 12 years, several clinical investigations have shed light on the disease’s underlying causes. We now know that by restricting food energy to lose weight, the processes that produce type 2 diabetes can return to normal operation. In the first ten years after diagnosis, almost half of the patients who successfully adhere to a food energy restriction plan can quit using all diabetes medications and return to non-diabetic glucose control.
Remission has been established when hemoglobin A1c concentrations of 48 mmol/mol are measured following weight loss and a minimum of six months without anti-diabetic drugs. Here, we review the most recent research on type 2 diabetes and look at various dietary modifications that can help people lose weight and keep it off while still managing their diabetes.
What brings on remission in type 2 diabetes?
According to the twin cycle hypothesis, type 2 diabetes develops over at least ten years due to vicious cycles of fat accumulation in the pancreas and liver. The theory was created in light of new information regarding the role of liver fat in regulating the steady flow of glucose into the blood and the finding that type 2 diabetes normal insulin secretion resumed following significant weight loss. It was projected that significant calorie restriction would result in a rapid drop in liver fat, a return to normal hepatic insulin sensitivity, and a return to normal levels of the liver’s ability to produce glucose.
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Individuals have varied fat thresholds, which explains why some individuals with type 2 diabetes have a healthy body mass index and only about half of those who have the disease are obese. Insulin resistance is brought on by excess liver fat, which completely disappears when liver fat levels return to normal ranges. Once this occurs, insulin can function correctly once again, controlling the release of glucose from the liver into the blood and quickly bringing fasting blood glucose levels back to normal.
Triglycerides are supplied by the liver to the rest of the body; thus, when liver fat suddenly drops, the high rate of supply of triglycerides returns to normal. As a result, all ectopic fat depots and pancreatic fat levels steadily diminish. Normal insulin response to food is gradually recovered.
Remission in populations from various ethnic and around the world:
White people made up the majority of participants in studies on type 2 diabetes remission conducted in Western nations. Therefore underlying nutritional patterns of other racial groups must be taken into account. About 38% of the participants in the Look-Ahead study were members of a racial or ethnic minority, mostly Hispanic and African Americans.
Although it was not the main goal of the study, type 2 diabetes remission was seen to be inversely correlated with weight loss (11.5% (248/2157) at year 1 and 7.3% (150/2056) at year 4, with weight losses of 8.6% and 4.7%, respectively). No correlation between ethnicity and remission was seen. A significant community-based analysis from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Registry revealed that African Americans had a higher likelihood of remission than white people did, with a seven-year overall remission rate of 4.6% among those who had type 2 diabetes for less than two years.
52 Asian and Hispanic people had higher rates of non-surgical remission after eight years than white and African American people, according to a similar retrospective assessment of people over 65.
Information about how to enhance long-term remission:
The US national register has produced significant insights into nutritional and other aspects and has proven the viability of persons maintaining significant weight loss over 10 years. With declining rates over each of the first five years and steady maintenance over the subsequent five, weight regain was most rapid for participants in the early years of follow-up, indicating that maintenance becomes easier with time.
Age, sex, genetics, ethnicity, body fat percentage, level of physical activity, and family and social culture are just a few personal characteristics that affect what we eat and, consequently, how successfully weight reduction is sustained. But, significant broader influences on food consumption are also present. Food accessibility, affordability, advertising, ready access to fast food takeaways and home delivery choices, and price promotions for processed energy-dense foods are a few of these.
Support from family and friends is crucial for both losing weight and preventing regain, according to psychological research on participants in weight reduction studies of remission. Eating is a social activity, and people frequently eat in ways that are similar to those of their friends and relatives. Behavior contagion is a descriptive word used in psychology, and it is noteworthy that partners or spouses frequently report weight loss. Since type 2 diabetes runs in families, everyone, even kids, is likely to gain from it.
Upcoming directions:
The pathophysiological underpinning for type 2 diabetes can be reversed by significant weight loss in the early years after diagnosis. Permanent weight loss results from long-term maintenance; however, this is more challenging to attain than weight loss.
There is a need to create and thoroughly test strategies that will prevent weight regain over the long run in all groups, and population management is also necessary to promote healthy food options and stop the current trend of excessive weight gain in children and adults.