I already have diabetes. Can I reverse it?

This is more controversial. There’s no doubt that making the right changes to your diet and lifestyle can control type 2 diabetes (even if you need medication as well), but can you actually cure it?

Severely obese people who undergo bariatric surgery (such as stomach bypass) sometimes get rid of their diabetes. So it seems reasonable that if you make the right lifestyle changes and lose enough fat, it should be possible to cure your diabetes.

A study published in 2005 suggested that big enough changes in diet, combined with moderate exercise, can actually reverse Type 2 diabetes.

After three weeks on the programme, half the people had normal blood tests. Had the doctor been assessing them for the first time at that point, they would not have been diagnosed with diabetes. Whether they had actually cured their diabetes or simply controlled it beyond detection, it was extremely worthwhile and would have achieved a huge reduction in the risk of eye complications, kidney problems and heart disease.

The problem is that standard dietary advice doesn’t produce dramatic results. General guidelines are impossible to convert into everyday action. Also people with Type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance. This is accompanied by low HDL-cholesterol and raised triglyceride levels. A low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet may make these problems worse.

The 28-day plan is designed to improve the balance of blood fats, shift excess fat from the abdomen and increase sensitivity to insulin – reversing the vicious cycle of Type 2 diabetes.

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