Once thought of as a chronic, progressive disease, Type II Diabetes is now being recognized as a potentially reversible disease through intensive lifestyle changes. This revelation has been a gamechanger for many thinking they would have Type II Diabetes forever once diagnosed.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss Type II Diabetes, how you can reverse it, and a program we recommend trying.

What is Type II Diabetes? 

Type II Diabetes is a disease in which your body cannot make enough insulin (or properly use the insulin it makes), which is a hormone that helps control the amount of sugar in your blood. This type of diabetes can be caused by several different risk factors and makes up about 90% of all diabetes cases in Canada.

The Massive Toll of Diabetes

Diabetes has been known to cause 30% of all strokes and is a leading cause of blindness. This disease also causes 40% of heart attacks and 50% of kidney failures requiring dialysis. And lastly, diabetes is known to cause 70% of all non-traumatic leg and foot amputations. 

In Canada alone, 9% of the total population is diabetic and this number has grown 3.3% since 1998. According to Wellness Garage, this number is supposed to grow to 12% in 2025. What’s more concerning than these numbers is the additional 25% of people who are pre-diabetic, and of those, 90% don’t even realize it. 

Diabetes can reduce a lifespan by 5-15 years and accounts for over 10% of deaths in Canadian adults.

Here’s what we can do about it.

As we mentioned before, it’s now known that diabetes can be reserved. So, instead of simply trying to manage the disease with tips like “exercise more” and “eat less”, we need to get down to the root cause of the disease to begin to eliminate it.

The first hint that diabetes was reversible came in 1992 from the outcomes of a bariatric surgery. According to Wellness Garage, Pories et al. showed that blood glucose levels normalized in obese people with Type II Diabetes who had undergone bariatric surgery and that almost 10 years later 90% remained free of diabetes. 

But, surgery isn’t the only way that type II diabetes can be reversed.

Type II Diabetes Reversal through Dietary Interventions 

The Wellness Garage has an incredible program called 4+2 Diabetes Reversal Strategy. It’s a program that we highly recommend to our clients if they are or an employee is struggling with Type II Diabetes. This strategy is an evidence-based program that allows participants to apply lifestyle behaviour change and reverse insulin resistance. In this program, there are 6 behaviour changes that participants will work through:

1. Eat to lower insulin
2. Use your muscles
3. Be kind to your liver
4. Restore fat burning
5. De-stress
6. Improve sleep 

With the help of this program and these 6 behaviour changes, they’ve seen real people from the program reverse their Type II Diabetes without having to have a surgery! 

Diabetes Support Program at Wellness Garage

One positive program that we have come across is the 4 + 2 Diabetes Reversal Program offered by Wellness Garage. Dr. Brendan Byrne and his team of experts in nutrition, exercise  physiology and coaching offer three different program levels for reversing the insulin resistance that causes type II diabetes. For more information, check out their website at https://www.wellnessgarage.ca/diabetes.html 

The Future is Diabetes Free 

The evidence shows that Type II Diabetes can be reversed provided you can lose enough weight and keep it off. The last bit, keeping it off, is often the hardest part for people! 

Many struggle to sustain a diet change for long periods of time, especially if it’s not a diet that’s healthy in the long run. But combined with coaching, exercise and the supervision of medical professionals, many diabetics are able to significantly improve their condition through positive lifestyle habits and changes.  Dr. Byrne has witnessed dozens of Type II Diabetics reduce and even eliminate the need for medication through his programs.

The future is diabetes free for those who are ready to change behaviour in order to change their life and overall health. 

If you want to learn more about type II diabetes, the Wellness Garage programs or other strategies for reducing the impact of this chronic disease on your benefits plan, reach out to us today! We can help educate, motivate and support your group plan members in many creative ways.