No, currently there is no cure for diabetes — neither type 1 diabetes nor type 2 diabetes, but the disease can go into remission. When diabetes goes into remission, it means that the body does not show any signs of diabetes, although the disease is technically still present.
If managed effectively with proper treatment, diet, exercise, and medication, it may be possible to reverse the condition to a point where you do not need medication to manage it and your body does not suffer ill effects from having blood sugar levels that are too high. With proper management, people with diabetes can lead healthy and productive lives.
According to an older 2009 Diabetes Care consensus statement, remission can take different forms:
- Partial remission: When a person has maintained a blood glucose level lower than that of a person with diabetes for at least 1 year without needing to use any diabetes medication.
- Complete remission: When the blood glucose level returns to levels that doctors expect completely outside the range of diabetes or prediabetes and stays there for at least 1 year without any medications.
- Prolonged remission: When complete remission lasts for at least 5 years.
Even if a person maintains regular blood sugar levels for 20 years, a doctor would still consider their diabetes to be in remission rather than cured. Achieving diabetes remission can be as simple as making changes to an exercise routine or diet, or it may be more challenging.
Lifestyle changes that help manage diabetes?
- Manage your blood sugar levels. Know what to do to help keep them as near to normal as possible every day: Check your glucose levels frequently. Take your diabetes medicine regularly. And balance your food intake with medication, exercise, stress management, and good sleep habits.
- Plan what you eat at each meal. Stick to your diabetes eating plan as often as possible. Eat fiber — Fiber helps you lose weight, balance blood sugar levels and reduce your heart disease risk. Choose whole grains — Stay away from white carbohydrates. Whole grains, rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, help your body maintain better blood sugar levels. Include fish, cheese, eggs, seafood and poultry in your diet. Also, try nuts, avocado, and olive and canola oil.
- Bring healthy snacks with you. You’ll be less likely to snack on empty calories. Stay away from sugary drinks — If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation: no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.
- Exercise regularly. Exercise helps you keep you fit, burns calories, and helps normalize your blood glucose levels.
- Keep up with your medical appointments. That includes your doctor, diabetes educator, ophthalmologist, dentist, podiatrist, and other health care professionals.
- Weight Loss Surgery. After weight loss surgery, many people with type 2 diabetes see their blood sugar levels return to near normal. Some experts call this a remission. It’s not unusual for people to no longer need diabetes medicines after weight loss surgery. The more weight a person loses after surgery, the greater improvement in blood sugar control. After surgery, if extra weight returns, your diabetes can return too.
Your lifestyle changes don’t have to be drastic to work. The Diabetes Prevention Program, a national clinical research study of 3,234 people, found that participants who lost a modest amount of weight through dietary changes and increased physical activity sharply reduced their chances of developing diabetes.