Dr. James R. Gavin discusses living with diabetes and addresses the question: Is diabetes reversible?
So, this question of the reversibility of diabetes is a nuanced question because what it really means sometimes when people ask it, they’re asking can we cure diabetes? Let’s be specific about that because to cure diabetes means that a person has been diagnosed with diabetes, some intervention happens and then they go back to normal glucose metabolism without the support of treatment.
That’s what sure would be. So that is essentially what the real test of reversing diabetes would be. We don’t really have very good evidence for that. What we do have good evidence for, and I think is just as important, is that a person can be diagnosed with diabetes and we now can use treatments and interventions and change lifestyles to a point where we can control diabetes to the point where on treatment people basically have a normal metabolism.
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Well, the truth is those people as long as they are being treated and normalize their metabolism, the outcomes are just like a person who doesn’t have diabetes. so you can live a long, productive, complications-free life by adequately controlling your diabetes. So, until we get evidence that we can actually “cure” it or really reverse it, let’s focus on adequately controlling it. Because the outcomes are just as good.
