How to Reverse Diabetes | Reverse Diabetes

Definitely. People living with type 1 and type 1.5 diabetes (also called LADA) will benefit enormously from this program. The evidence shows it will improve their insulin- sensitivity, lowering the doses needed. They will be able to eat a healthy diet with plenty of complex carbohydrates, which has many health benefits, including reducing their risk of cardiovascular disease. High levels of insulin, even with normal blood sugar levels, are very harmful long term, causing cardiovascular disease amongst many others. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, strongly linked to dietary risk factors, including dairy protein consumption and it will always require insulin therapy. Type 1.5 is similar but onsets in late adulthood and more slowly *The results achieved require a customised plan based on the health of each participant and will depend entirely on program compliance and completion.

No. Keep in mind that vegan or vegetarian diets are not necessarily healthy anyway. There are plenty of junk foods that are vegetarian or vegan. We understand some people have eaten animal foods their whole life and giving them up totally would feel like deprivation and just seem unrealistic. The evidence is that the more the diet is based on a variety of plant-based foods, the faster type 2 diabetes will reverse. If you are happy with steady progress in the right direction and are willing to slowly change your diet, we can work with that and can include some animal foods in your program. Just keep in mind, the reversal will be faster and longer lasting the more the food is plant based. You may be surprised how hard it is to tell some plant based dishes apart from their animal based versions, when our food coaches show you how.

Firstly, the word diet is not really appropriate. We are using a long term, permanent way of eating that is based on Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) which is a food-as-medicine concept. The way of eating focuses on nutrient density and is a combination of the best aspects of a number of ways of eating. The best known include the genuine Mediterranean diet, the Okinawan diet, the DASH diet, Nordic diet and low carb diet. We can't emphasise enough though that the meal plans are individualised and specifically developed to suit the client. The focus is on eating whole foods that are minimally processed, contain no harmful additives, are high in fibre and are nutrient dense. That means they are rich in plant based foods, vary in fat, complex carbohydrate content and protein. We don’t believe any one diet is the best for everyone. By drawing from these various diets, we can create personalised eating plans that will suit just about anyone's preferences. We also create low Glycaemic Load (GI) meals that prevent blood sugar spikes in the early stages of the program when insulin resistance is still high and a client is very sensitive to carbohydrates and sugars.

Definitely not. These diets keep being reinvented by marketers. The names change over time. They have been known as the Atkins Diet, the low carb-high fat (LCHF) diet, some versions of paleo, South beach diet and the latest craze being the ketogenic diet. They are the exact opposite of what people living with diabetes should be eating long term. The problem is that in the short term their effects can be deceptive and they appear to work. People often lose weight, reduce blood glucose levels and may even reduce medications. Type 2 diabetes is not a condition caused by excess carbohydrates, as is commonly believed. The false logic is that because carbohydrates break down into sugars in the blood and because diabetes is a condition of high blood sugars, avoiding carbs, reduces sugars and fixes diabetes. It appears logical at first glance. The only problem is, that although it is not immediately obvious, diabetes is mainly caused by excess fat, not sugar. Excess fat harms in 2 ways. Excess fat accumulates in the muscle and liver cells and causes insulin-resistance, which means the insulin-receptors become de-sensitised to insulin and when that happens, blood glucose can't get into the cells where it is needed for energy. It stays in the bloodstream, giving high sugar readings-one of a set of metabolic markers for diabetes. Excess fat also causes the pancreas' insulin-producing cells to fail over time. As excess fat accrues in the pancreas, it releases inflammatory chemicals that damage the insulin- producing cells, causing them to fail over time, leading to insufficient insulin-production. This is very briefly why a high fat diet is the last thing needed to treat type 2 diabetes. So why does a high fat /keto diet appear to work? If you drastically reduce carbs and replace them with fat, which does not convert into blood sugars like carbohydrates do, very little insulin is needed and the diabetes condition seems improved. However, in the background, the high fat diet is worsening insulin-resistance and harming pancreatic function and eventually diabetes will return and be much more difficult to manage due to the damage done. A glucose tolerance test (GTT) will soon show that the high fat or keto diet is not working. The HbA1c test alone can be very misleading on its own as it does not show the high's and low's in levels or show the degree of insulin resistance. This briefly explains why low carb or keto type diets may seem to work in the short term but are very harmful long term to a diabetic’s health. For a fully referenced, in-depth explanation of why keto diets are not the answer to diabetes, read this great article by our friends in the United States that run the Mastering Diabetes program over there. It busts some of the myths that ketogenic diet marketers claim as facts and is really worth reading if you are thinking the keto diet is a good option to deal with your diabetes.

No. The way of eating is sustainable long term and allows ‘ad libitum’ eating, meaning eat what you feel is comfortable, without restriction. The secret is eating nutrient dense foods that are not calorie dense, provide a feeling of fullness and avoid you feeling hungry. Dieting is all about counting calories, portion control and restriction. It is not sustainable long term and is not part of the program.

‘Diabetes reversal’ is not a cure, but a change in the direction of the condition, to a point where blood glucose levels drop within the normal range and you no longer require medication. Our aim is to reverse your diabetes to the point that your blood glucose levels are within normal ranges as measured by the A1C test, the Glucose tolerance test (GTT) and a fasting blood sugar test, without any diabetes medications. Sometimes, this is just not possible, as in cases of type 1 and 1.5 diabetes, or in rare type 2 situations where the pancreas’ beta cells are permanently damaged and secrete insufficient amounts of insulin to control blood glucose levels without some exogenous insulin-therapy. The goal is to restore insulin-sensitivity and reverse insulin-resistance which is a realistic goal for most people with type 2 diabetes. The evidence is simply overwhelming that the more the long term way of eating moves towards nutrient dense foods with a substantial part being plant based, the better the outcomes. However, please remember that this is a permanent lifestyle change to ensure symptoms don’t return.

Sure. Our coaching plans are evidence based. Every plan will include references to the supporting evidence so your doctor can be fully informed, reassured and hopefully supportive. We prefer you to work with your own doctor and most doctors will understand the decision is always yours and be supportive, once they review the evidence. However, if necessary, we can connect you with doctors who are already aware of the evidence that shows type 2 diabetes is reversible using Lifestyle Medicine. Many doctors have a medication centred approach to diabetes management and most have minimal nutrition education, but if they examine the evidence we provide with your coaching plan, it should be obvious which approach works best long term. Keep in mind too, that most doctors are not reimbursed adequately by insurers or public health systems to deliver lifestyle advice. Unfortunately, the reimbursement schedules encourage short, 15 minute consultations and financially penalise long consultations.

Some do, including our program partners and a growing number of health practitioners, especially in the United States. There are 2 main reasons why they don’t: Firstly, most doctors have no training in or knowledge of Medical Nutrition Therapy. In Australia, for example, they typically receive just two hours of nutrition education in their six years of medical school. The 2nd challenge that doctors face is that they are poorly reimbursed by public health systems or insurers for providing Lifestyle Medicine-oriented services. These services take a substantial amount of time to deliver. Unfortunately, public health systems and private insurers currently offer very little incentive to time poor doctors to provide their patients with the support and education that is needed in the early stages of diabetes. We are filling that gap while working with doctors and other health professionals. So, don’t be surprised that your doctor is not offering anything other than very general advice on lifestyle measures and medications.

Evidence shows that simply controlling blood sugar levels will not necessarily avoid diabetes complications, even if medications are effective. This CBC News (Canada) article shows experts now questioning the conventional medication regimes and highlighting the lack of evidence. Worryingly, medications previously thought to reduce the risk of heart attacks, are now appearing to actually cause them in the long term. Statin drugs are a commonly prescribed medication to reduce that risk. Some statins are now being blamed for increasing heart attack risk. Read this 2017 newsletter article by Dr John McDougall MD, a board-certified doctor in California, with about 40 years’ experience, analysing six major studies investigating the results of intensive or aggressive treatment of diabetes with medications. His summary? “Aggressive treatment kills”

Firstly, although it's not implemented nearly enough, leading diabetes organisations like the American Diabetes Association (ADA) very strongly emphasise the critical role of aggressive lifestyle intervention in treating diabetes. The 2019 ADA Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes includes a large section on lifestyle management and says it forms a fundamental aspect of care. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2019” are the ADA’s clinical practice recommendations regarding the components of diabetes care, general treatment goals and guidelines, and tools to evaluate quality of care. Lifestyle management is actually very 'mainstream' treatment but many doctors are not aware of it. In the United States, Dr. Dean Ornish, arguably the world leader in lifestyle medicine, has a program with many similarities. His focus is primarily on reversing heart disease but many participants have type 2 diabetes. It is so effective that US Medicare and many US health funds now pay for it. Scroll down to the Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes section of that site. Follow up studies with program participants (34% of whom had type 2 diabetes) showed amazing results for people with diabetes. Participants’ Haemoglobin A1C dropped below 7.0 and stayed there on a follow-up visit a year later. This was the case even when participants dramatically reduced their diabetes medications. Participants continued to see a decrease in weight, medication usage and blood sugar. Many decrease their insulin in a few weeks and many come off their insulin in a matter of a few months. They even had some dramatic cases of peoples’ insulin needs dropping by 80% in 4 days.

The evidence underpinning our program’s approach is consistent and long-standing. It has all been peer reviewed and is published in respected journals. We provide links to 10 journal articles in one document. For just a taste of the evidence, read this recent newsletter article written by Dr Ben Brown MD, Medical Director, Ornish Lifestyle Medicine. It references credible studies showing dramatic reductions in insulin-requirements, achieved following a high complex carb diet (yes, the one people living with diabetes are told to avoid). Our coaching plans are evidence based. Every plan will include references to the supporting evidence, ranging from peer reviewed journal articles to inspiring case studies of people who have succeeded on this type of program.

The evidence is very strong. If you follow this program and are currently on medications for diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and/or cardiovascular disease, you should expect at a minimum to significantly reduce your medication dosage and lose weight in a matter of weeks. Based on evidence from similar programs in the USA, about 75% clients with type 2 diabetes will be medication free in a matter of months and be non-diabetic. Results can vary and are dependent on compliance and persistence in working together to develop a plan that achieves your goals. We back our methods by offering to refund coaching fees if you don't experience improvement following the agreed program. Full details of that performance guarantee are provided with the plan.

Distance is not a problem. Our programs are delivered using telemedicine. We use video conferencing, phone and email. We have external providers, including doctors and dietitians in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

We always offer a free, 15 minute, no obligation phone discussion and can offer longer phone appointments for a fee. In addition, we structure the program plans in such a way that you are not locked in and can withdraw at any time.

No. Your wellness coach is your independent advocate and supports you in choosing medical or other external program partners you want to work with. Any recommendation of a particular external program partner is based purely on non-financial considerations. We do not directly sell anything other than our professional, fee based coaching services.

The wellness coaching fees are currently not reimbursed but many fees charged by external program partners such as doctors and dietitians are claimable through Medicare (Australia) public health systems and private health insurers, as normal.

YES. We understand it is hard to know who to believe when it comes to the best way to deal with diabetes - many health professionals and diabetes organisations are still clinging to the old beliefs like 'once a diabetic, always a diabetic' or 'type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition that cannot be cured or reversed'. These outdated beliefs will persist for many years to come, despite the evidence that says otherwise. To show confidence in our program in a meaningful way, we will put our coaching fees on the line. If you don't get great results or you are not satisfied, we refund your coaching fees - no questions asked. To make it even easier to try our program, we arrange our coaching proposals into small, short term modules or stages. Typically, they are between 2 - 4 weeks per module. We don't ask you to sign up to or pay for long contracts that lock you in; just short modules with no obligation to continue onto the next stage if you are not getting the results you want. The way our fee refund works is quite simple; once you finish a stage of coaching, we offer you a coaching proposal for the next stage. In the unlikely event you completed a stage and were not satisfied with your results, we will refund your fees for that stage and you wouldn't continue on to the next stage. Before moving forward to the next stage of coaching, we simply ask you to say whether you were satisfied with the stage just completed before moving forward. The full terms and conditions will be included in your coaching agreement. The only items not covered by our fee refund policy are fees you may pay to third party providers of services, such as pathology labs, a doctor or a dietitian. These are always paid directly by you to those providers. In most cases, these third party providers are partly or wholly paid for by public health or private insurance schemes, so the financial risk is quite minimal overall.

No. We are not in the business of trying to lock clients into expensive or long-term contracts. As explained in the earlier question about fees being refundable, we arrange our coaching into stages or modules of typically 2-4 weeks duration. You can exit a program at any stage and only pay for services provided to that point. Full details are provided before you enter into any fee arrangement. We can customise the programs and everything is negotiable. The table on our home page shows 4 general program options but these are a guide and will be customised to suit your unique circumstances.

We create individualised coaching plans to suit each client and their unique situation, so costs vary enormously depending on the level of support required and complexity of your health situation. We are very happy to discuss indicative pricing once we know about your unique situation and what you are likely to need, and of course, what you can afford. This is why we suggest everyone takes advantage of our free, no obligation, 15 minute phone call offer before doing anything. Program cost depends on the level of support needed and program length. For example, if you have been diagnosed recently with pre- diabetes and don't have any other chronic health problems and don't struggle with emotional eating or have food cravings, our standard program is most likely going to be suitable and will be quite low cost and of short duration. At the other end of the spectrum, if you have a long standing diagnosis of diabetes, are on multiple medications, have other chronic health problems, have diabetes complications and struggle with food cravings or emotional eating, the intensive support program will probably be required and it is more expensive and may need to go for a longer period. However, until we know a lot more about you, we can't estimate how long you may need to remain on our program and just how intensive the support will need to be. We would love to be in a position to help every client regardless of their ability to pay and can create very low cost programs for less than AU$300. These can even be spread out over a series of payments. However, they will have only low levels of support and will require the client to be quite pro-active. Think of it like learning to dance; you could buy a $20 video and learn slowly by watching at home or take private lessons with an instructor @ about $100 per hour and make very fast progress.

Yes, definitely. The evidence shows that following this type of program diligently over months is likely to provide weight loss, reduce hypertension (high blood pressure), improved cardio vascular disease, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol. In addition, you will help reduce the risk of typical longer-term complications of diabetes such as strokes, heart attack, erectile dysfunction, renal failure, nerve pain, blindness, foot sores, ulcers and amputations.

Programs focusing only on dietary change, while ignoring the underlying psychological issues, can have poor results. Energy Psychology modalities including EFT are rapidly becoming recognised as a very effective treatments in overcoming eating disorders. Our partner, Dr Peta Stapleton, a therapist at Bond University is a world leader in research on the use of evidence based EFT with eating disorders. Read more HERE. A summary of the research that supports the efficacy of Energy Psychology can be read HERE.

Evidence/Medical Support

Can type 1 diabetes be reversed? Does the LiMe program apply to type 1 diabetes?

Do I have to become vegan or vegetarian to reverse diabetes?

What diet is the LiMe Program based on?

Is the LiMe Program based on using low carb/high fat or ketogenic (keto) diets?

Does the LiMe Program entail counting calories, portion control or counting carbs (dieting)?

What exactly does it mean when you use the term ‘diabetes reversal’? How do you reverse diabetes?

My doctor is sceptical and unsupportive of lifestyle medicine programs. Can you help me in this situation?

Why don’t doctors suggest the Lifestyle Medicine approach?

My doctor says that I will avoid diabetes complications like blindness and kidney failure, by tightly controlling my blood sugar numbers with medications. Why worry about all this healthy lifestyle stuff?

This lifestyle medicine approach is radically different from advice from my doctor and other diabetes support organisations. Are there are there any similar, evidence based programs like it anywhere else?

What evidence can you provide to support the claim that a person with type 2 diabetes can be free of all medications, including insulin, if he or she follows this lifestyle medicine based program?

Getting Started

Can anyone reverse type 2 diabetes?

I don’t live in Sydney, Australia. Can you still work with me?

I’m interested but would like to discuss my situation before starting the program to see if it really is for me. What options are there?

Costs and Conditions

Does Reverse Diabetes make a commission or fee or receive any remuneration from the external program partners?

Do health insurers or Medicare (Australia) or public health systems pay for any of this diabetes reversal program?

Are the coaching fees refundable if I’m not satisfied with the results I’m getting?

Do I have to sign up for a long-term contract?

Can you provide a guide on what this diabetes reversal program may cost?

Other Questions

Can I expect any other health benefits from following this Lifestyle Medicine program?

I have not heard much about EFT. Is there any science behind it and could it really help me with my binge eating? I feel like I’m addicted to some foods.