Pensioner sends type 2 diabetes into remission with 12-minute workouts

A pensioner with type 2 diabetes claims to have effectively cured himself of the disease by exercising intensely for less than half an hour a week.
John Hall, 67, from Coventry, has been battling type 2 diabetes for the past seven years after being diagnosed with the metabolic condition the day after his 60th birthday.
During this period, he says his health deteriorated to the point where he suffered a minor stroke while at work. Doctors said the stroke was forewarning to a bigger one and classed him as being at high risk of further cardiovascular events, including heart attacks.
The scare was a wake-up call for the retired Coventry City Council officer who struggled to sleep at night due to a fear of not waking up in the morning.
In an attempt to reduce his dangerously high blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels, John retired from work, fearing the stress of his job was a contributing factor, and made changes to his lifestyle, which included altering his diet and going for five-mile walks each day.
With no improvement in his health, John decided to take a different approach to exercise and started participating in a programme called Progressive Accelerating Cardiopulmonary Exersio, or Pace for short, at his local community centre.
The exercise programme combines warm-ups and a series of high intensity aerobic activity, including running and jumping, into just two or three 12-minute sessions a week.
After only four months of attending the short, intense, exercise classes, John says he has seen a huge drop in blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which before were nearly twice as high as what they should be. He has also gone from monitoring his blood sugar levels four times a day to once in the morning.
“The exercises might only be for 12 minutes but my metabolism keeps working hard for the next 24 hours. I noticed an improvement in the first month,” he said, adding that doctors were shocked by the rapid improvements in these health markers and plan to start weaning him off his diabetes medication.
“When I went back to the doctors two weeks ago, they were absolutely astounded. They said ‘what on earth have you been doing?’”
After managing to reverse the progression of his type 2 diabetes, John said he no longer considers himself as a diabetic and feels free to enjoy life.
He hopes his story will inspire other people living with type 2 diabetes.