Doctors are unaware of type 2 diabetes remissio, study reports

Scottish researchers have published a report calling for more doctors to realise that type 2 diabetes can be put into remission.
Glasgow University scientists are trying to raise awareness among healthcare professionals that type 2 diabetes can be effectively treated, reducing the need for medication.
They have penned a report in the British Medical Journal arguing that some doctors do not fully understand the benefits of weight loss and healthy eating and how it can lead to type 2 diabetes remission.
“They are not treating the disease process, and are missing the point,” said Professor Mike Lean. “Not only is type 2 diabetes preventable by not getting fat in the first place, but as long as you get in early after the disease is established – in the first five years or so – you have a better than even chance of becoming non-diabetic.”
Lean and colleagues believe awareness of the benefits which lead to remission is poor because it is rarely recorded officially. They referenced one US study where remission from type 2 diabetes was achieved in only 0.14 per cent of 120,000 patients over a seven-year period.
“Lack of agreed criteria and guidance over recoding may have led to hesitation in coding remissio, but the main reason for the low recording is probably that few patients are attempting or achieving remissio,” said the study authors.
Meanwhile, our Low Carb Program has helped scores people with type 2 diabetes come off their medication. This was achieved through their commitment to eating a low-carb diet, which has shown in a myriad of studies to be effective in lowering the body’s need for insulin, consequently helping people rely less on medication.
Lean added: “It is in everybody’s interest to reclassify people with type 2 diabetes when they become non-diabetic. Official guidelines and international consensus for recording diabetes in remission are needed.”
Benedict Jephcote, Editor of Diabetes.co.uk, welcomed the report. He said “For a number of years, Diabetes.co.uk has witnessed a growing number of people put their diabetes into remissio, often on their own accord. It is great to see that healthcare professionals are recognising that lifestyle change is the strongest and safest treatment for type 2 diabetes.”