A Miracle Diabetes Cure

But they also may help because the information that comes with the "cure" will say it works best if you follow some diet, or, as with the woman who has a lot of new friends, exercise program, and being very enthusiastic about their new "curative" treatment, they stick to the diet and exercise at least for a little while.

Another possibility for "wonder cures" is that they've been adulterated with real diabetes drugs like metformin or sulfonylureas. Or they could contain herbs that are natural sulfonylureas. Metformin, after all, was developed on the basis of an herb called goat's rue that has been used since the Middle Ages to treat people with diabetes. But it also had bad side effects, and derivatives with the beneficial properties of goat's rue but fewer of the side effects were developed.

A diabetes site in India says that many of the "natural cures" being sold there actually damage the liver, and because it is damaged, it can't produce glucose through gluconeogenesis, so BG levels decline. Personally, I don't think I want to cure my diabetes by trashing my liver.

However, one must remember that even if some drug improves your BG levels, or even if some diet brings your BG levels back to normal ranges, you're not cured. Being cured doesn't mean you have great BG levels while you're following some kind of treatment. Being cured means you can maintain normal BG levels after you eat whatever you want, including cotton candy, while taking no treatment at all.

Some type 2s who are diagnosed in the very early stages and lose a lot of weight and get a lot of exercise can, indeed, reach this state. They are in a sense cured. But if they regain the weight, or even if they just have the normal beta cell deterioration that comes with aging, they are most likely to become diabetic again. Whether or not they are diabetic in the meantime is a question of semantics and not worth discussing.

Someday we'll have a real cure, but I'm afraid I don't expect to see a cure soon. So until that day comes, when you read about some new wonder drug that will cure diabetes, don't believe it. If you don't believe me (and skepticism is good), then read the claims carefully.

Check out the sources of any "cures" you see advertised. If they're from companies you've never heard of, the chances of getting what you think you're getting are slim.

Finally, compare the prices with the prices of generic diabetes drugs. Generic metformin is not expensive. In some countries it's about 25 cents a pill. Sulfonylureas are also not expensive. Some "miracle cures" cost hundreds of dollars a month. I doubt that most people take them for more than a few months, but there are always new believers coming along.

Don't be one of them. Don't waste your energy looking for miracle cures. Instead, take that energy and use it to take a walk. Buy delicious, nutritious food. Take what medication you need to control your BG levels. Find the best, most empathetic physician you can find to help your control. Keep track of your hemoglobin A1c and other aspects of your overall health like blood pressure and lipid levels.