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Type 2 Remission

Type 2 diabetes remission means achieving non-diabetic blood sugar levels (HbA1c below 6.5% or 48 mmol/mol) without diabetes medications for at least three months. Research shows that 20-46% of people with type 2 can achieve remission through carbohydrate restriction, with some maintaining it for years. This challenges the old view that type 2 is inevitably progressive—the disease often reverses when you remove the dietary trigger. Remission doesn't mean 'cured' since blood sugar can rise again if carb intake increases, but it demonstrates that the underlying metabolic dysfunction can be reversed.

  Article (1)

  Video (2)

  Research (3)

5-Year effects of a novel continuous remote care model with carbohydrate-restricted nutrition therapy including nutritional ketosis in type 2 diabetes: An extension study

A L McKenzie, S J Athinarayanan, Van Tieghem MR, B M Volk, C G Roberts, R N Adams, J S Volek, S D Phinney, S J Hallberg

Diabetes research and clinical practice 2024

A 5‑year very‑low‑carb, remote‑care program for type 2 diabetes showed durable benefits: 20% remission among completers, 33% reached HbA1c <6.5% with no meds or only metformin, alongside less medication and improved heart‑risk markers.

Insights from a general practice service evaluation supporting a lower carbohydrate diet in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and prediabetes: a secondary analysis of routine clinic data including HbA1c, weight and prescribing over 6 years

David Unwin, Ali Ahsan Khalid, Jen Unwin, Dominic Crocombe, Christine Delon, Kathy Martyn, Rajna Golubic, Sumantra Ray

BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health 2020

Lower‑carb guidance in a UK GP practice led to 46% drug‑free type 2 diabetes remission and 93% normalization of prediabetes, with significant drops in HbA1c, weight, BP, and triglycerides.

Low Carbohydrate Dietary Approaches for People With Type 2 Diabetes—A Narrative Review

Sean D Wheatley, Trudi A Deakin, Nicola C Arjomandkhah, Paul B Hollinrake, Trudi E Reeves

Frontiers in Nutrition 2021

Low-carb diets match or beat low-fat for Type 2 diabetes—often cutting meds and improving HbA1c—without evidence of increased cardiovascular risk.