What is a diabetes cure?

How diet, medication and exercise can help treat diabetes

While there is no diabetes cure, there are steps you can take to address diabetes symptoms. Learn about diabetes, the causes of diabetes and more here.

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for diabetes. Diabetes is a disease characterized by high amounts of sugar in the blood because either the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the diabetic’s body has become resistant to insulin. There are three main types of diabetes:
 
  • Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily because their bodies cannot produce enough of it. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in children or young adults and was once known as juvenile diabetes.
  • Type 2 diabetes develops as the body becomes resistant to insulin. This means that the body makes enough insulin but is not using it effectively. Eventually, the pancreas responds to this resistance by producing less insulin. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC), about 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
  • Gestational diabetes refers to high blood sugar during pregnancy. The American Diabetes Association reports that there are about 135,000 cases of gestational diabetes each year in the United States.
Since there is no cure for diabetes, it is important to take advantage of all necessary treatment options. Take a look below to find the main types of diabetes treatment:

Diet

As blood sugar is derived from food, it is vital that a diabetic is very cautious about their diet. In most cases, patients will work with a doctor or dietician to develop an eating plan that best suits their needs. Following a well-balanced, low-fat diet may be sufficient to keep blood sugar levels in check for people with type 2 diabetes.

People with type 1 diabetes should try to eat at the same times each day and choose similar foods to prevent extreme fluctuations in blood sugar. Blood sugar can be monitored at regular intervals with a home testing device to make sure that blood sugar is not too high or too low.

Medication

People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin shots daily to regulate blood sugar; other types of diabetes may also require insulin, depending on the severity of the condition. The amount of insulin given should always coordinate with the food eaten and daily activity of the diabetic; blood sugar should be monitored with home-testing equipment. For type 2 diabetes, oral medications may be used, such as oral hypoglycemic drugs, oral sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones, acarbose or miglitol.

The medicines work in a variety of ways. Oral hypoglycemic drugs lower glucose; oral sulfonylureas help increase the production of insulin; thiazolidinediones increase cells’ responsiveness to insulin and acarbose and miglitol are examples of drugs designed to delay absorption of glucose.

Exercise

Regular exercise is an important part of diabetes management because it can help regulate blood sugar levels, maintain a healthy weight, and avoid or lower high blood pressure. Exercise should be performed daily. Diabetics should take precautions, however, including testing blood sugar before and after exercise, drinking plenty of sugar-free fluids, and keeping a high-carbohydrate snack, such as an energy bar, handy in case blood sugar falls too low during exercise.

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