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Shifting one's lifestyle choices is not capable of curing type 2 diabetes but it can manage the chronic condition by controlling blood sugar. A landmark study revealed that type 2 diabetes can be reversed through an intensive therapy combining healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes.

The latest study showed that intense therapies combining insulin jabs, drugs, exercise, and diet can help in reversing type 2 diabetes, the Mirror UK reported. Forty percent of the test subjects that has undergone treatment remained symptom-free for three months even after stopping their diabetes medication.

This groundbreaking trial proves that it is indeed possible to reverse type 2 diabetes, though lead scientist Dr. Natalia McInnes said that the experiment supports the notion that type 2 diabetes is reversible, at least in the short-term.

Type 2 diabetes is a result of poor sensitivity to the hormone insulin produced in the pancreas. This disease is linked to unhealthy lifestyle options and obesity. It can be disabling, life-threatening and incurable, but can be managed.

Meanwhile, over billions of dollars are reportedly spent on diabetes drugs. However, these prescription drugs, with the exception of metformin, can lead to weight gain, which is one of the causes of type 2 diabetes and hypoglycemia, the Vancouver Sun reported. Experts believed that focusing on prescribing lifestyle modifications that promoted weight loss as well as exercise and healthier diets should be the focus of clinicians.

In the latest study, researchers compared the effects of intensive metabolic treatment versus standard therapy on 83 diabetic patients. They were given personalized exercise plans and diet and were cut down to 500 to 700 calories per day.

They were also given antidiabetes pills and received nightly insulin injections to prevent spikes in their blood sugar. One group went for 16 weeks while the other had eight weeks of therapy.

Eleven out of the 27 patients in the 16-week group no longer appeared to suffer from progressive diabetes. The same results were also recorded for six out of the 28 patients in the 8-week group. The research revealed that shifting the paradigm of treating diabetes by controlling glucose with monitoring can help in reversing type 2 diabetes without any signs of relapse.