A smoke alarm warns people to reverse their direction, for avoiding the cause of the alarm could lengthen their life. Today, we’re sounding an alarm over the concerning rise in type 2 diabetes and its decreased life expectancy. It’s time to reverse the path toward metabolic disease and avoid diabetic risk factors with healthy nutrition and fitness for a longer and better life.

In the United States, individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at ages 30, 40, and 50 years experienced a decrease in lifespan of approximately 14, 10, and 6 years respectively compared to those without diabetes, according to David Perimutter, MD.¹ A study published in the Lancet in June 2023 gives new estimates that predict the number of people living with diabetes will jump from 529 million in 2021 to at least 1.3 billion in 2050. “Diabetes was already a substantial concern in 2021 and is set to become an even greater public health issue over the coming three decades, with no effective mitigation strategy currently in place,” the researchers said.²

Detection and cures are important. However, the ultimate solution is understanding the surge of type 2 diabetes and confronting its underlying cause: excessive consumption of added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods. While many physicians advise patients to eat better and exercise more, Symbios Health goes above and beyond by providing life-changing and evidenced based nutrition and functional fitness classes to help patients prevent and reverse this deadly disease which has reached epidemic proportions.

Understanding Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a preventable and reversible chronic condition characterized by high levels of blood sugar resulting from insulin resistance and insufficient insulin production. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels by facilitating the absorption of glucose into cells for energy. When the body becomes resistant to insulin or fails to produce enough insulin, glucose accumulates in the bloodstream, leading to elevated blood sugar. A joint research effort between the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow examined information from more than 1.5 million individuals and revealed that being diagnosed with diabetes at a younger age markedly diminishes one’s life expectancy. The study indicates that for each decade earlier the diagnosis occurs, life expectancy is diminished by around four years. This effect was slightly more pronounced in women than in men.²

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include a diet filled with added sugars, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods, combined with a sedentary lifestyle. The epidemic proportion of diabetes, especially in younger ages, is a direct consequence of unhealthy and addictive dietary habits that start as early as age two and continue throughout adulthood. This ultimately leads to metabolic disease, insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, unhealthy eating patterns and a stationary lifestyle are behaviors often passed to the next generation. However, with correct knowledge, understanding and effective life behavioral choices the onslaught of this deadly disease can be prevented.

Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes

Symbios is designed to promote longevity and improve quality of life; therefore, our primary goal is preventing type 2 diabetes, which involves adopting healthy lifestyle habits and managing risk factors. Two key components of diabetes prevention are:

• Understanding and avoiding dietary sugars, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods. Choosing foods that fulfil your needs for essential proteins and fats over nonessential carbohydrates is the 1 solution to preventing or reversing the process of this disease. Many people are discovering firsthand the flaws in our government’s unwarranted claims for a low-fat heart healthy diet that includes vegetable oils and processed foods. Download your complimentary Symbios Nutritional Guidebook for optimal food selections (and put protein and fat higher on your the grocery list!).
• Regular physical activity that guides activity with proper training and technique. SymbiosFIT’s one-hour functional fitness workouts multiple days a week can increase bone and muscle mass while decreasing fat deposits. Long-term wellness begins with proper instruction to prevent injury while building strength, flexibility, mobility, and coordination.

Detection of Type 2 Diabetes

Symbios Health is dedicated to diagnosing, reversing, and curing type 2 diabetes throughout our medical practice – including of primary care for all ages, women’s care, Direct Care, and lab services – which begins with early detection for timely intervention and management of potential complications. Make an appointment today with one of our team members who are dedicated experts in the mission to prevent, diagnose, and reverse this disease impacting all ages.

Reversing and Curing Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes may be managed and even reversed through life behavior modifications and medical interventions.³ Adopting a nutrition plan that consumes healthy proteins and fats, and avoids added sugar, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods, and engaging in function fitness exercises five to six days per week can improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, leading to a reduction or elimination of diabetes medications in some cases.

Ben Franklin’s timeless saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!” encourages each of us to evaluate our lifestyle and improve our exercise and fitness habits to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. Symbios Health’s effective management strategies offer new hope for longevity and improved quality of life!

¹ David Perrimutter, MD, Blog, February 19, 2024, Type 2 Diabetes Can Shorten Life by Up to 14 Years

² The Lancet, VOLUME 402, ISSUE 10397, P203-234, JULY 15, 2023 Global, regional, and national burden of diabetes from 1990 to 2021, with projections of prevalence to 2050: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

³ Hallberg SJ, McKenzie AL, Williams PT, et al. Effectiveness and safety of a novel care model for the management of type 2 diabetes at 1 year: an open-label, non-randomized, controlled study. Diabetes Ther. 2018;9(2):583-612