Hi everyone this is Monica Reinagle the nutrition diva here with your quick and dirty

tips for eating well and feeling fabulous. Recently a reader forwarded me a link to a book about a diet that supposedly would cure

type 2 diabetes. My mom is a type 2 diabetic, she wrote, but I find it hard to believe that

you can reverse it.

So is this book for real?

Can type 2 diabetes really be reversed with a diet?

Well, let's take a closer look.

Basically, having type 2 diabetes means that your blood sugar is too high and this can be due to a number of factors.

For newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics the problem is usually that the cells have become insensitive to the effects of insulin, and that's a hormone which

normally moves glucose or sugar from your blood into your cells.

In other words, the insulin is knocking, but the cell isn't

answering the door, so the glucose stays out on the street, or in this case, in the

bloodstream. Now you don't want a lot of sugar hanging around in your blood.

Chronicly high blood sugar damages your blood vessels and your nerves and that can eventually

lead to blindness, hearing loss, or even the loss of limbs.

It also forces your kidneys to work harder and can eventually lead to kidney failure.

And of course, high blood sugar also increases your risk of heart disease. If you're diabetic, getting and keeping your

blood sugar under control can help prevent or minimize these kinds of complications.

Unfortunately, damage to the nerves, kidneys, or other

tissues may not be reversible once it has occurred. Okay, enough with the scary

stuff. Suffice it to say that a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes or even a warning

that you're moving in that direction is something you want to take very

...