Type 2 Diabetes
Condition Kitchen: Living With Type 2 Diabetes

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Common Questions & Answers
Type 2 diabetes is not reversible, but it can go into remission, meaning your blood sugar levels return to normal without medication for at least three months. Some people can achieve this by following a weight management plan and monitoring their blood glucose.
Early symptoms can be so mild that you don’t even notice them. However, they may include increased thirst and hunger, frequent urination, fatigue, blurry vision, and slow-healing wounds. You might also have tingly, painful, or numb hands and feet.
Insulin resistance is the leading cause of type 2 diabetes. Genetics, excess belly and organ fat, a sedentary lifestyle, and an unhealthy diet may lead to insulin resistance. Stress, certain medications, and hormone disorders can also contribute.
Avoid foods that contain too much saturated fat, which may increase cholesterol, as well as foods with too much sodium, which can increase blood pressure, since these both increase the risk of heart problems in people with diabetes. Sugary foods and sodas can complicate blood glucose control.
Doctors diagnose type 2 diabetes using blood tests. These may include an A1C test, a fasting plasma glucose test, and a glucose tolerance test. Ask your doctor about testing if you have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes due to your body weight or family history.

Elise M. Brett, MD
Medical Reviewer
Dr. Brett practices general endocrinology and diabetes and has additional certification in neck ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration biopsy, which she performs regularly in the office. She is voluntary faculty and associate clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is a former member of the board of directors of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology. She has lectured nationally and published book chapters and peer reviewed articles on various topics, including thyroid cancer, neck ultrasound, parathyroid disease, obesity, diabetes, and nutrition support.

Justin Laube, MD
Medical Reviewer
Justin Laube, MD, is a board-certified integrative and internal medicine physician, a teacher, and a consultant with extensive expertise in integrative health, medical education, and trauma healing.
He graduated with a bachelor's in biology from the University of Wisconsin and a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. During medical school, he completed a graduate certificate in integrative therapies and healing practices through the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. He completed his three-year residency training in internal medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles on the primary care track and a two-year fellowship in integrative East-West primary care at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine.
He is currently taking a multiyear personal and professional sabbatical to explore the relationship between childhood trauma, disease, and the processes of healing. He is developing a clinical practice for patients with complex trauma, as well as for others going through significant life transitions. He is working on a book distilling the insights from his sabbatical, teaching, and leading retreats on trauma, integrative health, mindfulness, and well-being for health professionals, students, and the community.
Previously, Dr. Laube was an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he provided primary care and integrative East-West medical consultations. As part of the faculty, he completed a medical education fellowship and received a certificate in innovation in curriculum design and evaluation. He was the fellowship director at the Center for East-West Medicine and led courses for physician fellows, residents, and medical students.

Sandy Bassin, MD
Medical Reviewer
Sandy Bassin, MD, is an endocrinology fellow at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is passionate about incorporating lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition into endocrinology, particularly for diabetes and obesity management.
She trained at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where she taught culinary medicine classes to patients and medical trainees. She continued her training at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Dr. Bassin has published reviews of nutrition education in medical training and physical activity in type 2 diabetes in Nutrition Reviews, Endocrine Practice, and the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. She has been featured on the Physician to Physician Plant-Based Nutrition podcast and given many presentations on lifestyle interventions in endocrine disorders.
She stays active through yoga and gardening, and loves to cook and be outdoors.

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN
Medical Reviewer
Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.
She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.
Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Melissa Sleight, RDN
Medical Reviewer
Sleight earned her bachelor's in nutrition and food science from Utah State University. She is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition group for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is involved at the local level as the president-elect of Magic Valley Dietitians and is a liaison for her community as a board member of the Idaho Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
She likes to cook and try new recipes, and loves water activities of all kinds — from paddleboards to hot tubs. She enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking, on all-terrain vehicles, and camping.
Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH
Medical Reviewer
Dr. Pat Bass is a board certified general internist and pediatrician at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, and the chief medical information officer at LSU Health-Shreveport. He is an active clinician, teacher, and researcher.

Kacy Church, MD
Medical Reviewer
Dr. Church always knew that she wanted to pursue endocrinology because the specialty allows for healthy change through patient empowerment. She completed her fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism in 2017 at Stanford University in California.
She loves running, dancing, and watching her sons play sports.

Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES
Medical Reviewer
Lynn Grieger is a registered dietitian-nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, certified personal trainer, and certified health and wellness coach. She completed requirements to become a registered dietitian at Valparaiso University in 1987 and completed a dietetic internship at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Illinois, in 1988.
Lynn brings her expertise in nutrition, exercise, and behavior change to her work in helping people reach their individual health and fitness goals. In addition to writing for Everyday Health, she has also written for websites and publications like Food and Health Communications, Today's Dietitian, iVillage.com, and Rodale Press. She has a passion for healthy, nutrient-dense, great-tasting food and for being outdoors as much as possible — she can often be found running or hiking, and has completed a marathon in every state.
Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, MD
Medical Reviewer
Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, MD combines an undergraduate English degree from Kalamazoo College and a medical degree from Michigan State University in her work as a medical writer, editor, and consultant. Dr. Carson-DeWitt served as editor in chief for two multivolume Macmillan encyclopedias: The Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior and Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco: Learning About Addictive Behavior; she also collaborated on the 18th edition of the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. She has written thousands of articles, in print and online, for health care providers and consumers, including Family Health International, Columbia University, the Mayo Clinic, and GlaxoSmithKline. She is committed to providing accessible information for both medical professionals and consumers.

Michael Cutler, DO, PhD
Medical Reviewer
Michael Cutler, DO, PhD, is a cardiac electrophysiologist at Intermountain Heart Rhythm Specialists in Salt Lake City, Utah. His research interests include understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmia, gene therapy for cardiac arrhythmias, neural control of the circulation in sleep apnea, role of exercise in health and disease, and improving the management of cardiac arrhythmias (i.e., atrial fibrillation).
He completed his BS and MS in exercise physiology and was a member of the track/cross country team at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Cutler was an adjunct clinical instructor in the College of Health at the University of Utah and also served on the Utah Governor’s Council on Health and Physical Fitness. He then attended the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth for medical school and for his PhD in cardiovascular physiology.
After medical school, Cutler entered the highly selective ABIM Research Pathway physician-scientist training program at the MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. During this time, he completed his clinical training in internal medicine, cardiology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology, served as chief cardiology fellow, and received the Kenneth M. Rosen Fellowship in cardiac pacing and electrophysiology from the Heart Rhythm Society. Following residency and fellowship, Cutler accepted a position as an assistant professor of medicine at the MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University until he joined his current partners at Intermountain Heart Rhythm Specialists.
Cutler's research has received meritorious recognition from the American Physiological Society, the American Heart Association, and the Heart Rhythm Society.
Cutler has been an author on publications in journals such as Circulation, Circulation Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Nature. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and clinical cardiac electrophysiology through the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Sanjai Sinha, MD
Medical Reviewer
Dr. Sinha did his undergraduate training at the University of California in Berkeley, where he graduated magna cum laude. He earned his medical degree at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City in 1998 and completed his internship and residency training at the New York University School of Medicine in 2001. Subsequently, he worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs from 2001 to 2012 and held faculty appointments at both the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
In 2006, he won the VISN3 Network Director Award for Public Service and a commendation from the secretary of Veterans Affairs for his relief work after Hurricane Katrina. He joined Weill Cornell Medical College in 2012, where he is an assistant professor of clinical medicine and the director of the care management program, as well as a practicing physician.
In addition to his work for Everyday Health, Sinha has written for various publications, including Sharecare and Drugs.com; published numerous papers in peer-reviewed medical journals, such as the Journal of General Internal Medicine; and presented at national conferences on many healthcare delivery topics. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Roxana Ehsani, RD
Medical Reviewer
Roxana Ehsani, RD, is a Miami-based licensed dietitian-nutritionist, board-certified specialist in sports dietetics, and media spokesperson, consultant, and content creator for food and nutrition brands. She is an adjunct instructor for sports nutrition at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Ehsani appears as a food and nutrition expert for television stations across the nation and in national publications, including Runner's World, Women's Health, Glamour, and more, and is a contributing writer for EatingWell. She has a strong background in sports nutrition and has worked with professional, Olympic, collegiate, and high school teams and individual athletes, whom she sees through her private practice.

Kelly Kennedy, RDN, LDN
Medical Reviewer
Kelly Kennedy is a licensed dietitian-nutritionist with over 14 years of experience in digital media. She previously managed and oversaw nutrition content, recipe development, meal planning, and diet and nutrition coaching at Everyday Health. She developed and reviewed various meal plans, books, slideshows, and online tools, and oversaw the creation of more than 500 unique recipes. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a master's degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta.
Kennedy enjoys anything that takes her outside, from gardening and playing in the yard with her kids to hiking and even feeding her pet chickens.

Michael Natter, MD
Medical Reviewer
Michael Natter, MD, is a clinical assistant professor in the department of medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City. Fusing his background in fine art with his medical practice, he creates medical illustrations and comics to both educate his patients, colleagues, and medical students as well as explore the emotional and human side of medicine. His work has been featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Annals of Internal Medicine, Medscape, BuzzFeed, and others.
Dr. Natter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as a child and became interested in medicine at a young age. He initially began his studies in studio art but ultimately attended the Sidney Kimmel Medical College before returning to his home in New York City to complete his internal medicine residency and fellowship.

Anna L. Goldman, MD
Medical Reviewer
Anna L. Goldman, MD, is a board-certified endocrinologist. She teaches first year medical students at Harvard Medical School and practices general endocrinology in Boston.
Dr. Goldman attended college at Wesleyan University and then completed her residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where she was also a chief resident. She moved to Boston to do her fellowship in endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She joined the faculty after graduation and served as the associate program director for the fellowship program for a number of years.

Igor Kagan, MD
Medical Reviewer
Igor Kagan, MD, is an an assistant clinical professor at UCLA. He spends the majority of his time seeing patients in various settings, such as outpatient clinics, inpatient rounds, and dialysis units. He is also the associate program director for the General Nephrology Fellowship and teaches medical students, residents, and fellows. His clinical interests include general nephrology, chronic kidney disease, dialysis (home and in-center), hypertension, and glomerulonephritis, among others. He is also interested in electronic medical record optimization and services as a physician informaticist.
A native of Los Angeles, he graduated cum laude from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) with a bachelor's in business and economics, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He then went to the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) for his medical school education. He stayed at USC for his training and completed his internship and internal medicine residency at the historic Los Angeles County and USC General Hospital. Following his internal medicine residency, Kagan went across town to UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine for his fellowship in nephrology and training at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center. After his fellowship he stayed on as faculty at UCLA Health.

Sean Hashmi, MD
Medical Reviewer
Sean Hashmi, MD, is an experienced nephrologist and obesity medicine specialist based in Southern California. As the regional director for clinical nutrition and weight management at a prominent healthcare organization in Southern California, Dr. Hashmi oversees the development and implementation of cutting-edge nutritional programs and weight management strategies. With his innovative approach and unwavering commitment to providing evidence-based solutions, he is a highly sought-after speaker and a leader in his field.
Hashmi founded the nonprofit organization SelfPrinciple.org to provide accessible and accurate health, nutrition, and wellness information to the public. Through this platform, he shares the latest research findings, empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their well-being. Self Principle also supports children's education by providing scholarships, books, and supplies, so that students have the resources necessary to succeed academically and build a brighter future.

Reyna Franco, RDN
Medical Reviewer
Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.
In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.
Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.
She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.

Adam Gilden, MD, MSCE
Medical Reviewer
Adam Gilden, MD, MSCE, is an associate director of the Obesity Medicine Fellowship at University of Colorado School of Medicine and associate director of the Colorado University Medicine Weight Management and Wellness Clinic in Aurora. Dr. Gilden works in a multidisciplinary academic center with other physicians, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians, and a psychologist, and collaborates closely with bariatric surgeons.
Gilden is very involved in education in obesity medicine, lecturing in one of the obesity medicine board review courses and serving as the lead author on the Annals of Internal Medicine article "In the Clinic" on obesity.
He lives in Denver, where he enjoys spending time with family, and playing tennis.

Bhargavi Patham, MD, PhD
Medical Reviewer
Bhargavi Patham, MD, is board-certified in internal medicine as well as endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. She is currently practicing academic medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas.
Patham received her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from Government Medical College in Nagpur, India. She received her PhD in cell biology from the University of Georgia in Athens in 2005, and then completed two years of post-doctoral training in immunology at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
Patham completed her residency in internal medicine at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, where she was previously an assistant professor of pathophysiology and cell biology at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine. She completed her endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
Sheri Iodice, RD
Medical Reviewer
Sheri Iodice, RD, LDN is a professional wellness coach on staff at Everyday Health. She is certified in adult weight management by the Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition.
Farrokh Sohrabi, MD
Medical Reviewer
Farrokh Sohrabi, MD, is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Viriginia Hospital, and is board-certified in internal medicine. Dr. Sohrabi has been involved in both basic science and clinical research, and has a broad background in medical writing and editing. He has authored publications in academic medical journals, medical websites, and peer-reviewed scientific publications. Sohrabi sees patients in the Washington, D.C. area.

Seth Gillihan, PhD
Medical Reviewer
- Type 2 Diabetes. Mayo Clinic. February 27, 2025.
- Type 2 Diabetes. Cleveland Clinic. November 8, 2023.
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