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The New Science-Backed Way to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

  • Writer: Brainz Magazine
    Brainz Magazine
  • Nov 10, 2025
  • 5 min read

Updated: Nov 11, 2025

Dr. Michael Donaldson is a nutrition researcher and health coach specializing in type 2 diabetes reversal. As founder of End Diabetes Now and Research Director at Hallelujah Diet, he empowers people to transform their health through evidence-based, plant-centered nutrition.

Executive Contributor Michael Donaldson

Millions are told type 2 diabetes is a life sentence. It isn’t. Research shows diabetes can be reversed by losing enough internal fat so the liver and pancreas work again. In this guide, you’ll learn the scientific proof and the simple 3-step method to end diabetes now without gimmicks or extreme diets.


Hands holding a glucose meter reading 95, against a light blue background, indicating a health check process.

The old myths about what causes diabetes


We have been told many reasons why people have type 2 diabetes. These are a few of them that you may have heard: 

  • Too much sugar. Too many carbohydrates. 

  • It’s the seed oils. We didn't eat vegetable oils 100 years ago. 

  • The vegans say it’s too many animal products. 

  • The whole foods people say it’s caused by ultra-processed foods. 

  • Some people point to the high fructose corn syrup in soda pop. 

  • Some say it’s too much dietary fat. Some say it’s not enough fat. Some say we are just too fat. 


Who is right? Is anyone right?

The old way of managing diabetes


Here is the advice you usually get when you have diabetes. I have heard this many times now. 

  1. Monitor your blood sugar. 

  2. Avoid foods that raise your blood sugar too much. 

  3. Take medicine if your blood sugar goes too high. 

  4. Diabetes is a chronic health condition. You will have diabetes for the rest of your life, and it will probably kill you. Sorry. That is just the way things are. 


Forget all that advice. There is a new way to deal with diabetes. There is a way to avoid always testing your blood sugar. This method lets you eat whatever foods you want to eat. This method actually reverses all of your blood sugar issues and your other symptoms of type 2 diabetes.


The new path: Reverse your type 2 diabetes


The key to reversing your diabetes is not exactly what you eat, but how much you eat. You have diabetes because you are too fat for you. You must become smaller again to reverse diabetes.


Your own personal fat threshold


If you have type 2 diabetes, you are too fat for you. Even if you are “normal” body weight, you are over your own “personal fat threshold.” Your liver and pancreas have too much internal fat, and they can’t function properly. This causes high blood sugar. 


All of this has been thoroughly proven by feeding interventions conducted by Professor Roy Taylor and colleagues at Newcastle University.


Scientific validation: From hypothesis to truth


There are several studies showing that reversal of diabetes is possible, but I will highlight just three studies here now.


In the CounterPoint study, Professor Roy Taylor and colleagues showed that fasting blood glucose and glucose production in the liver returned to normal levels within one week.


Figure 1. Weight loss leads to the reversal of type 2 diabetes


Two graphs labeled a and b show glucose levels and HGP over 8 weeks. Both start high, drop sharply, then level off.

In the DiRECT study, primary care doctors helped people to lose weight and reverse their type 2 diabetes. As shown in the figure, the more weight people lost, the more likely it was that they reversed their diabetes.


Figure 2. For overweight individuals, losing more weight is key to reversing type 2 diabetes


Bar graph showing participants' remission by weight loss category over two years. Bars range from 3.6% to 86.1% success; light pink tones.

In the ReTUNE study, the Personal Fat Threshold hypothesis was tested and found to be valid. 14 of 20 subjects (70%) with type 2 diabetes, but of normal weight, were able to reverse their diabetes by losing weight. These people got thinner and healthier. Diabetes has the same cause in thin and fat people, and weight loss is the key to reversing type 2 diabetes.


Figure 3. Liver fat reduction in normal-weight diabetic individuals as they lost weight


Bar graph shows liver fat (%) for Baseline, CEP, 12 months, and Control groups. Baseline highest at 4%, others around 2%. Error bars present.

Figure 4. Normalization of blood glucose in normal-weight diabetic individuals


Two bar graphs show HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose levels decreasing over 52 weeks. Gray bars with p-values and sample sizes noted below.

Diabetes is reversible


The good news is that the dysfunction of the liver and pancreas can be reversed, especially if you have not had diabetes for more than 10 years. But even in some cases of long-standing diabetes, the dysfunction of the liver and pancreas can be reversed. It certainly can be much improved in all cases.


3 steps to reverse diabetes


Now that you know what really causes diabetes, you only have to take three steps to reverse it for yourself. The steps are: 

  1. Planning

  2. Commitment 

  3. Accountability

Step 1: Choose a plan with foods you like


You need to pick an eating plan that provides you with 800 calories. The most important thing is not what you eat, but how much. So, pick a dietary pattern you like. 

  • Vegetarian or vegan whole foods? Sure 

  • Paleo? No problem. 

  • Ketogenic? Yup. 

  • Carnivore? It will work. 

  • Meal replacement shakes. Yes, simple and quick.

Step 2: Commit to following your plan for 60 days


Commit to following this diet for about 60 days. Sometimes it takes a bit longer. The results? By following your selected plan, you will most likely lose more than 35 pounds, which is the average amount needed for most people to lose their diabetic symptoms and have normal fasting blood sugar, normal response to eating carbohydrates, and normal levels of HbA1c.


Step 3: Be accountable to someone to keep winning


Get someone to help you stay on track and get back on track when you “lapse.” Life happens. 


Do not skip this step. It can be your spouse, your friend, or your business partner. Just someone you will listen to.


And that’s it. If you follow these three steps, you can be diabetes free in just a few months.


Transition back to normal eating


After you've lost the weight and reversed your type 2 diabetes, you gradually transition back to normal foods. First, you begin eating one regular meal a day, along with your weight loss foods. Then two regular meals a day, and so on. 


Finally, you're eating your regular diet with one important change, you only eat about three-quarters as much as you did before you lost weight, so you stay three-quarters of your previous size. Simple, right? 


If you start gaining weight again, you just go back to your system for weight loss for a brief time to get back in balance. Everyone needs a rescue plan in place ahead of time.


Are you ready to take the next step?


You can reverse type 2 diabetes on your own with the help of your family and friends. If you are determined and practice self-discipline with great accountability, you will succeed. Accountability is a key component.


If you want expert guidance, I am a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and would be willing to explore the option of working together with you so that you can maximize your chances of quick success with the least amount of frustration and confusion. Contact me through my website


Whether you work with me or not, I encourage you to take control of your health. You have a lot more control over your health than you ever realized before. It’s time to end your diabetes now.


Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and visit my LinkedIn for more info!

Read more from Michael Donaldson

Michael Donaldson, Nutrition Researcher & Health Coach

Dr. Michael Donaldson, Ph.D., is a leading voice in plant-based nutrition and lifestyle transformation. With a doctorate from Cornell University and more than two decades of research at Hallelujah Diet, he has helped thousands understand how food can restore health and vitality. Through his coaching platform End Diabetes Now, he guides clients in reversing type 2 diabetes naturally and sustainably. A scientist, entrepreneur, and educator, Dr. Donaldson also founded True Wealth Health Products and formulated Ora-Shield, an organic oral-care blend. His work bridges science, faith, and practical wisdom to help people achieve lasting wellness and purpose.

This article is published in collaboration with Brainz Magazine’s network of global experts, carefully selected to share real, valuable insights.

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