Breast-feeding and strict avoidance of cow's milk products in infancy may reduce the risk of diabetes. When breast-feeding is impossible, soymilk formulas are preferred over cow's milk products and are available in all hospital nurseries and grocery stores. There is little evidence that soy products contribute to diabetes risk, although some researchers are holding that possibility open based on limited data from animal experiments. Patients should be cautioned to select only infant soy formulas, not adult soymilk products. This form of the disease can improve or even disappear with the right kind of diet and exercise.
Diabetes often accompanies obesity and remits with weight loss.
It is also associated with high-fat diets. Although there is a strong genetic component to diabetes, diet and exercise often determine whether the genetic endowment will be expressed or not. Older diets for treating diabetes were based on the theory that starches should be greatly restricted. Unfortunately, eliminating starches meant removing healthful grains, beans, and vegetables, and leaving the patient with foods that were high in fat or protein. Fat in the diet impairs insulin's function, and excess protein accelerates kidney damage and causes other problems.