I'm wary of a small study (36 people over 3 months) drawing massive conclusions ("Intermittent Fasting Completely Reverses Type 2 Diabetes in Study"). Any claim of reversing diabetes is always conditioned (for how long and under what conditions) and headlines seldom if ever capture that nuance.

That critique out of the way, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in September of last year. There's definitely genetic predisposition for it on my paternal side, but I have also been eating like a king and dipped even deeper into my indulgences as a primary coping strategy for social distancing associated with COVID.

In September, my average blood glucose was 180. Following the advice of a nutritionist (my sister), I switched to a mostly whole food plant based diet with some intermittent fasting (skipping supper, sometimes breakfast). At present, my average blood glucose is 125. I'm also down 25 lbs since September if last year. I'm still taking metformin, which I expect to take until doing so gives me sugar lows.

It hasn't been all at once and I'm not terribly strict about it. My meal plan generally looks something like this:

Morning: an apple, a pear, a banana, other fruit, vitamins, ~1000ml water (I found that if I have a clear Nalgene water bottle next to me while I work that I just drink water; who knew).

Lunch: whole food plant based leftovers (I love to cook and am currently making a lot of Indian food and soups), an apple, some other fruit, maybe going out to lunch with friends and eating whatever the hell I want (whatever the hell I want progressively is becoming fruits and vegetables, which feels weird emotionally).

Afternoon: ~1000ml water, fruit.

Dinner: fruit, something I or my SO cooks (generally whole food plant based), maybe dining out and eating whatever the hell I want (see above).

I don't drink soda and have not since the early 2000's. I really don't drink anything but water, unless it's Thanksgiving, Christmas, or I'm on an airplane.

I stopped thinking about Diets and have started thinking about my diet. I see this shift in food intake as a permanent thing, permanent enough that my SO and I are considering moving somewhere closer to year round fresh fruits and vegetables.

Resources that have been helpful have been a good diabetes specialist (mine is also diabetic and also familiar with a whole food plant based approach to living with diabetes), a great nutritionist (I'm biased and she's my sister), and the book Mastering Diabetes (it can be a little "scare your grandma" and they're selling something beyond the book, but as I have been led to understand it is a strong representation of the state of our understanding of diabetes and diet).

If you decide to try a whole food plant based approach, don't rush it. It can be really hard space mentally and emotionally. I had time where I was literally sobbing on the floor because I didn't know how to feed myself anymore and really didn't want to retread my dad's path. It can be hard at first, but it's yielded real results for me (in my 3 month study) and it's something that continues to get both easier and more enjoyable and which I am planning on doing for the rest of my life.

I hope my sampling of 1 is helpful. I watched my dad struggle and slowly die from diabetes complications my whole life, losing toes and a kidney, not sleeping because of severe neuropathy, having dry itchy skin that would bleed when he scratched it and then not heal, and needing insulin injections multiple times a day. I don't wish that on anyone.