“If I avoid medicines and concentrate on lifestyle, can I win over diabetes?”

Lifestyle changes and exercise will definitely help control Type 2 diabetes, and, perhaps avoid, or defer, the need for medication. If you are overweight, weight loss will also be a significant help.

Yes and no. I have seen patients really clamp down on the diet and become very athletic. This is ideal but rare in the long term (3%). When one is diagnosed with diabetes they have significant loss of pancreatic cells (66%) at least. So a medication in particular metformin should take stress off the pancreas. The pancreatic cells might live longer with this medication. Regardless a healthy lifestyle is amazingly important.
Paul Norwood MD
Endocrinologist

It depends on how much insulin your body is able to make. Have your doctor order a C-peptide level. If your c-peptide is high, then your diabetes is still in the reversible stage, and you can likely manage your diabetes with a combination of diet, exercise, and stress management. If your C-peptide is low, then your pancreas has been damaged to the point where you will not be able to go without medications entirely, but diet and exercise will still help minimize the number of medications you will have to take.

Life-style change has a major impact on glucose levels and some of the diabetes complications. However, medications are important to reduce overall risk of complications, particularly those related to cardiovascular disease.

Yes diet and life style changes are an important part of overall diabetes management. Often they can help reduce the amount of meds necessary and sometimes delay the onset of diabetes.

The answer to your question is Yes & No. Diabetes is an inherited disease and we can't change our genetics. So that part (genetic susceptibility) you will always have. But there are environmental factors that impact he manifestations & seriousness of the diabetes & these you can impact. Overwt., bad diet, lack of exercise, etc. are factors you can control. So diet & exercise & healthy lietingving will help you a lot. There is loss of function of the insulin secreting mechanism in every one, just as we loss function of other organs-knees, mental etc as we age so life style change may not keep you off medications forever, but will help. Remember though that it is vital to maintain your blood sugar in or near thew normal range to prevent damage to the blood vessels & nerves that can cause blindness, kidney failure, heart problems & strokes and lower limb problems. So keep your blood sugar normal & take medicine when life style will no longer control it.

Depending on a lab test called Hemoglobin A1c you may of may not need medications. In any event why not do the logical thing: Start taking the medication, change your lifestyle for the much better, and show your physician you are capable of getting off the medications