Nara Schuler’s Story of Reversing Type 2 Diabetes Without Medication

Diabetes Type 2, Disease Reversal Testimonials, Food

nara schuler reversing type 2 diabetes without medication

Reversing Type 2 Diabetes without medication, is that even possible? We interviewed Nara Schuler, author of Secrets of My Vegan Kitchen: A Journey into Reversing My Diabetes Without Medication. In this book she talks about her own journey of reversing Type 2 Diabetes with a whole food plant based diet. We had the privilege to interview her. Here is a summary of her remarkable journey.

My experience has proven to me that there is nothing more important than eating a healthy diet.

— Nara Schuler

When did you find out you had Type 2 Diabetes?

In august 2010 I started having a urinary infection and, as normal, I like to treat my ailments with natural treatments. Thus I started drinking a lot of cranberry juice. I was doing that for a few weeks but the infection wasn’t going away.

I was eating a horrible diet with lots of meat, cheeses, ice cream, breads etc. I reduced the amount of sugar but still nothing changed.

I then decided to go to my doctor and ask for a prescription. I brought my urine sample for the examination as I knew that would be requested. While waiting in the pre examination room, I overheard the nurse’s exclaiming: “Oh my God Dr. look at this! She is diabetic!!! Her glucose is 14.4!”

What symptoms were you experiencing?

I had several symptoms but I was never told these were related to Type 2 Diabetes.

Overweight BMI of 38
An acute urinary infection that did not heal for about two months
My distance vision was very weak, I could barely see the street signs when driving
I had sleep apnea, for which I was prescribed by my doctor to sleep with a CPAP machine
I had to take pain killers every day because of constant head and body aches

What was your diet until you got diagnosed with type 2 diabetes?

I was eating a horrible standard American diet. I used to have a breakfast with coffee and cow’s milk (of course, because I understood I needed milk for my bones), bread with butter and cheese or jelly. For lunch: Meat, potatoes, sometimes beans and rice, and also fried eggs or burgers. For dinner I often had bread, rice or pasta, cheese, eggs, ice-cream, and very occasionally a piece fruit or a salad.

Normally when we are diagnosed with diabetes, we go to the doctor and we are told to take medication. In your book you talk about your doctor prescribing pills for an undetermined amount of time. Because of your previous experiences of taking medication and suffering side effects from it, you decided to look for other options.

My doctor called me into the examination room and started filling up a prescription while telling me that I was diabetic. He was putting me on medication in that very moment. I asked him: “What do you mean? How long do I have to take this?” He said that I became diabetic, that it’s in my genes and that I would have to take this for an undetermined amount of time.

“Undetermined amount of time?” That was the same expression he had used 8 years before when he put me on depression medication during my parents’ death. Later he kept telling me I should never stop the depression medication as it would lead me to suicidal tendencies. So, when I heard that expression, I immediately decided to back off of it and look for an alternative.

You write “There has to be a better way to treat diabetes”. What a great intuition! And this is when the nutrition solution came into the picture, right?

Yes, when I went back home on that September day, I started searching the internet for information about reversing Type 2 Diabetes without medication. I read every article I could find. I read the suggestions from the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) and I understood I would have to change my diet.

CDA recommendation was to reduce the amount of breads, sugars, ice creams, rice and all sweets. I thought it would be hard but doable. I would concentrate on eating meat and cheeses. Then I also came across Dr Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live (ETL). The book information stated that there was a dietary program to reverse Type 2 Diabetes without medication.

I decided to buy the book and spent the whole night and weekend reading it. I was convinced that it was worth it to try the ETL diet rather than the CDA one. This decision was made mainly because of reading through the the testimonials of CDA patients. Everyone was feeling better while still taking medication.

In reading ETL testimonials, people were feeling better without the need of any medication. My precise thoughts were: “If I am going to have to change my diet, I will pick the one that will bring me the best results no matter how hard this change will be in the beginning.”

You stopped eating meat, milk, dairy, sugar, sweeteners, alcohol and processed foods, and you switched to a whole food plant based diet: an unprocessed vegan diet with no added sugar, oil, or salt. How was it to make the switch?

I made the switch on September 23, 2010. I decided that in order to be successful and reverse my Type 2 Diabetes, I would have to get rid of all the non-compliance foods as recommended by the ETL diet.

I went crazy and threw everything I used to eat in the garbage. I disposed bags of chips, oils, ice cream, breads, meat, milk and cheeses and told my husband and son I was going to do this diet for a few months and needed their support for a few days until I could find a balance in my strength to avoid going back to those foods.

I went to the supermarket and bought a large amount and variety of fresh greens, vegetables, fruits, also dried beans, mushrooms, seeds and nuts. My husband and son were supportive but skeptic. I started by making soups, smoothies and juices, and I hated each one of them for the first two or three weeks.

It is simple: dramatically increase the amount of vegetables, fruits, and legumes in your diet on a daily basis, and eliminate all processed food and drinks.

— Nara Schuler

Three months after switching to a whole food plant based diet, you took a blood test. Tell us about the results. In the three month period I was waiting to see my blood test results. I could physically feel and see the benefits of my diet change. It was obvious to me that my Type 2 diabetes was reversing. I was feeling much better, I was losing weight, I was able to get a good sleep at night without the CPAP machine and I did not need to take pain killers as the aches were slowly disappearing. However, I was not expecting to be undiagnosed by my doctor. He was shocked to see my blood test results!!! He could not believe that my A1c went from 10.9% to 5.7% in just three months. All my blood indicators were back to a normal range. These numbers were achieved with diet change alone. No exercise and no medication. There is absolutely no medication that can achieve these results in such a small amount of time!

The graphic above shows the evolution of my A1c tests for the first 3 months to my last evaluation almost ten years later. All this was achieved without the use of any medication. There is so much mixed information about nutrition and health. What is your message for people out there looking to reverse their diabetes and other chronic diseases without medication? I believe that there is no one that knows more about their own body than oneself. It is important to pay close attention to each symptom that starts appearing in our body. A healthy body feels nothing other than well-being. Our bodies were designed to constantly return to a state of health. However for this to happen, we have to provide them with the healthiest possible diet, a good sleeping pattern and regular exercise. Most people focus on the last two parts while it is the diet that is the most important one. In my experience, the complete elimination of all animal products and the addition of a large variety and quantity of green leaves, beans, vegetables, mushrooms, seeds and fruits on a daily basis, is the single most important step to give our bodies the necessary tools to bring us back to health. Remember, it is never too late to start a healthy vegan diet!

Disease is not a result of growing older but a syndrome of bad food choices.

— Nara Schuler

Reversing type 2 diabetes without medication

Nara Schuler’s recovery is a remarkable one, right? She has inspired us and showed us that reversing type 2 diabetes without medication is possible! We highly recommend you to check out Nara’s website and to follow her on Instagram.

Disclaimer

You should not undertake any diet/exercise regimen recommended in this book before consulting your physician. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be responsible or liable for any loss or damage allegedly arising as a consequence of your use or application of any information or suggestions contained in this book.