Anjali Manavalan, MD, Director of Inpatient Diabetes Services, for Montefiore Einstein
IN SPANISH: The new technological frontier to treat type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes care has entered a smarter, more personal era — where technology, medicine, and lifestyle all work together. Continuous glucose monitors now give people real-time feedback on how meals, exercise, and sleep affect their blood sugar. And new medications are doing more than controlling glucose — they’re helping people lose weight, boost energy, and, in many cases, helping to slow, stop, and even reverse the progression of diabetes. It’s a shift that’s turning management into empowerment.
New tech, smarter insights
The latest CGM models offer improved accuracy, longer wear times (up to 15 days), and smartphone integration that allows for seamless data sharing with healthcare providers and family members. This constant feedback helps peopleavoid dangerous blood sugar fluctuations and improves overall glycemic control by enabling them to make informed decisions about diet, exercise, and medication timing.
Breakthrough medications, proven benefits
Medications like GLP-1 agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors offer several benefits, including regulating blood sugar, promoting weight loss, treating weight-related comorbidities such as sleep apnea, and decreasing events such as heart attacks and strokes. Theformulations, including once-weekly injectable options and oral alternatives, merge convenience with efficacy.
Losing as little as 5% to 10% of body weight can slow and even stop the progression of Type 2 diabetes. The added protection against chronic heart and kidney diseases as well as strokes, which are among the most common and severe complications of diabetes, is invaluable. When combined with a healthy diet and regular physical activity, these breakthrough treatments are proving to be game changers for managing and even reversing Type 2 diabetes.
New technology and breakthrough medications deliver more when combined with healthy habits
Eating healthy and staying active maximizes the benefits of any medication prescribed for Type 2 diabetes and is proven to help control the disease. Treatment always begins with a nutrition plan and a program of regular physical activity tailored to an individual’s specific needs, fitness level, and lifestyle. The immediate feedback provided by CGMs helps people make better decisions about diet and activity—and can be highly motivating when you see positive changes reflected in your numbers.
A diet centered on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein is recommended for diabetes prevention and management. The fiber in whole fruits and vegetables can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. It’s also important to avoid added sugar by limiting ultra-processed foods such as soft drinks, sweets, and refined carbs like white bread, white rice, and white pasta. Whole fruits are generally a better choice than smoothies because eating whole fruit takes longer and keeps you feeling full longer. However, smoothies do keep all the fiber and nutrients naturally present in whole fruit and may be a healthy alternative depending on the ingredients used.
Regular physical activity improves insulin resistance and lowers blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association recommends at least 20 to 25 minutes of moderate exercise (even walking) every day — or 30 minutes a day, five days a week — aiming for a total of 150 minutes a week. Other good options include strength training with weights or resistance bands 2 to 3 times weekly, swimming, and yoga. Combining aerobic exercise (like walking or swimming) with strength training works best.
Early detection, better protection
Type 2 diabetes has no symptoms in its earliest, most treatable stages. That’s why screening tests that measure blood glucose levels are so important. The American Diabetes Association recommends screenings at least every three years beginning at age 35, though testing may need to start earlier for adults and children at higher-than-average risk.
Smart choices, real prevention
The number of people with diabetes is expected to double worldwide by 2050, affecting nearly 10% of the population, so taking steps to prevent it is extremely important. Fortunately, the same diet, exercise, and weight-loss recommendations used to control, stop, and even reverse Type 2 diabetes can be highly effective at helping prevent it. Avoiding tobacco products and alcohol can also decrease risk.
If a blood sugar screening test indicates prediabetes — the precursor to Type 2 diabetes — adopting diet, weight loss, and exercise recommendations immediately can often reverse the problem, or at least stop it from progressing to diabetes, which can cause organ, eye, and nerve damage as well as other health problems.
What increases your risk for Type 2?
Anyone can develop Type 2 diabetes, but certain factors put people at higher risk for the condition. They include:
Having prediabetes (blood sugar that is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes)Being obese or overweightHaving high blood pressure or high cholesterolSmoking tobaccoHaving had gestational (pregnancy-related) diabetesHaving certain health conditions like HIV and polycystic ovary syndromeHaving a parent or sibling with Type 2 diabetesBeing of African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Pacific Islander or Indigenous American descentLiving a sedentary lifestyle (being physically active fewer than three times a week or having a job that requires sitting for long hours each day)
Montefiore Einstein is ranked in the top 1% of all hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for diabetes and endocrinology
Montefiore Einstein’s Division of Endocrinology is one of the largest and most respected in the New York metropolitan area—and a premier choice for the management and care of Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes. Home to one of only 16 NIH-funded Diabetes Research Centers nationwide and the only NIH-funded Center for Diabetes Translation Research in the Northeast, our team of world-renowned board-certified physicians is dedicated to advancing diabetes care through leading-edge research and treatment.
As Montefiore Einstein expands our excellence in diabetes care across Westchester and the Hudson Valley, our globally and locally renowned physicians and specialist teams provide centralized, comprehensive care across the full range of advanced specialty services and treatments at our state-of-the-art Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care–Westchester facility, with on-site visitor parking and easy access via public transportation.
Call (914) 457-4130 to make an appointment at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care–Westchester. For appointments at our other Montefiore Einstein locations in the New York metro area, including the Bronx, please call (800) 636-6683.
