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Understanding Diabetes Starts with Its History

If you’ve ever been confused about what Type 2 Diabetes really is, this article will give you clarity. By the time you finish reading, you’ll not only understand what it is, but you’ll also gain insight into how to reduce your risk of getting it, how to reverse it, and how to better manage it.

To truly understand Type 2 Diabetes, it helps to look back at its origins. The word diabetes comes from a Greek word meaning “to pass through,” because people with the condition urinate frequently. Later, doctors added the word mellitus, meaning “sweet like honey,” after discovering that the urine of people with diabetes tasted sweet.

Believe it or not, before modern laboratory tests existed, nurses and doctors would actually taste urine to help diagnose diseases. That might sound unusual today, but it demonstrates how far medicine has advanced.

In 1869, a German medical student named Paul Langerhans discovered special clusters of cells in the pancreas. These became known as the Islets of Langerhans, and they produce insulin, the hormone that helps move sugar (glucose) from your blood into your cells to be used for energy or stored for later use.

In 1921, two Canadian scientists, Frederick Banting and Charles Best, made a groundbreaking discovery: they isolated and purified insulin, making it possible for people with Type 1 Diabetes, a condition in which the body no longer produces insulin, to lead normal lives. Before this discovery, a Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis was almost always fatal.

However, Type 2 Diabetes is different. In Type 2, the body still produces insulin, often in large amounts, but the cells stop responding properly to it, a condition known as insulin resistance.

By the 1970s, the first portable glucose monitors were invented, letting people test their own blood sugar at home. Today, continuous glucose monitors enable tracking of blood-sugar levels every few minutes.

Despite all these medical breakthroughs, Type 2 Diabetes has continued to rise. The reason isn’t a lack of insulin or technology; it’s a lack of understanding about what’s really driving it.

How the Name Changed

For hundreds of years, doctors used the single term Diabetes Mellitus. Then, in 1936, British physician Harold Himsworth described two forms, one sensitive to insulin and one resistant to it (Himsworth, 1936). In 1955, researcher Philip Hugh-Jones in Jamaica labeled them Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. Later, around 1976, Dr. Andrew Cudworth popularized the modern classification (Wikipedia, 2025).

What’s Really Going on in the Body

Type 2 Diabetes doesn’t happen overnight; it develops slowly over time, often years before a diagnosis. It starts when your cells stop responding properly to insulin.

Think of insulin as a key and your cells as doors. Under normal conditions, insulin fits perfectly into the “lock” on your cell doors, allowing glucose (sugar) to move from your blood into your cells, where it’s used for energy or stored for later.

But when the body becomes insulin resistant, those locks start to rust. The key, insulin, no longer fits as easily. Your pancreas, which makes insulin, tries to fix the problem by producing even more of it. For a while, this extra effort works, and your blood-sugar levels might still look normal on paper.

However, over time, your cells become more resistant. The pancreas can’t keep up with the demand, and both insulin and glucose levels rise. This is the tipping point, the stage where insulin resistance turns into Type 2 Diabetes.

Here’s the tricky part: many people live with insulin resistance for years and don’t know it. Their fasting glucose may look fine, but underneath the surface, the body is struggling. This is why it’s possible to have “normal” blood sugar but still experience early metabolic problems (e.g., weight gain around the belly, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, or fatigue after meals).

Now, you might wonder: what causes insulin resistance to begin with? The key factor is often unseen: chronic, low-grade inflammation in the body.

How Inflammation Disrupts Insulin and Energy

To understand why inflammation plays such a big role, it helps to picture what’s happening at the cellular level. Every cell in your body is surrounded by a thin outer layer called the cell membrane, which is made mostly of fats. This membrane acts like a gatekeeper; it decides what comes in, what goes out, and how well your cells “communicate” with hormones like insulin.

When the cell membrane is soft and flexible, a state known as cell membrane fluidity, everything works smoothly. Insulin attaches easily to its receptor, glucose enters the cell, energy is produced efficiently, and waste is removed from the cell as it should be.

But when inflammation sets in, especially from diets high in processed seed oils and omega-6 fats, those cell membranes become stiff and rigid. And here’s where most people get fooled, because not all omega-6 fats are bad, but too much linoleic acid (LA) is.

Linoleic acid is the primary omega-6 fat found in grapeseed, safflower, sunflower, corn, and soybean oils, all of which are often marketed as “heart-healthy.” These oils are used everywhere, in salad dressings, snack foods, restaurants, and even so-called “clean eating” products. But in truth, they’re overloaded with linoleic acid, which oxidizes easily and promotes inflammation inside the body.

When you cook with or eat these oils regularly, the linoleic acid gets incorporated into your cell membranes, making them less flexible. Think of it like replacing soft rubber with hard plastic; your cells become stiff, and insulin can’t “unlock” the door properly to let glucose in. The result? Sugar stays in your bloodstream, your pancreas works overtime to produce more insulin, and inflammation builds even higher.

This creates a vicious cycle:
inflammation → insulin resistance → higher insulin → more inflammation.

Breaking that cycle means restoring balance to your cell membranes, and this is where omega-3 fatty acids make all the difference.

Historically, humans consumed a diet with approximately a 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats. By 1960, the ratio had shifted to 3:1. Today, most people are closer to 20:1 or higher, primarily due to the widespread use of linoleic acid-rich seed oils in everyday foods. This imbalance fuels chronic, low-grade inflammation, setting the stage for insulin resistance, weight gain, and eventually Type 2 Diabetes.

By rebalancing this ratio, increasing omega-3 intake while reducing excess omega-6, you can restore cell membrane flexibility, calm inflammation, and improve how your body uses insulin for energy.

Markers That Tell the Real Story

Doctors often rely solely on glucose or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) tests, but those results are temporary. Here are the early warning signs to pay attention to:

• • Fasting Insulin: Indicates insulin resistance before glucose levels increase.
  • Triglyceride-to-HDL Ratio: A simple blood-lipid clue to metabolic health.
  • Waist Size: Belly fat is a strong predictor of insulin resistance.
  • Omega-6: Omega-3 Ratio: A dried-blood test like the BalanceTest reveals how inflamed or balanced your cells are.

A Simple Way to See Insulin Resistance: Dr. Ben Bikman’s Ratio

According to Dr. Ben Bikman, one of the leading researchers on insulin resistance and author of Why We Get Sick, you don’t always need expensive lab work to get clues about your metabolic health. You can quickly assess your body’s insulin response by checking your Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio (TG:HDL), which is usually included in standard blood tests.

Here’s how it works:

• • Triglycerides increase when insulin levels are elevated.
  • HDL (“good cholesterol”) goes down when insulin levels are high.

When your triglycerides are high and your HDL is low, it’s a clear sign that insulin isn’t functioning effectively, a major red flag for insulin resistance.

Dr. Bikman explains it simply:

“If your fasting triglyceride-to-HDL ratio is higher than 3, there’s a very good chance you’re insulin resistant. If it’s around 1 or lower, you’re likely metabolically healthy.”

How to calculate it:
Divide your fasting triglyceride number by your HDL number.

• • Below 1.5 = Excellent insulin sensitivity
  • 5 to 3 = Moderate risk
  • Above 3 = Likely insulin resistant

Diabetes and High Blood Pressure: The Two-Way Street

Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension) often show up together, and each one raises the risk for the other. Among adults with diabetes, approximately two-thirds have a blood pressure of 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or higher, or take blood pressure medication (American Diabetes Association, 2017; Hopkins Medicine, n.d.). Using newer guidelines, that number rises to nearly 77 percent (American College of Cardiology, 2019).

Several international studies report the same pattern: between 50 and 75 percent of people with Type 2 Diabetes also have hypertension, with some populations exceeding 70 percent (Kim H. J. et al., 2022).

The risk also goes the other way. People with high blood pressure are significantly more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes later. One study found that those with prehypertension had a 27 percent higher risk of developing diabetes, and those with hypertension had a 51 percent higher risk (Kim M. J. et al., 2015; Khosravi et al., 2018).

Why do these two conditions travel together? They share the same underlying causes: insulin resistance, chronic low-grade inflammation, excess visceral fat, and poor diet quality. When you focus on reversing insulin resistance, improving omega-3 balance, and calming inflammation through the Diet Free Life methodology, you lower both blood sugar and blood pressure (Sun et al., 2019).

I Was Saying It Before It Was Popular

In 1998, I began teaching that Type 2 Diabetes could be reversed. Back then, most people, including many doctors, didn’t believe it. The common belief was, “Once you have it, you have it for life.”

But I saw something different. Clients who changed their eating patterns with the Diet Free Life methodology, improved their omega-3 levels, and reduced inflammation began lowering insulin, getting off medication, and restoring energy.

Years later, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology confirmed what I had been saying. In 2019, Dr. Roy Taylor and colleagues published research showing that Type 2 Diabetes can, in fact, be reversed through nutrition and lifestyle changes (Taylor, 2019). For me, that moment provided powerful validation for what I had witnessed firsthand.

Type 2 Diabetes by the Numbers

The number of people living with diabetes has soared worldwide:

• • In 1911, Type 2 Diabetes was rare.
  • By 2001, about 34 per 1,000 youth (ages 10–19) in the United States had Type 2 Diabetes. By 2017, the number had risen to 0.67 per 1,000 (Mayer-Davis et al., 2023).
  • Today, 1 in 10 Americans lives with diabetes, and most have Type 2 (Menke et al., 2018; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024).

Rates are even higher among certain ethnic groups. Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander communities have some of the fastest-growing rates of Type 2 Diabetes, driven by access to food, healthcare, and lifestyle differences (Menke et al., 2018).

Steps to Reverse and Better Manage Type 2 Diabetes

1. 1. Calm Inflammation
      Reduce processed seed oils and ultra-processed foods. A food-based omega-3 and polyphenol supplement such as BalanceOil+ helps restore cellular balance, improve membrane fluidity, and support insulin sensitivity.
   2. Eat for Balance, Not Restriction
      Follow the Diet Free Life methodology. It’s not about deprivation; it’s about eating foods you love in combinations that keep blood sugar steady and promote fat-burning.
   3. Add Fiber and Polyphenols
      Vegetables, berries, beans, and fruits nourish your gut microbiome, the ecosystem of bacteria in your digestive system, helping your body release hormones such as glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) that naturally regulate hunger and blood sugar levels.
   4. Build Muscle
      Muscles act like sponges for glucose. Even light resistance training or walking after meals can dramatically improve insulin sensitivity.
   5. Reduce Stress and Get Restful Sleep
      When stress hormones, such as cortisol, rise, insulin levels also rise. Quality sleep and relaxation are key to reversing insulin resistance.
   6. Test and Track Progress
      You can’t change what you don’t measure. Using at-home tests such as the BalanceTest allows you to see your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio and track your inflammation levels, giving you the power to make real, measurable improvements.

Other Forms of Diabetes You Should Know About

Type 3 Diabetes – The Brain Connection.
Some scientists use the term Type 3 Diabetes to describe insulin resistance in the brain, which is linked with memory problems and may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease (de la Monte & Wands, 2008).

Diabulimia – The Hidden Struggle.
Diabulimia occurs when someone with Type 1 Diabetes intentionally skips or reduces insulin doses to lose weight. It’s extremely dangerous and requires compassionate medical and emotional support (National Eating Disorders Association, 2024).

Real People, Real Change

One of my clients came to me taking two diabetes medications. After improving his omega-3 balance and following the Diet Free Life methodology, his fasting insulin dropped from 22 to 8. His doctor began lowering his medication, and his energy returned.

These results aren’t magic; they’re simply what happens when we help the body work the way it was designed to.

The First Step Is Testing

If you want to reverse or better manage Type 2 Diabetes, start by measuring what’s happening inside your body. Once you can measure it, you can improve it. And when inflammation comes down, insulin sensitivity improves; that’s how reversal begins.

To learn more or schedule a free consultation, email robert@dietfreelife.com.

Final Thought

The story of diabetes has come a long way, from nurses tasting urine to continuous glucose monitors and genetic testing. However, what hasn’t changed is the body’s ability to heal when provided with the right environment.

You can absolutely take control, calm inflammation, restore balance, and live free from the limits that Type 2 Diabetes tries to place on you.

References

1. 1. American College of Cardiology. (2019). High blood pressure guidelines and diabetes: What’s the connection? Retrieved from https://www.acc.org
   2. American Diabetes Association. (2017). Diabetes and hypertension: A position statement. Diabetes Care, 40(9), 1273–1284. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci17-0026
   3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). About type 2 diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/about/about-type-2-diabetes.html
   4. de la Monte, S. M., & Wands, J. R. (2008). Alzheimer’s disease is type 3 diabetes—Evidence reviewed. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2(6), 1101–1113. https://doi.org/10.1177/193229680800200619
   5. Himsworth, H. P. (1936). Diabetes mellitus: Its differentiation into insulin-sensitive and insulin-insensitive types. The Lancet, 227(5864), 127–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(00)92839-2
   6. Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Diabetes and high blood pressure. Retrieved October 2025, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/diabetes/diabetes-and-high-blood-pressure
   7. Kim, H. J., Kim, S. S., & Kim, J. H. (2022). Blood pressure target in type 2 diabetes mellitus: A clinical update. Diabetes & Metabolism Journal, 46(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.4093/dmj.2022.0010
   8. Kim, M. J., Lim, N. K., Park, H. Y., & Park, J. H. (2015). Hypertension is an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes: The Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. Hypertension Research, 38(11), 783–789. https://doi.org/10.1038/hr.2015.68
   9. Khosravi, A., Shidfar, F., & Hosseini, S. (2018). Prehypertension and risk of diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 23(1), 55. https://doi.org/10.4103/jrms.JRMS_940_17
   10. Mayer-Davis, E. J., et al. (2023). Trends in the incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youths — SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study, 2001–2017. JAMA, 329(9), 739–748. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.0506
   11. Menke, A., Casagrande, S., Geiss, L., & Cowie, C. C. (2018). Prevalence of diabetes in adults by race and ethnicity, United States, 2011–2016. JAMA, 322(24), 2389–2398. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.1935
   12. National Eating Disorders Association. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
   13. Sun, D., Zhou, T., Heianza, Y., Li, X., Fan, M., Fonseca, V. A., & Qi, L. (2019). Type 2 diabetes and hypertension: A two-way street. Circulation Research, 124(6), 930–933. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.314919
   14. Taylor, R. (2019). Understanding the mechanisms of reversal of type 2 diabetes. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 7(9), 726–736. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(19)30188-3
   15. (2025). History of diabetes mellitus. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_diabetes_mellitus
   16. Wu, Y., et al. (2021). Association of hypertension and incident diabetes in Chinese adults: A prospective cohort study. BMC Endocrine Disorders, 21(1), 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12902-021-00718-0

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Robert Ferguson is a California- and Florida-based single father of two daughters, clinical nutritionist, Omega Balancing Coach™, researcher, best-selling author, speaker, podcast and television host, health advisor, NAACP Image Award Nominee, creator of the Diet Free Life methodology, and Chief Nutrition Officer for iCoura Health. He also serves on the Presidential Task Force on Obesity for the National Medical Association and the Health and Product Advisory Board for Zinzino, Inc.

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