Recent news stories tout using surgery as a way to regain a normal blood sugar level. Gastric bypass surgery is what is taking place and many patients find they have returned to a normal blood sugar level after the surgery and can stop taking any medications to control their diabetes. Why this works is not understood. Some theorize that changing the size of the stomach and rerouting the digestive tract change how the gut hormones work to control blood sugar.

The news stories said that some of the people involved were more interested in reversing diabetes than in actually losing any weight. Doctors aren’t sure if all of the benefits are from the surgery or if some are from losing weight itself or somehow a combination of the two.

Keeping yourself in good shape to start with is the best way to avoid diabetes and its complications. It’s too simplistic to say that all obese people just lack will power and that if they would just discipline themselves they could turn things around. Some people do have actual medical problems that prevent them from losing weight. But that’s not true for all people and keeping normal glucose levels is a benchmark for good health.

Watching NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” is one way to get motivated to get back into shape as the contestants on the show do lose weight. As the season progress you see very large people lose lots of weight through exercise and better food choices.  Surgery may be a necessity for some people, but to tout it before all other avenues of exercise and diet have been ruled out seems irresponsible. Even people with very high BMI numbers can lose weight by eating less and better and exercising. Those two will help straighten out glucose levels and surgery may be avoided.

The best plan is to keep a normal blood sugar level your whole life and don’t let things slip where blood sugar and weight get far out of balance. Deciding early on in life that good health is important and worth working for will pay great dividends later in life.