With cases of type 2 diabetes increasing across the globe, it has also left people worrying that they might need to carry forward the burden of the condition for their entire life. While diabetes is incurable, there are definite ways to control it and even reverse its effects. So was the case with Devlin Donaldson, who once considered diabetes a life sentence, ended up achieving diabetes remission and even lost over 40 pounds (18 kg). “My understanding was that diabetes was something you lived with for your whole life. Once you got it, you had it.” Donaldson told Business Insider.
With no significant results with the end number of medications, the 66-year-old decided to give ‘digital twin’ a try. It is an application that is full of advice on diet control, exercise and medications. Widely used at longevity clinics and in hospitals, digital twins help track a patient’s health over time by suggesting personalised interventions. It also optimises treatment plans, making them more compatible with each person’s unique preferences and biology.
With that said, as Donaldson trusted Twin Health — a digital twin AI firm for diabetes ‘reversal’, he claimed that the personalised insights transformed his understanding of his body and the challenges he faced. Eventually, he found his diabetes in remission after three years.
A reluctant participant at first, he said, “I wasn’t super enthusiastic. I didn’t want to get my hopes up.” After making use of Twin’s box consisting of a digital scale, a blood pressure cuff, a smartwatch and a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to track the impact of different foods and activities on his blood sugar levels, he started noticing patterns in his routines and measuring his health.
“It becomes very much about my body. All of my information goes in and it talks to me like a smarter version of myself saying, ‘you ate this, this was really good. You ate this, this was really bad.’ And it begins to give me this feedback cycle,” Donaldson added.
Within just a month, he was hooked to the constant and real-time feedback, stating that it is the future of a big section of medicine. The digital twin also gave him new ideas about food to consume, such as nuts for snacks, vegetables for meals and more fibre intake. Not only that, but the treatment also helped him understand the importance of sleep in his life.
“When I started sleeping better, I started losing more weight. Within six months, I went to 200 pounds — bang! My good cholesterol went up, my bad cholesterol came down, my triglycerides came down, my inflammation scores all dropped. I mean, all the numbers went in the right directions so quickly,” he further said.
After successfully reversing his diabetes, Donaldson finally quit Ozempic and other diabetes medications, dropping from size 44 pants when he started the programme to size 34.
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