Not exactly. Type 2 diabetics have a combination of compromised insulin production and insulin resistance that result in high blood-sugar levels. Treatment is a many pronged attack.
Diet: This obviously has a major impact on glucose levels. The basic goal is to control sugar intake. What this means mostly is that diabetics need to reduce their consumption of carbohydrates to healthy levels. Increasing dietary fiber (a carbohydrate) helps with this as it seems to slow the uptake of glucose. When counting carbs you can subtract the number fiber grams from the total. Carbs are also rated based on how quickly they are converted to sugars (glycemic index). A low glycemic index is better and will result in a more gradual rise in glucose and avoid spikes.
Exercise: There is an undeniable link between glucose levels and exercise. This link goes beyond what one would expect if the body merely used up the glucose in the blood for the activity at hand. It has been shown that the regulatory effect lasts for days. Besides, exercise is just plain good for you.
Weight Loss: Initially, one of the best things a type 2 diabetic can do is lose (not loose!) some weight. Significant weight loss can often lead to a complete elimination of drug and insulin dependency. Is this because losing weight typically requires eating better and exercising? Probably but there is some uncertainty here.
Drugs: There is a surprising amount of mystery involved with most diabetes drugs. They just don't really know what is going on with them. All they can guess is that they are either helping with the production of insulin or somehow reducing the fat cell's resistance to insulin.
Misc: There are a number of suspected 'natural' treatments. The only one I have any interest in is a possibility that cinnamon helps lower glucose. I haven't done a scientific test of the effect, it just seems to help in my case. I also believe in the power of the mind so if I think it works, and my blood sugar isn't out of control then that's good enough for me.
Medical Procedures: I'm vaguely aware of some treatments being successful, such as pancreatic cell transplants and such but have not really investigated it.
Insulin Injection: When all of the above fails, there is no other choice but to start insulin injections. To address the parent post, type 2 diabetes is generally a degenerative disease and most sufferers will eventually end up needing insulin injections so the 'mom' in question my still be a type 2 diabetic and a beneficiary of this research.
If you are a Type 2 Diabetic. Do your research. Be vigilant and monitor your glucose. Eat well, and get off your butt as much as possible. Manage your cholesterol and blood pressure. Live. Don't worry, be happy.
I advise non-diabetics to do the same.
