I am 52 years old, am 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weigh 99 kg (218 pounds). I have had diabetes for eight years. My blood sugar averages about 250 mg/dl [13.9 mmol/L] when I overeat but is normal when I exercise and eat a better diet. Could I have mild beta cell damage? How can this be determined? Is there a way to improve my beta cell function?

From very early on, there is both insulin resistance and beta cell dysfunction with type 2 diabetes. The current treatment recommendations in Europe and the United States recommend patients not be treated with lifestyle changes alone. They recommend that metformin be added to treatment with lifestyle changes. These lifestyle changes include weight loss and 150 minutes of exercise per week. Most of the data for this combination of effects comes from special studies on research populations that are generalized to the total population of patients. This is not done on an individual basis. The longer your blood sugars go untreated, the more stress is put on the beta cells. My recommendation would be not to put off treating the high sugars.

JTL