Type 2 Diabetes

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Type 2 Diabetes

Overview

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar (glucose), an important source of fuel for your body. With type 2 diabetes, your body either resists the effects of insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into your cells — or doesn't produce enough insulin to maintain normal glucose levels.

While type 2 diabetes is often associated with adults, it is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents due to rising obesity rates. Managing the condition requires a lifelong commitment to blood sugar monitoring, healthy eating, regular exercise, and sometimes, diabetes medications or insulin therapy.

Video Series

June 15, 2026

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: What Patients Need to Know

Expert John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., unpacks how hidden cortisol excess acts as a silent driver of treatment-resistant metabolic disease. The series reveals that roughly 25% of individuals with difficult-to-control type 2 diabetes unknowingly suffer from autonomous cortisol hypersecretion, a condition where the adrenal gland overproduces hormones that actively sabotage blood sugar and spike cardiovascular risk. Buse guides patients through the essential diagnostic steps and emerging cortisol-directed therapies, reframing a stubborn A1C not as a personal failure, but as a complex hormonal puzzle to be solved alongside a healthcare team.

March 21, 2025

Understanding Hypercortisolism

This educational series explores hypercortisolism, from its causes and diagnosis to its impact on chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes. An expert discusses symptoms, screening, treatment options, and the risks of leaving the condition untreated, providing valuable insights for both patients and healthcare providers.

May 28, 2025

Understanding Cortisol Excess: Signs, Impact on Type 2 Diabetes, and Diagnostic Testing

Dr Kushner discusses excess cortisol—commonly known as the stress hormone—can impair glucose metabolism, contribute to insulin resistance, and complicate the management of type 2 diabetes, underscoring the importance of screening for hypercortisolism in patients with resistant hypertension, unexplained weight gain, or difficult-to-control diabetes.

The Educated Kitchen: A Diabetes-Friendly Salmon Dinner That Doesn’t Skip the Carbs

The Educated Kitchen premieres with a diabetes-friendly baked salmon dinner, built by dietitian Eva Tolchinsky and Chef Urvick to prove a healthy plate doesn’t mean cutting carbs or fruit.

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The Educated Kitchen: A Diabetes-Friendly Salmon Dinner That Doesn’t Skip the Carbs

The Educated Kitchen premieres with a diabetes-friendly baked salmon dinner, built by dietitian Eva Tolchinsky and Chef Urvick to prove a healthy plate doesn’t mean cutting carbs or fruit.

“What Can I Add?” The Question a Dietitian Wishes More Patients Asked

Dietitian Eva Tolchinsky, M.S., RDN, argues nutrition guidance should focus on addition, not restriction, especially since food carries real social and cultural weight.

Myth or Fact: Diabetes Nutrition, According to a Registered Dietitian

Registered dietitian Eva Tulchinsky, M.S., RDN, busts common diabetes nutrition myths, from carb-cutting to sugar-free labels, ahead of her debut on The Educated Kitchen.

Let’s Talk Nutrition With Nico: How Social Media Is Reshaping Where People Get Nutrition Advice

A national survey found nearly half of people have acted on nutrition advice from a social media influencer, while 44% have no interest in working with a registered dietitian.

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: Solutions and Practical Takeaways

Concluding the series, John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., details how cortisol directly promotes visceral belly fat distribution and appetite surges, while leaving patients with an empowering reminder that a stubborn A1C is a clinical puzzle to solve rather than a personal failure.

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: Managing Cortisol

This episode explores the clinical nuances of utilizing cortisol-directed treatments like mifepristone to block hormone action, detailing the careful titration protocols required in practice and highlighting an upcoming explosion of novel therapies currently in clinical trials.

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: Testing and Talking to Your Doctor

The discussion maps out the critical diagnostic pipeline for patients, establishing the 1mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test as the gold-standard initial screener and explaining how subsequent testing identifies whether the hormone excess originates in the pituitary or the adrenal glands.

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: Recognizing the Signs

John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., explains that unlike classic Cushing's syndrome, diabetes-related hypercortisolism rarely presents with obvious physical signs, meaning the primary warning flag for patients is a body that simply refuses to respond to standard blood pressure medications or advanced A1C therapies.

The Educated Patient Podcast: Heat Cramps, Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke

Juan Dangond, D.O., breaks down the three stages of heat-related illness, explains why acclimatization matters even for healthy athletes and outlines what bystanders should do when someone is in trouble.

Why Your Numbers Matter More Than Your Weight

Priti Parekh, M.D., explains why the scale is an unreliable measure of health progress and highlights the many improvements, from blood pressure to mental health, that often happen first.

Why Five Minutes of Movement a Day Actually Matters

Priti Parekh, M.D., explains why any amount of movement is better than none, debunks common exercise and weight loss myths, and offers practical, sustainable strategies for getting started safely.

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: The Cortisol–Diabetes Connection

This episode breaks down the multi-layered biological mechanisms through which cortisol acts as a powerful catalyst for hyperglycemia by systematically increasing muscle insulin resistance, triggering the breakdown of fat cells and forcing the liver to overproduce glucose.

Cortisol and Type 2 Diabetes: Understanding the Basics

John Buse, M.D., Ph.D., demystifies the baseline role of cortisol as an essential life hormone and introduces the striking clinical reality that autonomous cortisol hypersecretion silently drives treatment resistance in one-quarter of patients with difficult-to-control type 2 diabetes.