Diabetes related blog posts by Dr Chan

Below is a updated library of articles and resources from Dr Chan Tat Hon, a medical doctor from Singapore who trains and coaches people to make targeted lifestyle changes to combat diabetes. Each piece is written from clinical practice, not from a wellness influencer's perspective. Dr Chan prescribes habit changes the way a doctor prescribes medicine , specifically, for modifiable lifestyle-related chronic diseases.

Newly Diagnosed with Diabetes or Other Lifestyle-Related Chronic Diseases? Three Things to Focus On.

A new diagnosis triggers one of two unhelpful reactions - panic or denial. Dr Chan prescribes a third path: the calm, steady focus of the tortoise, with three concrete priorities to start moving in the right direction.

Singapore's War on Diabetes — Take It Personally

One in three Singaporeans may develop diabetes in their lifetime, a number Dr Chan has taken personally for over thirty years of clinical practice. This post explains why the war on diabetes cannot be left to governments alone, and what each individual must do.

The Diabetes Reversal Webinar That Sowed a Seed

A diabetes reversal webinar attended by just ten people sowed the seed of what is now a structured online learning programme. This is the story of why it was built, and what problem it was designed to solve.

Can Diabetes Be Reversed Permanently or Only Temporarily? Dr Chan Answers FAQs about Diabetes Remission

For most people with type 2 diabetes, remission is more often temporary than permanent and whether it lasts depends entirely on whether the lifestyle habits that achieved it can be sustained. Dr Chan answers the most common patient questions about diabetes remission honestly and directly.

Reverse Your Diabetes EARLY - Don't Wait Till the Window Closes

The window for reversing type 2 diabetes does not stay open forever, yet most people delay, either through complacency when their condition is still mild, or simply because they don't know reversal is genuinely possible. Dr Chan makes the clinical case for acting early, while the opportunity is still firmly within reach.

Is Sourdough Bread Good for Diabetes? Dr Chan Answers

Sourdough is generally a reasonable bread choice for people with diabetes due to its lower glycaemic index, but the impact varies from person to person. Dr Chan uses this question to teach patients how to ask more specific, more clinically useful follow-up questions.

How Stress Affects Blood Sugar Levels and Diabetes Control

Stress raises blood sugar directly through hormones like cortisol, and indirectly by disrupting sleep, food choices, and physical activity, yet it remains one of the most overlooked forces in diabetes management. Dr Chan explains seven ways stress silently undermines blood sugar control, even when diet and exercise are on track.

Does Moringa Help Lower Blood Sugar in People with Diabetes?

The scientific evidence for moringa lowering blood sugar is limited, inconsistent, and not strong enough to recommend it as a diabetes management tool. Dr Chan uses this common patient question as a teaching moment, to redirect attention to the habits that actually make a clinical difference.

I Am Committed to Helping More People Reverse Their Diabetes

Dr Chan shares the personal commitment behind his diabetes reversal programme, why he built it, who it is for, and what he hopes it will do for the people who go through it.

Are Oats Good for Diabetes? Dr Chan Answers

Oats are generally a "can have" food for people with type 2 diabetes, neither a must-have nor a must-avoid — but the real answer depends on preparation, portion size, and individual response. Dr Chan explains how to stop asking one-size-fits-all questions and start getting answers that are actually useful for you.

Combating Diabetes - Must Not Depend on Medications Alone

Medications manage blood sugar, they do not address the lifestyle habits that drive it up in the first place. Dr Chan makes the clinical case for why medications must be paired with meaningful lifestyle change, not used as a substitute for it.

Combating Diabetes - Is Cutting Down on Sugar Alone Enough?

Reducing sugar intake is a meaningful step, but it is only one part of a much bigger picture. Dr Chan challenges the common misconception that cutting sugar alone is sufficient, and explains what a genuinely holistic approach to diabetes management actually looks like.

Diabetes Explained Simply - What Is Diabetes? What Can We Do?

Dr Chan explains type 2 diabetes clearly and simply, including why it is best understood as a form of carbohydrate intolerance, and outlines what people with diabetes can practically do about it.

FAQ - What Is a Good Diet for Diabetes? Criteria for Dietary and Eating Habits for Diabetes

Instead of naming a single "best diet," Dr Chan sets out the criteria that any good dietary approach for diabetes must meet, giving patients a framework to evaluate options for themselves rather than chasing the next trending plan.

FAQ - Doctor, Can I Take Honey If I Have Diabetes? Is Honey Good for People with Diabetes?

Honey is not a better choice for people with diabetes,, it raises blood sugar much like other sugars, regardless of its natural origins or trace nutrients. Dr Chan addresses this very common patient question directly, then pivots to what actually matters in the overall diet.

STUDY: 4 Case Studies of Long-Term Diabetes Reversal / Remission Through Intense Lifestyle Modification

Dr Chan presents four real-world cases of people who achieved sustained diabetes remission through intensive lifestyle and dietary changes, not medication alone. These cases illustrate what is genuinely possible, and what it truly takes.

Bitter Melon Pills - Does It Work for Diabetes?

Many people with diabetes take bitter melon supplements hoping for a meaningful blood sugar benefit, but the clinical evidence is weak, and the risk of misplaced reliance is real. Dr Chan identifies three common mistakes patients make when reaching for supplements instead of addressing root causes.

Does Vinegar Help Lower Blood Sugar?

Vinegar does have a modest, real effect on blunting blood sugar spikes after meals — but it is not a substitute for the lifestyle habits that actually drive diabetes. Dr Chan explains what the evidence shows and why the bigger question is always about the whole pattern of eating, not any single ingredient.

4 Lesser Known but Serious Complications of Diabetes

Most people know about kidney failure and blindness, but diabetes has other serious complications that receive far less attention, and that are just as preventable through lifestyle change. Dr Chan shines a light on four under-discussed consequences of poorly controlled diabetes.

Are All Low Glycemic Index Foods Good for People with Diabetes?

Low GI does not automatically mean safe or beneficial, a food's glycaemic index score is only one part of the picture. Dr Chan explains how to use GI correctly, and why incomplete GI knowledge can create false confidence that displaces more impactful changes.

3 Most Underrated Lifestyle Habits as Medicine for Combating Diabetes

Most people focus on diet and medication, but three powerful lifestyle habits for diabetes control are consistently underestimated and underused. Dr Chan makes the case for treating these habits with the same clinical seriousness as any prescribed drug.

Stress and Diabetes - The Vicious Cycle That Makes Stress the Silent Destroyer of Diabetes Management

Stress worsens diabetes directly, and poor diabetes control increases stress, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that undermines even the best dietary efforts. Dr Chan explains how the vicious cycle works and what can be done to break it.

Lifestyle Medicine to Combat Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases - Taking Action Is Key

Understanding lifestyle medicine is not enough, the difference between patients who improve and those who don't is action. Dr Chan makes the case for why starting now, imperfectly, is always better than waiting for the perfect plan.

Can Diabetes Be Reversed? - Dr Chan Answers

Type 2 diabetes may be reversed in some people, especially when the right lifestyle habit changes are made early enough, consistently enough, and sustained long enough. Dr Chan answers this foundational question directly, and explains what reversal actually requires in practice.

Why Is Your Diabetes Reversal Journey Still Tentative? The Structured Online Learning Programme

There is a difference between finding information about diabetes reversal and truly understanding it well enough to act with confidence, and most people are stuck in that gap. Dr Chan built this structured online learning programme specifically for people who are ready to stop dabbling and start their reversal journey with genuine clarity and commitment.

Stress, Sleep and Strength - Beyond Dietary Habits for Diabetes Management Diabetes

Most people with Type 2 diabetes focus intensely on diet, going deep into specific foods, GI values, and eating strategies, while three other powerful lifestyle habits go almost completely unnoticed. Dr Chan shares what he sees from the clinic: the paradox of diabetes anxiety worsening blood sugar control, the quiet toll of poor sleep including the particular challenge faced by shift workers, and why strength training is entirely absent from most people's exercise thinking even as they faithfully do their cardio.

What is Prediabetes? A Call to Action to Improve Lifestyle and Eating Habits

Most people who are told they have prediabetes breathe a sigh of relief. Dr Chan hears this in his clinic constantly, and it concerns him every time. In this post he explains what prediabetes is, why the complacency that typically follows the diagnosis is exactly what makes it dangerous, and why the right response is to see it as both a reason for gratitude and an urgent call to act on lifestyle and eating habits before the window closes.

Changing Eating Habits for Type 2 Diabetes: Why It Is a Family Affair

For people with diabetes, changing food habits does not happen in isolation. It happens at the family dining table, and the people around that table can either be powerful allies or silent obstacles. Dr Chan shares what his patients have told him directly, including the frustrating stories that are far more common than the encouraging ones, and speaks plainly to family members about the role they play in whether someone with diabetes succeeds or struggles.

Is Singapore's Hawker Food to Blame for Our Diabetes Problem? 

One in three Singaporeans may develop diabetes in their lifetime, and hawker food is often the first thing that gets blamed. Dr Chan argues that this is clearly wrong and also a unhelpful way of thinking for people with diabetes. Because even if the food choices at hawker centres at not the most healthy, there is always still room for people to choose foods that are lower in sugar, lower in glycemic index, better for diabetes management, even if they are not perfect.  

Vinegar and Diabetes: 3 Mistakes People with Diabetes Make

Vinegar is something that many people with diabetes know may help lower blood sugar spikes to some degree, but many diabetics often translate this information into action in a sub-optimal way. Dr Chan shares three common mistakes he sees diabetics often make with regards to vinegar's role in diabetes management. Must all diabetics go low carb? I disagree. Not all carbohydrates are equal, and not all people with diabetes are the same. Dr Chan explains why a blanket low carb rule can mislead, and what diabetics should actually focus on instead.

All Diabetics Should Cut All Carbs? Dr Chan Disagrees

Must all diabetics go low carb? Dr Chan disagrees. Not all carbohydrates are equal, and not all people with diabetes are the same. Dr Chan explains why a blanket 'All diabetic should cut all carbs' mantra can mislead, and what diabetics should actually focus on instead.

Diabetes Management - Is Cutting Sugar Enough for Diabetics? Dr Chan Answers

Is cutting sugar alone enough for diabetics? Most people with diabetes think so. Dr Chan explains why it is only the first step, and what lifestyle habits actually determine their outcomes. 

6 in 10 Diabetics in Singapore Have Poor Blood Sugar Control

Six out of ten Singaporeans with diabetes are not meeting their blood sugar control targets. This alarming finding from Singapore's National Population Health Survey 2024 concerns me deeply as a lifestyle medicine doctor who has seen first-hand the devastating consequences of poorly controlled diabetes. In this episode of Kopi-O Kosong with Dr Chan, I share four things every Singaporean with diabetes must know and act on - because the window to make a difference will not stay open forever.

Diabetic Dilemma - Eating Out with Friends for People with Diabetes

People with diabetes face a dilemma every time they eat out with friends. Emily has diabetes. She also has a group of foodie friends who meet two to three times a week. And her doctor has just given her two months to improve her blood sugar or face a medication increase. What would you do if you were Emily?

Type 2 Diabetes May Potentially Be Reversible - Dr Chan's Message All Diabetics

Most people with type 2 diabetes have never heard that their condition may potentially be reversible. And amongst those who have heard, many still do not believe it. This is Dr Chan's message, and it is a message he is determined to share with as many people as possible. Because the window to attempt reversal does not stay open forever

Diabetes Control - Why Diet Change Is A Must-Do

When patients with diabetes are told to change their diet and exercise more, most choose exercise. And leave their eating habits largely untouched. From coaching patients with diabetes, Dr Chan explains why this is so common, why it is a problem, and why changing your eating habits is not optional. It is a must.

How Work Affects Diabetes Control

Work gets in the way of managing diabetes more than most people realise. Limited food choices at the workplace, client entertainment, shift work, disrupted sleep, desk-bound sedentary hours. Dr Chan shares what he sees repeatedly in his clinic, and why waiting for work to slow down before making lifestyle changes is, in most cases, waiting forever. 

Diabetes Control - Effort, Not Money, Is The Key

When it comes to managing diabetes, which matters more: effort or money? Dr Chan's answer is direct. Money helps. But no amount of money can replace the effort to change and improve your lifestyle and eating habits. Food is medicine. Exercise is medicine. Sleep is medicine. And medicine of this kind cannot be bought. It can only be earned.

Reverse Type 2 Diabetes with Singapore Hawker Food: Is It Possible?

"Can you reverse diabetes if you eat at hawker centres most of the time? It is the question many Singaporeans with diabetes quietly ask themselves, and then quietly answer with a no before they have even tried. Dr Chan shares the story of Marcus, and why that answer deserves to be challenged."  

Is there a PILL to reverse Insulin Resistance?

Many people search for a pill, supplement or herb that can fix insulin resistance on its own. Dr Chan gives a straight answer: there isn't one. Here's what actually drives insulin resistance, and why lifestyle change, not medication, is what genuinely reverses it.