Virta Health is an American company with a blunt message: type 2 diabetes doesn’t have to be a lifelong diagnosis. It was set up in 2014 by Sami Inkinen, a Finnish entrepreneur better known at the time for co-founding Trulia. What pushed him into healthcare wasn’t a business idea on a whiteboard — it was his own lab results. Inkinen, despite being an elite endurance athlete, found out he was prediabetic. That discovery rattled him enough to start digging into whether the “slow decline and more meds” path was really inevitable.
He teamed up with Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek, two researchers who had spent decades studying low-carbohydrate nutrition. Together they built Virta with the idea that treatment could look very different: not endless prescriptions and checkups every few months, but an ongoing system that blends nutrition, medical oversight, and tech-enabled support.
Mission and Vision
Virta has never been shy about its ambitions. Its stated mission is to reverse type 2 diabetes in 100 million people. That number isn’t a random target — it’s more of a challenge to the medical community, which has long assumed diabetes can be managed but not undone.
The traditional storyline is familiar: a diagnosis, then gradual medication escalation, and eventually insulin. Virta wants to break that pattern. Instead of “management,” it talks about “reversal.” Instead of focusing only on slowing damage, the company pitches a chance to restore metabolic health. Whether every endocrinologist agrees with that framing or not, the language itself has changed how patients and doctors discuss the disease.
Defining Reversal
Virta doesn’t leave the term vague. Reversal, in its model, means HbA1c levels below 6.5 percent without diabetes drugs, except for metformin. The exception is practical — metformin is often prescribed for heart protection and insulin sensitivity, not just for blood sugar. Many clinicians consider it a safe long-term medication.
By drawing that line, Virta sets a higher bar than simply “using less insulin” or “cutting back a dose.” The idea is to show that the body itself can change course, not just that prescriptions have been trimmed.
The Care Model
The care structure rests on three things: food, data, and coaching. Patients follow a carbohydrate-restricted diet designed to push the body toward nutritional ketosis — burning fat for fuel instead of relying on glucose. That metabolic shift can cut insulin resistance and flatten blood sugar swings, which is why it’s central to the program.
Diet alone, though, isn’t the full story. Virta gives patients connected devices to log glucose, weight, and other measures in real time. Those numbers aren’t filed away until the next doctor visit; they’re monitored daily by a medical team. Coaches fill in the human side, offering support with cravings, social eating, or when motivation dips. The model is deliberately hands-on — far more continuous than the stop-start rhythm of traditional clinic visits.
Clinical Evidence
Virta’s claims aren’t just marketing. The company has put its model through peer-reviewed studies. One of the earliest, published in Diabetes Therapy in 2018, tracked patients for a year. Average HbA1c dropped by 1.3 points, most participants reduced or eliminated at least one medication, and some were able to come off insulin entirely [Hallberg et al., 2018].
At two years, results published in Frontiers in Endocrinology showed that more than half of those who stuck with the program met the reversal definition [Athinarayanan et al., 2019]. Other markers moved too: triglycerides down, HDL cholesterol up, inflammation lowered.
Five-year data is now out, and it matters because long-term adherence has always been the sticking point with low-carb diets. About a third of participants who stayed with the program were still in reversal, while many others kept improved metabolic markers even if they didn’t meet the full criteria.
Patient Experience
The numbers look good, but the day-to-day experience is just as telling. For many patients, the biggest win is reducing or ditching insulin. That’s not only a financial relief but also a psychological one — fewer injections, fewer reminders of being “sick.” Side effects from drugs often fall away too.
That said, the program isn’t easy. Cutting carbs to ketogenic levels takes planning, discipline, and sometimes cultural adjustments. Bread, rice, and pasta are staples in many diets worldwide; pulling back from them can feel unnatural. Virta’s coaches and digital support aim to soften the transition, but not everyone wants or can sustain the lifestyle. Attrition rates underline this reality: strong results for those who remain, but plenty of drop-offs along the way.
Strengths and Limitations
Virta’s advantages stand out: peer-reviewed evidence, real reductions in medications, and a model that blends technology with human support. Its employer and insurer partnerships also give it reach beyond wealthy, self-paying patients.
Yet there are caveats. Most of the research has been non-randomized, meaning participants were motivated volunteers — not necessarily a perfect stand-in for the general population. Sticking with a low-carb regimen remains a barrier. And some clinicians argue that calling outcomes “reversal” while patients stay on metformin muddies the language.
Scalability is another question. Virta’s high-touch approach is resource-intensive. Tech can automate some monitoring, but the model still relies on real clinicians and coaches. Expanding that to tens of millions without losing quality will be a test.
The Bigger Picture
Type 2 diabetes is one of the most expensive health problems on the planet, with more than 400 million people affected and costs that run into the hundreds of billions annually. Against that backdrop, Virta isn’t just a small startup story. It’s part of a larger shift toward lifestyle-based, tech-supported care models.
Even skeptics concede Virta has reframed the conversation. At the very least, it has shown that decline isn’t the only path — that with enough structure and support, many patients can see their disease move in the opposite direction. In a field often resigned to incremental gains, that’s a notable step forward.
References
- Virta Health: About & Mission.
- Virta Health: Reversing Type 2 Diabetes.
- Virta Health: Research Publications.
- Hallberg SJ, McKenzie AL, Williams PT, et al. Effectiveness and Safety of a Novel Care Model for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes at One Year: An Open Label, Non-Randomized, Controlled Study. Diabetes Therapy. 2018;9(2):583-612.
- Athinarayanan SJ, Hallberg SJ, McKenzie AL, et al. Long-Term Effects of a Novel Continuous Remote Care Intervention Including Nutritional Ketosis for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes: A 2-year Non-randomized Clinical Trial. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2019;10:348.