Welcome Healthcare Providers

Our Mission and the Experience Behind It

Preventing and managing type 2 diabetes involves more than a simple instruction to “eat less and exercise more.” People need practical education, an individualized care plan, and ongoing support to understand how nutrition, physical activity, weight management, and prescribed treatment fit together.

The need for that support is substantial. According to the CDC’s 2026 reporting, approximately 40.1 million people in the United States have diabetes, and 115.2 million adults have prediabetes. The diabetes figure includes both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The Diabetic Learning Center of America, LLC (DLCA) provides free, plain-language education for adults living with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Our goal is to help participants understand their condition, make informed lifestyle choices, and work with their healthcare team toward better metabolic health.

Free Education Without an Additional Course Fee

Managing diabetes can involve ongoing expenses for medical visits, prescriptions, lab work, and monitoring supplies. Access to understandable educational information should not add another course fee to that burden.

DLCA’s online course is 100% free. There is no tuition or enrollment fee. This removes the cost of enrollment as a barrier to accessing our educational material.

For healthcare professionals, the course offers an additional educational resource to review and, when appropriate, share with patients. Its plain-language lessons are intended to help participants understand their condition and prepare informed questions for their healthcare team.

The course does not replace medical appointments, prescribed treatment, individualized nutrition counseling, or diabetes education recommended by a clinician. Medical care, testing, supplies, and other personal expenses remain separate from the free course.

Our commitment is straightforward: provide accessible education without adding a course fee, while encouraging participants to remain under the care of qualified healthcare professionals.

The Experience Behind Our Mission

Our founder, Mike Gentry, MBA, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2005. Before his diagnosis, he worked in pharmaceutical and medical-device sales, providing physicians with product information about treatment options and technologies, including blood glucose monitoring.

Seeking a deeper understanding of his own condition, Mike explored research on insulin resistance, nutrition, and metabolic health. His learning included the work of Dr. Sarah Hallberg, Dr. Stephen Phinney, and Dr. Jeff Volek, whose research examined medically supervised carbohydrate restriction and nutritional ketosis in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Mike reports that he has maintained type 2 diabetes remission for more than four years. His personal experience inspired DLCA’s educational mission. It is shared as an individual story—not as a guarantee that others will achieve the same outcome.

Supporting, Not Replacing, Medical Care

The course draws on published research and educational resources, including materials from Virta Health. DLCA is an independent educational organization. It is not affiliated with Virta Health and does not provide the medical supervision, individualized treatment, or medication management used in Virta’s clinical programs.

Participants are encouraged to review significant dietary and lifestyle changes with their physician or another qualified healthcare professional before making them. Prescribed medicines should never be reduced or stopped without the guidance of the treating clinician.

Our purpose is to support informed conversations between patients and their healthcare team—not to replace medical care.