Lowering Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Lowers Risk of Eye Damage

Lowering blood glucose in type 2 diabetes using medications dramatically lowers risk of eye damage (diabetic retinopathy), according to a new study:
Health Central: How You Can Cut Your Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetes Journals: Persistent Effects of Intensive Glycemic Control on Retinopathy in Type 2 Diabetes
By keeping your blood glucose in check with medications, you can cut your risk of getting eye complications by half. The only tiny problem is that the study (ACCORD) also showed that the drugs increased mortality. That is, they killed more people than they saved.
Is there a better way than using drugs? For example, normalizing blood glucose using a simple dietary change? If so that would be fantastic.
Source: http://www.dietdoctor.com/cutting-risk-diabetic-retinopathy-lowering-glucose