A Delicious and Effective Way to Roll Back Diabetes: An NHS Doctor and a Great Chef Unveil a Low-Carb Diet Plan

Here is a number that will shock you: every three minutes or so, someone in the UK is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Meanwhile, more people than ever before have undergone amputation because of diabetes-related complications – not to mention increased risk of heart disease, blindness, colorectal cancer or bad, stroke and death premature.

In the UK, there are an estimated 7 million people with "pre-diabetes", an under-diagnosed condition that makes them 15 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Like the general practitioners of the country, I witnessed this epidemic in my own practice in Southport. Right after my entry into surgery in 1986, there were only 57 patients with type 2 diabetes – and none was younger than 50 years old.

Thirty years later, we have gone from 57 type 2 patients to 470. Twenty-one of them are under 50 (their average body weight is 17½) and the youngest is 24 years old.

And at the base of all this is obesity. We have eaten our way in this epidemic. But I think we can do it. I know it because a lot of patients in my office did it. For them, the secret was to become low in carbohydrates.

By adopting this approach, 40% of my patients have actually reversed their type 2 diabetes and therefore no longer need medication – their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and liver function have also improved.

Through this work, in 2016, I was named Innovator of the Year by the NHS and my approach is now taught to general practitioners across the country through the Royal College of General Practitioners. I even met with Health Secretary Matt Hanbad to discuss the low carb rate for Type 2. Diabetes.

While it's not a weight loss plan, it's a lifestyle change, almost all of my low-carbohydrate patients have lost weight – on average about a half ( 9 kg) over 20 months – and kept it.

Now, I also share my approach with you – and that could transform life.

If you have been diagnosed with type 2, or if you are about to start, and want to try this approach, starting today in the magazine Mail & Weekend, we you will be showing delicious low-carb breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Today, I will also share the seven key principles that form the basis of the diet.

Next week, as part of the Mail-Mail program, you'll discover easy and delicious recipes that can help reverse diabetes – from low-carb pasta dishes to second-hand cakes.

I teamed up with Grand Chief Giancarlo Caldesi and his wife Katie, a food writer, to show how you too can transform your health by offering low-carb recipes for the wonderful food we all love.

One of the joys of carbohydrate consumption – in addition to enjoying better health – lies in the fact that naturally occurring fats are an essential part of the diet. This means that olive oil, avocado, cream, Greek yogurt and butter (even goose fat or duck fat) can be part of menu.

Together, these six free withdrawals form a potentially decisive plan for taking control of your health.

During my first 25 years as a general practitioner, I had never seen diabetes go into remission. But I'm glad to say that it's something I've seen for almost a few weeks in my clinical practice: hundreds of my patients now have low carbs and not only are they healthier, but we prescribe less diabetes medications than other practices in our area, saving the NHS about £ 40,000 a year.

Chef Giancarlo's personal history of type 2 diabetes is particularly inspiring. Over the years, his love of good food has left him not only overweight, but also in arthritis, blurred vision and unconsciousness. Finally, he was diagnosed with type 2.

Despite the advice of an NHS dietician to eat smaller portions and reduce sugar, he has become heavier, reaching 17½ th (he is 5 feet 9 inches). And then his feet started to go numb – a sign of nerve damage that could lead to amputation.

That's when he and Katie discovered a low carbohydrate rate. And they did not look back: Giancarlo lost third place, feels healthier and his diabetes is in complete remission.

Katie – who did not have type 2, but who was low in carbs anyway – dropped two sizes of clothes (instead of 12) and said she has more energy, without any slowing down. afternoon.

And they did it by eating the delicious recipes – designed by Katie and Giancarlo themselves – that appear in the Mail today and next week.

So what's the problem with carbohydrates? Essentially, people who develop type 2 have a problem with sugar or glucose. Our body responds to a sweet meal by producing a hormone, insulin, which injects extra sugar into the muscle cells to get energy. Excess sugar is also pushed into the belly fat and liver. This results in weight gain and the insulin produced by the body is less effective.

As a result, sugar accumulates in the blood, resulting in higher than normal blood flow levels, which, over time, damage the small blood vessels of vital organs.

The combination (problems of sugar metabolism and obesity) is what often causes type 2 diabetes.

From that, it would seem obvious to remove the sugar from the diet. Yet, many people do not realize that sugar is hidden in many foods, such as those that contain a lot of natural sugar – fruit juice, raisins and honey – and in starchy carbohydrates like bread, rice and the potato.

Often, I meet patients who are mystified by their diabetes, saying that they've already eliminated their sugar, so how come they still have diabetes?

Most people only think of obvious sources, such as sugary drinks or chocolate, without the important fact that starchy carbohydrates are broken down by digestion into surprising amounts of glucose. For example, a slice of 30 g whole grain bread affects the blood sugar to the same degree as three teaspoons of sugar.

Of course, it has other benefits, such as B vitamins and fiber – but if you have type 2, the effect of sugar is very important. This explains why the latest NICE guidelines for type 2 diabetes stipulate that you must eat foods high in fiber and having a low GI (glycemic index) – almost all breads and cereals have a high GI compared to green leafy vegetables, to most nuts and eggs.

Personally, I would recommend at first to eliminate as much as possible table sugar from your diet.

This may not always be enough, however. Many people with Type 2 also find it helpful to "turn the white part of your meal into green". So, instead of rice, pour your curry on a selection of green vegetables.

In many cases, these simple first steps can make a huge difference – not just in type 2 diabetes, but also in blood pressure and mood – and may mean that patients no longer need lifelong medication for type 2 (of course, it is very important to consult your doctor if you are already taking anti-diabetic medications before reducing carbohydrates).

That's why I do not accept that the type 2 diabetes epidemic is inevitable or hopeless.

But I did not always think like that: in fact, for the first 25 years, I did not think there was much to do to combat this depressing trend. It seemed largely that it was necessary to add more drugs or increase the doses.

Then, one day, about seven years ago, everything changed when I met a patient who had lost so much weight that I did not recognize her – and blood tests showed that She had reversed her type 2 diabetes, despite the fact that she stopped taking her diabetes medication!

I was fascinated to have seen no case of remission in my medical career. How did she realize that?

She told me that she was one of the 40,000 members of a low-carb forum available on the diabete.co.uk website. So began my journey of discovery.

In January 2013, my wife, Dr. Jen Unwin, NHS psychologist, and I created a low-carb group in my GP practice and, with our practice nurse, Heather, we tested a diet at low carbs.

With 18 volunteer patients, we met once a week and learned to eat together.

I started by encouraging patients to actually improve their health if they were willing to seriously reduce their glucose levels.

Many of them were particularly interested in the need to avoid lifetime medication for diabetes. In addition to losing an average of 1½ days in 20 months, they found an improvement in their type 2 diabetes. The majority also had better control of blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels.

My wife Jen and I also benefited from reduced carbohydrate consumption. In addition to losing my middle age gap, I have a lot more energy and now need 90 minutes less sleep per night. And my previously high blood pressure is a thing of the past.

Jen is now so slim and overcame her carbohydrate addiction, which has led her to become overweight since the age of 16 (I'll explain more about carbohydrate addiction in the series next week).

Since 2013, we have deployed this approach to 257 patients, with similar results. However, it would not be fair to say that such is my idea: the low carb diet has a worldwide popularity, not just among diabetics.

And, of course, it is important to point out that no particular diet will be suitable for all and that there are other ways to fight type 2 diabetes – for example, the most common type of diabetes. approach to 800 calories a day, developed by the brilliant professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle. The university and the types of gastric surgery used to help morbidly obese people have both yielded good results.

And, for the sake of balance, I want to point out that there are experts who worry about low-carb diets in the long run (though in the last six years , I have not encountered any significant problems).

Dr. Wolfgang Lutz, an Austrian specialist, followed a 40-year diet, until his death, at the age of 96, and he used this approach to help his patients for decades.

For some people, low carb can mean more fat. And, at the beginning of the low carb diet, I worried about the effects on cholesterol and cardiovascular risk.

But by measuring the rate in my patients, I was surprised to find that the average cholesterol had actually dropped. This, combined with the improvement in blood pressure and weight loss of my patients, could actually suggest an improvement in heart health.

The debate on saturated fats remains controversial, but a very recent study (including eight studies and 1,600 participants) concluded: "Large randomized controlled trials lasting at least six months with restricted carbohydrates appear to be superior to improvement of lipid markers. [cholesterol and other blood fats] With respect to type 2 diabetes, other factors – such as stress and lack of physical activity – play a role. But I think the most important cause is the diet.

I see this as a message of hope because we all have some control over our food choices – and I think a low-carb approach offers many of us a great opportunity to come back back on obesity and diabetes.

And in this series – of today and next week – we will show you exactly how to do it.