1/7 This my patient, Bill - I made him cry today 😢
He's said it's OK to share his story
He's 56. 9 years ago Bill had a big stroke affecting his mobility
His weight⬆️⬆️, he struggled to get out of a chair, ate an unhealthy diet + developed type 2 diabetes
A short thread...
2/7 Bill burst into tears😢when I told him he had reversed his type 2 diabetes👏
He had worried about another stroke, wanted to ⬇️his risk + even reverse his T2DM if possible
It was!
Supported by his wife, he reversed his diabetes in only 11 weeks by cutting out sugar #LCHF 👍
3/7 With @lowcarbGP our little practice (9,800 patients) in Southport 🇬🇧has helped nearly 100 people reverse their Type 2 diabetes in the last 5 years
It's not rocket science 🚀
It's simply about cutting out the sugar + starchy carbs (cereals, bread, pasta, rice + potatoes)
4/7 The physical benefits are huge. Our published research shows #LCHF delivers:
⬇️BP
⬇️blood sugar
⬆️Improved diabetes control + reversal
⬇️cholesterol and TGs (blood fats)
⬇️weight
- Feels he's now in control of his health
- Is really proud of his achievement
- Is less anxious about having another stroke
- 13kg weight loss means is can be so much more active
6/7 What did it cost the #NHS to reverse Bill's type 2 diabetes? Not much!
£35 for 1 glucose sensor
6 x 10min appointments with a GP (me)
Diabetes costs the NHS £10billion every year !!!
This must be the most cost-effective intervention in medicine?🤔
7/7 My practice spends £50K less on diabetes meds, every single year compared to other similar practices
Rolled out across the 🇬🇧the #NHS would save £millions on meds + the savings from ⬇️diabetes complications would be enormous, not to mention the improvement in quality of life
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1/11 Many people cut out sugar + carbs as a way of reversing type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes or improving their health #LCHF
At a recent group consultation many of my patients shared worries about how to avoid carbs in restaurants as 🇬🇧emerges from lockdown
Here are my top tips👇
2/11 Think carefully about your choice of restaurant - some may be easier to manage than others
3/11 Put aside time to think about the meal in advance
It's hard to think clearly when arriving in a busy restaurant
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail"
Try looking at the menu online before you go and have a think about your food and drink choices before you arrive
This patient of mine is 55 and has mysteriously reversed her type 2 diabetes with a huge drop of HbA1c from 77➡️32mmol/mol (9.2-5.1%) in only 3 months
She is not on any new medications for her diabetes..
2/4 She swears she has NOT made any dietary changes EXCEPT cutting out all sources of sugar like sweets🍬, biscuits🍪, chocolate, cake🧁, fruit juice🧃 + avoiding starchy carbs such as bread🍞, cereals🥣, potatoes🥔, rice🍚+ pasta🍝
I really believe she is telling me the truth🤔
3/4 It's particularly spooky👻because she's the 88th person at my practice to whom this has happened
2/10 Pre-diabetes has many names, often with subtle differences in definition
It's often called:
Impaired glucose tolerence, IGT
Impaired fasting glycaemia
Intermediate hyperglycaemia (preferred by @WHO )
High Risk State of Developing Diabetes (preferred by @AmDiabetesAssn )
3/10 Pre-diabetes is *NOT A DISEASE*
This is really important
It's a *RISK FACTOR* for developing type 2 diabetes
Other risk factors include:
Age >40 (>25 if S Asian)
Family History
Being overweight
People of Asian, African-Caribbean or black African origin, even if born in🇬🇧
2/11 The study is by @lowcarbGP@jen_unwin + others and looks at reversing T2DM and pre-diabetes by lifestyle change, in particular by ⬇️sugar and starchy carbs
3/11 The study builds on the work of Prof Roy Taylor's DiRECT Study which found that *severe* calorie restriction could put T2DM into remission👍
More info here 👇 directclinicaltrial.org.uk
This was great news but SO many people find calorie restriction IMPOSSIBLE TO SUSTAIN 🤔🤷♂️
I've spent the last 10 years wondering about this. A TED Talk and paper by @segal_eran (refs at end) has completely blown my mind 🤯
He provides some of the answers - but they may not be what you think
Here goes....
2/11 The incidence of diet-related disease has ⬆️⬆️ in last 30 years
In 🇺🇸 70% of population are overweight, diabetic or have NAFLD (fatty liver)
38% are obese 😲
10% have type 2 diabetes 😲
Diet and lifestyle are the major drivers
3/11 So why don't we know what is the best diet for humans?
It's because we are asking the wrong question
Much of what constitutes the best diet depends on the individual human every bit as much the food
Nutrition needs to be personally tailored to each individual