NHS to offer 800 calorie meals to reverse type 2 diabetes.

Hi everyone this has been on the news this morning and it looks good news to me for type 2 D sufferers so here's a link to the articles on the BBC Guardian Independent:

bbc.co.uk/news/health-46363869

theguardian.com/society/201...

independent.co.uk/news/heal...

I am not diabetic but a coeliac and many coeliac also have diabetes so I hope this encourages those of you with type 2 Diabetes that you can reverse it.

[Hidden]

I will be happy if I am chosen.

[Andyman]

Do you really reverse it or put it in remission? If you go back to your old ways, it will return. I think this is the reality of it all.

[Hidden in reply to Andyman]

I think Andy, if you went on a drastic diet like this for 2 or 3 months and your type 2 Diabetes was reversed you wouldn't want to make yourself ill again. I imagine that after losing weight and reversing type 2 Diabetes, you'd feel so much better that you would be scared of the old ways, so I think only a minority would slip back.

We as a society need to change our relationship with food, which is the long term holistic solution. So it's up to us the individual taking responsibility for our and our families health and well being.

But, I'm an idealist who believes that we the consumer should be aware of what we are really eating.

And to me, it doesn't matter if it's reversal or in remission as both sound like great options.

[Andyman in reply to Hidden]

I agree you would like to think that wouldn't you.

[NewKaren]

I saw this and I think it was a bit of false reporting. Diabetes can not be reversed, but it can go into remission. Personally, I would hate to exist on just milkshakes, no matter how long it’s for.

It doesn’t seem to me to encourage healthy eating for life and these very low calorie diets rairly last for long.

Personally, I think a rethink is in order..... maybe making healthy foods cheaper to buy would be a good step forward.

Karen xx

[lfn1]

Hi NewKaren

In America the phrase "reverse" refers to going back the way one was before being diagnosed. Here we use "remission" but it is a matter of semantics depending upon where you are from. It is recommended that when undergoing this diet that there is a physician, trained dietician or Diabetes Specialist Nurse who monitors this programme and person taking it, because although it can be done with great results, it depends upon the stamina of the person either physically or mentally to make it through this programme which can extend 6 - 8 weeks in length. There can be a small drop out rate, but close monitoring requires some counselling to help those determined to make it through safely. It requires metabolism, exercise and mental determination. One has to take on board your comments that are important - where to find the cheaper healthier foods where income can be limited. My colleague, Jerry stated this well in his earlier posting that when an opportunity like this comes along, you want to grab it with all the strength you have to make a big difference in one's life. I was one that was nearly there having cut my use of insulin to 2-4 units at lunch and none in the morning or evening, and then another disaster hit me in the form of a permanent illness out of nowhere. All that effort felt like it went down the drain. However, life can knock you back sometimes, I just get back up and continue fighting - keeping my diabetes in check versus the meds given and preparing for a stem cell transplant for my newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma. I'm here to tell you it can work from experience. I hope that clarifies this for you. You are on this for a limited time until your system learns to accept a different range of foods while you physically change for the better.

[Hidden in reply to lfn1]

Thank you Ifn1, this is really informative.

[Hidden]

thanks for posting Jerry, that did surprise me though the liquid 800 calories, on the NHS Desmond course, its something said we should avoid as the body metabolises these more quickly (spiking the blood glucose) better eating the whole food (which is metabolised more slowly). rather than processed foods, including smoothies.