Unbelievable that your head GP had not heard of Dr David Unwin and his groundbreaking work with overweight diabetes patients. Makes you wonder just what they are reading? What was he speaking about at the meeting?
An aunt and uncle of mine were doctors - and they never thought about anything else - even months into retirement the would read medical journals.
They do have compulsory "Continued Professional Development" for doctors now - but, I think that, decades ago, some doctors never opened a medical book or publication after they qualified.
I saw a video of David Unwin giving a lecture in Australia about his methods and successes with patients. He is trying his best to get the message out so letβs hope all our GPs can learn and get on board. It is a life changing/saving strategy as well as saving the NHS loads of money.
I think that Dr Unwin over-simplifies everything... but it is great that there is an NHS-approved UK GP that advocates Low-Carb. (Even if he has not got his head round High-Fat and IF.)
I think that for many people in at risk groups (obese, prediabetic, high BP etc) just going low carb may be quite a difficult transition to start with. High fat and IF may be a stretch too far for many. If they can achieve health improvements by making the least number of changes then that has to be good and will perhaps be a strategy they can live with for life. I think Dr Unwin does advocate a full English breakfast (without toast or beans) and this is quite high fat.
UK GPs have to evidence an average of 50hrs/year of CPD, but it could be split as, for example 25hrs learning on courses and 25 on case studies applying this to their own patients.
They also have to evidence that the CPD is proportional and relevant to their scope of work and it's severity in terms of mortality and morbidity.
I'll put that more starkly and simply: they can learn for say 25 hrs a year, but it should be on the things which are limiting the lives of the majority of their patients, and which they can measure success in.
Dietary intervention is very difficult to prescribe, measure or get people to adhere to.
In most industries, CPD is used as an excuse for a tax-deductible holiday!
Dr Unwin has recorded and measures the benefits of low carb - and the benefit (to the NHS) is a saving of tens of thousands of pounds (in his practice) that would have been spent on diabetes medication.
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