Since 2018, we’ve been promoting a healthy low carbohydrate diet for our patients with problems like type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity in Hartland Surgery
This was inspired by our discovery of Dr David Unwin, a GP from Southport, who has had some amazing results with this, helping his patients to lose weight and improve or reverse their type 2 diabetes. His patients have remained slimmer and healthier than they have been for decades, with the added benefits of stopping many (or all) of their medications as well as enjoying other benefits including more energy, better mood and concentration, less joint pains etc. We’ve had some really exciting results of our own since then, with several patients achieving similar success. We want to see more of you succeed!
The general idea is that if we reduce our carbohydrates, which includes sugars and starchy foods (pasta, bread, potatoes, rice, pastry) and heavily processed foods, we are often less hungry. So the emphasis is on eating REAL FOODS including meat, fish, cheese, eggs, vegetables (except potatoes), nuts, full fat milk, cream, butter, olive oil, the non-sugary fruits (berries, apples, pears etc) among others. It’s much easier than most diets you may have tried in the past and more tasty. And the best bit is the lack of hunger. And no need to count calories either. It is higher in fat but that’s OK! The “low fat, high carbohydrate” advice that has been given for the last 40 years has coincided with an increase in obesity and diabetes and we’re now realising that we’ve had it round the wrong way. It’s not the fat that makes us fat, it’s the carbs! Why? Probably because they make you produce more insulin, which then makes you more hungry.
In January 2020 we launched our first LOW CARB GROUP. We met every Thursday evening for 6 weeks to learn about a low carb lifestyle and support each other. There was an option of a private weighing and having BP and waist measured. We had lots of fun and tried some delicious food and had some very promising results in only 6 weeks. Unfortunately the pandemic has stopped us having further meetings but we’re hoping to get this going again soon. Real life meetings may not be possible for a while but we are exploring the option of virtual meetings via Zoom in the meantime.
Sadly we are hearing that people with obesity and Type 2 diabetes are particularly vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus, and so we would urge our community to get cracking with improving your health straight away. It could be the best thing you ever did. Have a go at reducing your carbs, starting with kicking the sugar and any processed food. Your blood sugar and weight should improve within a matter of weeks.
If you’re on medication for diabetes or blood pressure it’s a good idea to chat to your GP early on, as you may be able to start reducing these quite quickly. You may also want to record your “baseline” weight and waist measurements to monitor progress.
We have collected some resources and links to videos here that we hope you will find helpful. If you would like to buy a cookbook, we recommend “The Diabetes Weight-loss cookbook” by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi and “The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet Recipe Book” by Dr Clare Bailey (forward by Dr Michael Mosley)
If you would like more information or are interested in getting involved with our low carb programme, please get in touch with us by email, phone or drop us a line.
Wishing you all the very best.
From the Hartland Surgery Team