World Diabetes Day (WDD) aka for this year #WDD2018 was founded in 1991. By the International Diabetes Federation and became an official United Nations day in 2006. It takes a pride of place in #DiabetesAwarenessMonth which is November the same month I was diagnosed a year ago.
But I never knew anything about it. The day is marked every year on November 14, the birthday of Canadian scientist Sir Frederick Banting. It was Banting that co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. Banting who could have personally profited by billions by patented the insulin product but didn’t. Received a Nobel Peace Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He then received a knighthood for his contribution to the world of science.
His work continues to help millions of diabetic suffers today. Literally saving millions of lives since he made his discovery.
The theme for this World Diabetes Day is Family and Diabetes. It's aim to raise awareness of the impact that diabetes has on the family. And promote the role of family in the management of diabetes. 90% of people who have diabetes have Type 2 Diabetes. The one I had. And whereas Type 2 is linked to obesity and poor health. Type 1 has nothing to do with lifestyle choices and is neither preventable nor reversible at present.
WHY IS #WWD2018 IMPORTANT?As each year, more and more people are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. This terrible condition, where your blood rots you from the inside out. Can lead to stroke, blindness, heart disease, kidney failure, limb amputation and your early death. It would have killed me.
But it's not just about death. It's the cost of living with it too. As diabetes prescriptions are costing the NHS in England more than £1 billion a year, according to new figures from NHS Digital. This total cost of the prescriptions has risen significantly. By more than £422 million – in the last 10 years and almost one in 20 GP prescriptions are now for diabetes treatment. The biggest increases are seen in treatments for type 2 diabetes.
Robin Hewings, Head of Policy from Diabetes UK, said:
“Diabetes is the biggest threat to the health of our country. The number of people diagnosed with the condition has doubled in the last 20 years, and it is responsible for 26,000 early deaths per year alongside serious complications such as blindness, amputation or stroke..... It's estimated that the total cost to the NHS is over £10bn a year. So the real price we have to pay for diabetes is not medications, but the devastating and expensive complications."
Professor Jonathan Valabhji, National Clinical Director for Diabetes and Obesity, said:
“Thanks to better diagnosis and treatment. the NHS is caring for more people than ever before with diabetes. And this new data highlights the urgent need to prevent type 2 diabetes from developing in the first place”
Some of this new data has come from the Direct Study which was the reason for The Fast Fix Diabetes ITV show. Which was the experience that inspired me to write my book. However, the Direct study has now grown MUCH bigger than a few people. And has now shown that getting the right nutrition and loosing weight is key to putting Type 2 Diabetes into remission.
THE NEW RESEARCH
With the research funded by Diabetes UK, shows that type 2 diabetes is not necessarily permanent. Which many doctors (and the public) still believe. Type 2 Diabetes It can often be reversed into remission. (Non-diabetic again, taking no anti-diabetes medications) by sustained weight loss.
With large weight loss (over 15 kg) almost 9 out of 10 can achieve a remission. (No longer diabetic, non-diabetic HbA1c, taking no drugs for diabetes treatment).
With weight loss 10 - 15 kg, still over half can achieve a remission. Which again was show to be true on our TV programme. These figures apply to people with type 2 diabetes for up to 6 years. With longer duration, remission is still possible but less likely.
HOW CAN YOU DO IT?
Aim to lose 15kg (just over 2 stones). How you achieve this is not important, and nor is how long it takes. However, the study's experience is that using a stricter diet to lose the weight. More quickly (over 2 -3 months) is likely to be most effective long- term. Which is what we did on the ITV programme too.
The way we did it on the ITV programme was radical. We had 800 calories a day for two months or more. If I had known what I know now. I wouldn’t have done it this way.
For the reasons why not - read my book.
What I would have done and what I do now. Is I follow a healthier diet for my body. Especially my insides. Which was something never talked about on the show. But know having researched the evidence for the last year.
I see that your internal mechanisms are vital to get right on a microscopic level.
To do this you MUST get your nutrition right. And eat the right foods. You have to look as food as medicine. Not just as something to enjoy and consume without thinking.
You have to think about your insides FIRST. As it is those insides and the foods you give them - that will either increase your blood sugar levels or decrease them.
Which is why I was interested in meeting a company. That specialises in cooking food in a way that increases the amount of nutrients you GET from your food. This is KEY to my understanding of how my body keeps being non diabetic.
As HOW you cook your food makes a difference. The study from the University of Wisconsin Department of Food Science demonstrates that food cooked in an air tight container retains up to 93% of its nutrients. That’s twice the retained nutrients than traditional cookware.
Not only that but if you don’t use water then you don’t loose minerals! And do if you can find a waterless cooking method that allows you to cook without the need to add and drain-off water. This will maintain the optimal amount of vitamins and nutrients in your foods. Whilst also protecting the natural flavor of ingredients.
So I met with SaladMaster a company that is leading the way in innovation. Delivering healthy solutions to customers worldwide. I didn’t know that Saladmaster was a global leader in manufacturing. Dedicated to helping people learn how proper food preparation. But after meeting their team and seeing their presentation. I can see how this technology plays an essential role in nutritional cooking. And therefore also in healthy living.
As it seems to be the most advanced nutritional cooking system available. Don’t get me wrong. You might be able to do this way of cooking without SaladMaster but I am yet to find that.
What I found really interesting was that SaladMaster and the lady I chatted to talked about family A LOT. They seem like a very family orientated company.
And this ties nicely into the theme for 2018 and 2019 for World Diabetes Day.
As this is The Family and Diabetes and the aim is to help you spot the warning signs of diabetes in your family.
If we all change what we feed our families and how we cook for them.
Without water and without oil. And by using technology instead. By doing so we might be able to prevent a huge number of them from getting Type 2 Diabetes.
Common signs you may have diabetes include:
· going to the toilet a lot, especially at night
· being really thirsty
· feeling more tired than usual
· losing weight without trying to
· genital itching or thrush
· cuts and wounds that take longer to heal
· blurred vision
These signs are common in children and adults alike. And more and more children are getting Type 2 Diabetes. Whilst Miranda Larbi, Digital Health & Fitness Reporter Says in The Sun that...
More than 70 per cent of us have a family member living with diabetes but the vast majority don't know the warning signs
Which is one of the reasons I started the non for profit www.Type2DiabetesFree.com. A social enterprise – worth mentioning on Social Enterprise Day (Nov 15th) - to raise awareness about Type 2 Diabetes. Something that I hope I can do with my book.
And through days like yesterday and World Diabetes Day.
And I hope with you can too :)
SaladMaster are also proud sponsor of diabetes organizations in America.
So watch this space - we might be able to do something in the UK with them too.
Could you prevent #type2diabetes in your family? 80% of cases of #type2diabetes are preventable through a healthy lifestyle.
Find out more about @NHSEngland diabetes prevention programme http://bit.ly/2gopNR2
And get a free copy of my book from http://www.type2diabetesfree.com
https://diabetestimes.co.uk/diabetes-prescriptions-cost-1-billion-in-a-year/
https://saladmaster.com/en-gb/
http://diabetestimes.co.uk/nice-guidelines/type-2-diabetes-prevention-people-high-risk/
https://www.directclinicaltrial.org.uk/Documents/Patient%20Info%20Website%20Feb%202018.pdf
https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/remembering-dr-banting-world-diabetes-day
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/world-diabetes-day-2018-insulin-125113638.html
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_us/News/-More-than-500-children-and-young-people-have-Type-2-diabetes
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7731785/parents-alert-deadly-signs-diabetes-kids/