Creamy desserts and perfect puds — with no added guilt

by Dr DAVID UNWIN NHS DIABETES EXPERT

TODAY, in the fifth part of our brilliant low-carb series, NHS GP Dr David Unwin gives his tips to help you stick to the plan, and chef and food writer Katie Caldesi offers more delicious low-carb recipes — breads, cake and puds — so you won’t feel you’re missing out!

Food is one of life’s greatest joys and if you want to go low-carb long term and keep your type 2 diabetes in check, it is important to find foods you enjoy. That’s where this series, with chef Katie Caldesi’s recipes, comes in — delicious low- carb dishes to help you make the change in lifestyle. It’s a change that could transform your health.

My type 2 diabetes patients who have signed up to low carb have so far lost, on average, 9kg (1st 5lb). And our greatest weight-loss success, Anna Eastwood (whose story was told last week in the Mail’s Good Health section), lost nearly 9st in just over a year! Imagine the difference that has made to her life.

When I first started offering a low-carb approach to type 2, many of the patients who signed up were particularly interested in avoiding lifelong medication for diabetes and its side-effects.

So far, half of them have been able to come off their type 2 medication completely. others have also reduced the dosage of their blood pressure and cholesterol pills, or come off them entirely (under medical supervision, of course). These findings were reported in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health last year.

Contrary to what some critics say — that people can’t stick to low carb in the long term — my patients have made it a lifestyle choice and to date the average length of time they have been low carb is two years.

I think that’s because low carb can be filling as well as appetising, and you can also enjoy the good things, such as olive oil, avocados, cream, full- fat Greek yoghurt and butter. Even champagne can be on the menu, on occasion!

When they first switch to a low- carb lifestyle, patients have been surprised that it’s not about denial.

of course, no single diet will suit everyone — and that’s true of low carb, too — but in my practice we find it can be adapted to different personal tastes — and budgets (more on this in the Mail tomorrow).

But sometimes people do ‘fall off the wagon’ — it is human nature to try hard at the start, then drift back to your old habits. As my psychologist wife Jen explains on the back page of this pullout, various factors make sugar and starchy carbs addictive to us.

This is why moderation in these things is so difficult. And this is also why a birthday celebration or Christmas can soon result in weight gain — and blood sugar levels rising again; it’s what Jen and I call ‘carb creep’.

Perhaps it just starts with a couple of biscuits or a piece of cake: before long it is easy to find yourself eating just as much sugar and starchy carbs as before. Unfortunately, many clinicians faced with this ‘failure’ conclude that the low-carb diet has failed, and put the type 2 diabetes patient on lifelong drugs, when all that needs to be done is to ask the patient where sugar or carbs might be creeping back into their diet.

We have found that, in the majority of cases, people will say it is things such as bread, milk chocolate or chips.

All that is needed is a bit of support, encouragement and an appointment in a few weeks for a re-weigh to get them back on track. Many of my patients

comment that ‘this is a lifestyle, not a diet’ — that’s also certainly how it is for Katie Caldesi and her husband and fellow chef Giancarlo (who reversed his own type 2 diabetes by going low carb), and for my wife Jen and I, too.

When it comes to thinking about a change in lifestyle, I find it helps patients to be clear about their personal health goals.

Many people would like to lose weight, but I like to ask what difference losing the pounds would make to their lives, as this gives them even more reason to succeed.

So how can you make the switch to a low-carb diet stick? One of the key tips my patients have passed on to me is to be prepared: plan your meals carefully in advance — particularly if going on a long journey.

So travel with low-carb snacks, such as hard-boiled eggs, nuts or a few squares of dark chocolate.

The key is to monitor your progress, learning what suits you, in order to find the best diet for you — and one that is enjoyable, affordable and healthy.

NOTE: It is important that anyone on prescribed medication for diabetes discusses significant dietary changes with their GP.