Battle to beat bulge … and diabetes
The Fast Fix: Diabetes
STV, 9pm
DIET fads come and go like seasonal fashions. There’s little wonder the likes of Peter Kay have sent up the assorted slimming clubs that try to help punters lose pounds. Of course fighting the battle of the bulge is no laughing matter, especially where Type 2 diabetes is concerned. There was a time it was a medical life sentence but, as viewers of The One Show will have seen recently, that’s not the case.
In that series, four volunteers agreed to spend nine weeks surviving on a liquid-only diet of just 800 calories a day.
It’s not recommended by the NHS, but “crash diets” usually lead to a degree of rubber-banding, or people snapping back to bad dietary habits as soon as the weight had come off. In that instance, participants apparently managed to avoid such pitfalls.
Now STV is getting in on the action and, in the first of a two-part strand, Anita Rani examines how people with the condition attempt to reverse it by living on that muchtalked-about liquid diet.
Aside from the potentially life-saving ramifications, there is a bonus in that it could save the NHS billions of pounds.
Here cameras follow five overweight patients as they move into an experimental diabetes reversal unit. Again they will live on a diet of 800 calories a day, this time for four weeks. They attempt to shed more than two stones, hopefully improve their lives, and no doubt offer a large dose of hope for viewers in a similar situation.
“Type 2 diabetes is a national crisis and a massive challenge to the NHS,” explains Rani.
“But this experiment proves that there is real hope of turning the clock back and reversing Type 2, using this revolutionary diet to stop this epidemic in its tracks.”
But just in case you’re in a similar situation and think it’s just a case of watching the show, taking notes and following suit, be warned. This diet isn’t suitable for everyone; it requires medical supervision, and must not be undertaken by those on insulin and with certain other conditions.
As four million people in Britain have Type 2 diabetes, and another 12 million are at increased risk, based on research by the universities of Glasgow and Newcastle, it’ll be fascinating to see whether the five volunteers can turn the clock back on their condition.
Anita is joined by Professor Jason Gill, who is at the forefront of research into how diet and exercise can prevent diabetes, and Gp/obesity expert Dr Zoe Williams.
Loose Women’s Coleen Nolan will also be attempting to trim her own waistline. She undergoes a lifestyle transformation hoping to lose 5kg to minimise her risk of developing diabetes.
Plus, chef Rosemary Shrager and quiz boffin Paul Sinha undertake their own extreme fasting diets at home to avoid underlying health issues and the potential of the ‘D’ word.
Part two can be seen tomorrow.