30-MINUTE MEALS TO BEAT DIABETES
MOUTHWATERING 11-PAGE RECIPE SPECIAL
When my husband, the Italian chef Giancarlo Caldesi, celebrated his 69th birthday recently, my sons and I clubbed together to buy him a bike.
It might seem an unremarkable gift, but for Giancarlo his new bicycle marks an exciting milestone not only in his battle against type 2 diabetes, a chronic disease that affects over 250,000 people across Ireland, but also his longterm gout.
Six years ago, Giancarlo amazed everyone by losing three stone and putting his type 2 diabetes into remission after discovering low-carb eating, a movement that’s gathering momentum among patients and doctors worldwide thanks to its transformative effects on health and happiness.
Giancarlo was one of these success stories: as his blood sugar levels returned to the normal range, his symptoms gradually eased or disappeared entirely, improvements we regarded as near-miraculous given how sick he’d been. He was very overweight, permanently exhausted, suffered from blurry vision and had lost sensation in his feet caused by nerve damage due to diabetes – until he embarked on a low-carb diet.
But once Giancarlo’s type 2 had gone, one debilitating condition related to his old high-carb eating habits still lingered: gout. This is a form of arthritis that affects one in 40 adults here, particularly men over 30 like Giancarlo, causing painful swelling in the joints – Giancarlo had attacks in his toes, ankles, knees and elbows.
The numbers of people with gout have soared in recent years – it is linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity, both of which can be caused by a highcarb diet (see panel opposite). Giancarlo would be fine for a few months but the gout would return, making his feet so painful he could barely get out of bed for days.
We never discovered what triggered an episode and because Giancarlo is intolerant of standard gout medication (steroids to reduce inflammation), and overthe-counter painkillers didn’t have much effect, he just had to suffer and wait for the attack to pass. So despite his trim shape, new energy and boundless enthusiasm, he was nervous of exercising, reluctant to go for walks or get on a bike.
But he’s stuck to his low-carb lifestyle and over time the episodes diminished. Now – exactly six years this month since we learned his diabetes was in remission – his gout has virtually disappeared. There was a real sparkle in his eyes when he returned from his first spin on his new bike in the countryside near our home – and he also really enjoys walking our family dog, Bella, something he never contemplated before.
It’s now been 18 months since his last gout attack and we are optimistic that this, too, is finally behind him after nearly 20 years. We are in no doubt that this is a result of us becoming passionate converts to low-carb eating, now a way of life for the whole family.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, I was relieved that Giancarlo’s chances of being seriously ill with the virus were much lower thanks to the fact he’s trim and his diabetes is in remission – as it was clear that being overweight and having type 2 were both risk factors. But I was extremely anxious for things to stay that way, particularly given Giancarlo’s age and the fact he’s male (both are risk factors too).
I knew it would be all too easy to gain weight with our normal routines disrupted and everyone stuck at home. Having seen how ill he was with diabetes, I knew how much was at stake if the pounds started to creep back on. So I made a particular effort to prepare healthy, low-carb meals for us and our two sons, Giorgio, 20, and Flavio, 18.
But this wasn’t that easy – we didn’t often go to the shops and
SIX YEARS SINCE HE TACKLED HIS DIABETES, HIS GOUT IS GONE TOO
fresh ingredients weren’t always available. I improvised with the contents of our cupboard and freezer, using foods we had at home or could easily buy. I enlisted help from the boys – Flavio’s a junior chef himself now – and we produced some simple but delicious meals from these kitchen cupboard staples. They were particularly helpful with eating the results too!
This inspired us to again join forces with Dr David Unwin, the GP who helped pioneer low-carb eating for type 2 diabetes and helped us in the early stages of our low-carb journey. You may remember, he has had remarkable success with a low-carb programme he set up at his own practice in Merseyside, UK.
The result is our new book The 30 Minute Diabetes Cookbook, which is exclusively serialised today in Magazine and all next week in the Irish Daily Mail in an unmissable series packed with indepth advice from Dr Unwin, guidance on how to deal with sugar and carb cravings from his wife Dr Jen Unwin, a psychologist, and other brilliant health tips.
The recipes published here today are based on my lockdown meals and others created with the help of nutritionist Jenny Phillips. All next week in the Irish Daily Mail we’ll also be sharing a new selection of mouthwatering, supereasy low-carb recipes created just for Irish Daily Mail readers. All these recipes feature everyday ingredients such as canned sardines, tins of tomatoes and frozen meat and veg. Better still, they only take half an hour, or less, to prepare from fridge to fork.
Since first telling the story of Giancarlo’s success with reversing
his diabetes in the Irish Daily Mail two years ago, we’ve been touched by the massive response we received from the public. Our story clearly resonated with many readers who got in touch to say how this and subsequent low-carb series we’ve put together for Mail readers have helped them to take control of their own health.
Looking back, it’s hard to believe that Giancarlo put up with being as sick as he was for as long as he did. Yet for some time we simply attributed his symptoms to him ‘getting older’. But when he was finally diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 59 in 2011, it was clear how wrong we’d been: type 2 is a chronic disease that makes it hard for the body to process sugar and that can, over time, trigger serious complications including nerve damage, blindness and stroke.
It’s a growing epidemic: the latest figures predict another two million people will develop it in the next five years across Ireland and the UK. At first we followed standard medical advice, cutting back on sugar and reducing portion sizes. But Giancarlo’s weight continued to balloon to 17½ stone (he’s 5ft 11in tall). He was grumpy, constantly hungry and catnapped when he wasn’t actually at work.
Then one day, searching for advice online, we came across lowcarb and decided to give it a go. The weight began to drop off – within 18 months his blood glucose levels had dropped to within the normal range, meaning his type 2 was in remission. Even today I’m constantly amazed at how easy it is to follow a low-carb lifestyle.
Low-carb doesn’t just encourage you to cut down on starchy carbs, it also focuses on eating abundant fresh, natural and unprocessed foods that won’t overload your bloodstream with glucose from starchy carbs and sugary foods.
Although it’s not a weight-loss programme as such, you may well find excess weight begins to drop off – as it did for Giancarlo – once your blood sugar levels begin to regulate, particularly if you follow a strict low-carb regimen (see panel on page 14).
As committed foodies, Giancarlo and I initially struggled to imagine a life without pasta, potatoes and bread. Yet because we were so enjoying the other ingredients – particularly the full-fat dairy that low-carb allows – I can honestly say we found it easy to embrace new habits. These days we’re profoundly grateful for the improvements
we’ve both seen in our own health – at the age of 57, I’m a stone lighter and the slimmest and fittest I’ve ever been.
That’s why we’re so committed to helping others to help themselves. We now offer low-carb meals alongside traditional Italian meals in our restaurants (including low-carb takeaways in lockdown), we run low-carb cookery courses and have also developed a website, lowcarbtogether.com, offering health information and
free low-carb recipes.
In the recipes we’ll share today and next week, we’ll show you some simple, inexpensive – yet mouthwatering – ways you can whip up easy low-carb meals that both your taste buds and your waistline will thank you for. Egg recipes – such as the Quichata (right) – are favourites in the Caldesi household as the main ingredient is so cheap and filling.
The Charred Tomatoes, Labneh & Flatbreads (see page 20) were a popular lockdown creation for all of the family, along with the Grilled Paneer & Broccoli Traybake (see page 19). Why not try one of our tempting low-carb desserts too, such as our Strawberry & Cream Pie (page 23)? And you can still treat yourself to the odd glass of Brut champagne. It’s lowcarb (only 2g net carbs per 125ml), but avoid sweeter dessert wines.
We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do – and that they will also help you to discover a brighter, healthier life.