Coronavirus has inspired me to beat my Type 2 diabetes
The radio DJ tells SUE CRAWFORD how ditching refined carbs and daily bike rides are helping him take back control of his health
CELEBRITY DJ Neil “Dr” Fox often burnt the candle at both ends during his days as a breakfast show presenter. But the early starts and lack of sleep combined with the stress of a high profile court case in 2015 took their toll on his health and three years ago he found himself diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Now Neil is determined to reverse the condition by following a strict diet and increasing his exercise levels and is hopeful that he will be rid of it by Christmas.
“You can reverse it, but it takes hard work, because you need to address a lot of issues. It’s a mixture of lifestyle, exercise and diet,” he explains.
“I’m 59 and I’ve got three beautiful kids and I want to be around a long time. I had to be honest with myself and accept that I decided what went into my mouth. It’s easy to pretend that it’s not that big a deal. It is and I’ve got to sort it out.”
Neil, who was a judge on Pop Idol alongside Simon Cowell, was diagnosed in December 2017 and given the drug metformin, which reduces the amount of sugar the liver releases into the blood. But recently, reluctant to take drugs for the rest of his life, he and his wife Vicky began to research other ways of tackling the condition.
“My wife is a yoga teacher. She’s really good with health, diet and nutrition and we read a lot of medical books,” Neil says. “I don’t like to take medicine and the problem with metformin is that it doesn’t cure diabetes, it hides it.”
Type 2 diabetes, a common condition that causes the level of sugar in the blood to become too high, is often linked to being overweight or inactive, or having a family history of the condition.
Many people with it have extra fat around their middle, affecting the function of their liver and pancreas but in recent years several studies have seen people send the condition into remission by losing significant amounts of weight in a short time, typically around 33lbs within three to five months.
The charity Diabetes UK prefers to use the word “remission” rather than reversal or cure, because if the lifestyle changes aren’t stuck to, the diabetes could return.
The charity ran a series of successful trials, which inspired the NHS to pilot a remission programme last year. Others have achieved remission through the Mediterranean diet or a low-carb diet, as have around 30-60 per cent of people who have had weight-loss surgery.
Neil had unsuccessfully attempted a reversal diet before, but when lockdown was imposed and people with diabetes were listed as being at particular risk, he decided it was time to make a change, by reducing both calories and carbohydrates.
HE SAYS: “I looked at the things I was eating as norm and began to have them as treats. I cut out white rice, white bread, white pasta, potatoes, pizza and chips. I’ve also cut out booze, because booze is sugar. I’ll still have an occasional beer, but I won’t have two or three.
“I’ve been on the diet for three weeks and already I feel much better. If you cut out all the white carbs, you immediately feel your tummy go flatter.”
Neil, who lives in south west London with his wife and their three children, Scarlet, 19, Jack, 17 and Martha, 13, has also taken up meditation to help him unwind and increased his exercise levels, walking more than 185 miles during lockdown and cycling most days.
He was 15st 6lbs when he began the reversal diet and in three weeks has already lost just over 6lbs. His goal is to reach 12st 5lbs by Christmas. His blood sugar levels have dropped too, from 65mmol/ mol to 53. Levels under 48 are not considered to be Type 2 diabetes.
Under the nickname Dr Fox, Neil was one of the nation’s most famous DJs throughout the 90s. He left Capital Radio in 2005 to join Magic as their breakfast show host.
He now believes several factors contributed to his diagnosis. “Sadly it’s slightly in the family – my mother’s got Type 2 diabetes and both my elder brothers, although one of them has reversed it,” he says.
“Also, I’d presented a breakfast show for a long time and they’re probably one of the unhealthiest shows you could ever do on radio.
“You’re burning the candle at both ends.You get up at half past four in the morning, tending not to have got eight hours sleep.You don’t have breakfast before you leave home and then you get the munchies at 8am and what’s open at that time? McDonald’s, sandwich shops or junk food, so I’d have a sausage and egg sandwich, eating on the fly.”
Neil thinks the stress of his court case had a negative impact too. In 2014 he was arrested by police investigating claims of historical sex offences. In the end he was charged with nine sex offences. Having pleaded not guilty, his trial began in
‘It would be really nice to think that by Christmas I’m not Type 2 diabetic, that would be great’
November 2015 and he was found not guilty on all charges.
“Obviously stress doesn’t help with Type 2 diabetes and I went through a very difficult time with the court case,” he recalls. “You think you’re tough, but it was hard. From the moment it starts you have a huge weight on your shoulders.
“Weirdly, I actually lost around nine kilos because of the stress, 10 per cent of my weight.”
His diabetes diagnosis came as a bolt from the blue as he had experienced none of the common symptoms, such as thirst, tiredness and a need to urinate more frequently. He recalls: “They said my sugar levels were a bit high and I was on the cusp of diabetes and I subsequently became diabetic. It was worrying, but probably, like a lot of men, I thought: ‘I’ll get that sorted out, no problem.’” Neil, who left Magic in 2016, is now hosting the Heritage Chart countdown on Mike Read’s United DJs radio station. It’s a new start and he is hopeful that the diet will be a new start for his health too.
He says: “It would be really nice to think that by Christmas I’m not Type 2 diabetic. That would be a great present to me and the family.”
‘Dr’ Fox’s Heritage Chart show, uniteddj.com, Sundays 1pm to 3pm