SWEET TREATS THAT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE

Eat to Beat Diabetes pullout

MOST of us want to lose weight to feel confident, fit and — in our heart of hearts — to look great. But fast, effective weight loss will also have a massive impact on many other aspects of your health, too. The 8-Week Blood Sugar diet — a simple 800-calorie-a-day eating plan based on the Mediterranean diet — was originally devised to combat diabetes.

But the health benefits of this diet go far beyond that.

carrying excess fat can be disastrously unhealthy, as i know to my cost.

When i was told, in 2012, that i had type 2 diabetes — which is commonly caused by eating too much and moving too little — i was shocked.

Not just because i didn’t have any of the typical symptoms of thirstiness, fatigue or blurred vision, but because i wasn’t particularly overweight.

Yes, i was carrying a few extra pounds but the main problem was that i had far too much fat around my abdomen which was infiltrating my internal organs, impairing their ability to work effectively.

i was also suffering from a condition called ‘insulin resistance’ where the cells in my body were no longer responding properly to the hormone, insulin.

it was a worrying diagnosis, but i consider myself to be extremely lucky to have been spotted early. Experts now believe a third of all adults in the UK have raised blood sugar levels, putting them at an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers.

Many have no idea. But i was able to act quickly, lose weight (20lb in two months), and specifically shed the harmful visceral fat that was lurking in my abdomen, and as a consequence i have reversed my diabetes and put myself back on a path to good health

The worrying truth is, even if your weight sits comfortably in the ‘healthy’ range on your doctor’s BMi charts, if you have a diet packed with sugars and refined carbohydrates, as mine was, you are very likely to be putting your health at risk.

My BMi was 26 (below 25 is considered healthy) and my waist measured 36 inches (it is now 33).

a big part of the problem is that we eat far too many sugary carbohydrates which are easily and swiftly broken down in your gut to release sugar into your system.

Your body responds by pumping out insulin, but if you have an unhealthy diet and low activity levels (as so many people do) you can easily become insulinresistant. and that leaves your blood sugar levels on a permanent high.

if you have raised blood sugar levels, the sugars can stick to the proteins in the walls of your blood vessels making them stiffer and less flexible. in time, this can lead to the build-up of scar tissue inside the blood vessels. This is why diabetics are at increased risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness and impotence.

Simply having raised blood sugars and insulin increases your risk of strokes, dementia, cancer and a lifetime on medication — even if you’re not diabetic.

Studies show you don’t have to have blood sugars in the diabetic range for damage to occur.

Raised blood sugar will also make you look older by attacking the collagen and elastin molecules in your skin, making your face saggy and wrinkled.

For some women, insulin resistance can exacerbate a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PcOS), which can cause irregular periods and excess hair, because surplus insulin encourages the ovaries to produce more of the ‘male’ hormone testosterone — normally found in minimal quantities in women.

These hormone imbalances can lead to weight gain and alter how the female hormone oestrogen is metabolised, which affects the menstrual cycle — making fertility difficult.

however, losing weight can be enough to keep symptoms in check and even reverse the condition.

The 8-Week Blood Sugar diet works so effectively and so quickly, it strips the pancreas of fat, helping it resume insulin production as normal, allowing the body’s natural processes to work as they should.

Many experts believe high blood sugar could also worsen conditions such as eczema and asthma.

although any weight loss is helpful if you are overweight, studies show reducing your body weight by 10-15 per cent is enough to shed the dangerous visceral fat, unclog your liver and pancreas and set you on the path to recovery.

and by followingt the 8-Week Blood Sugar diet, you have every chance of success.

Studies show the average weight loss on an eight-week, 800-calorie plan is a staggering 14kg (just

over 2st). The impact of fast, effective weight loss has far wider implications than a drop in dress size.

The added bonus of the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet over and above the promised weight loss, is that you will be learning how to tap into the proven health benefits of Mediterranean-style eating.

Studies have shown that a lowercarb Mediterranean diet packed with nutrient-rich fresh foods not only cuts your risk of heart disease and diabetes, but it may also delay the onset of dementia and cognitive impairment (when you struggle with remembering, learning new things and making decisions).

Consuming extra-virgin olive oil (an important part of the diet which you’ll find in many of the recipes in our new book) seems to be particularly beneficial when it comes to preventing breast cancer, perhaps because it contains compounds such as polyphenols, which are known for their antiinflammatory effects. A very recent finding is that women who followed a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil had a 68 per cent less chance of developing breast cancer than those on a low-fat diet.

There is no doubt that achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is crucial to your long-term health, but if you can get there via the eightweek blood sugar diet, you will also be discovering a new, fantastically healthy and tasty way to eat.

SUPER SAUCES

You can liven up any chicken breast or tin of tuna once you’ve mastered the art of a quick, homemade no-sugar sauce or dressing. Try these:

TASTY MAYONNAISE: Healthy fats are on the menu so it’s welcome back to a dollop of full-fat mayonnaise with your salads! Liven up a good shop-bought brand by mixing it 50:50 with Greek yoghurt and adding the zest of a lemon, or a crushed garlic clove and 1 tbsp chopped chives or dill.

SWEET CHILLI SAUCE: Combine a finely diced red chilli, half a diced red pepper, 1cm grated root ginger, a crushed garlic clove, 1 tsp chia seeds, 1tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1tbsp rice wine, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce in a pan with 2 tbsp water and simmer for four to five minutes. Store in the fridge when cool.

PESTO: Blitz 50g walnuts, 50g pine nuts, 50g basil leaves, 5tbsp olive oil with the juice of two lemons.

SALSA: mix together 150g chopped tomatoes, half a crushed garlic clove, ½tbsp cider vinegar, 2tbsp olive oil, half a diced red pepper, ½ tsp chilli flakes, with a handful of chopped parsley or coriander . . .

You can also add the following healthy sprinkles. Scatter these on soups, fish, vegetables or salad to add extra flavour: fineLY chopped chorizo (20g = 60 cals) frieD pancetta (20g = 70 cals) roASTeD nuts/seeds (120 cals) DiCeD feta (30g = 80 cals) or halloumi (40g = 130 cals) SLiCeD mushrooms (50g sauted in butter with a chopped garlic clove = 50 cals). While on the diet, you can still indulge in the occasional treat — such as the ones on these pages from the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet recipe Book. it is far better to have the odd pudding which is low in sugar and processed carbohydrates than be tempted by sweet, unhealthy alternatives.