It was a great shock to be told that I had diabetes when I was only 42 years old. I knew I was overweight and my lifestyle wasn’t exactly ideal, but my wife Sarah and I loved good food and were always very mindful of health in our meals. There was no one in my family with diabetes. And I was very young. How did it get to this point?
Looking back, at 128 kilos (over 20 kilos), it was little surprise that my weight was causing health problems. However, as a trained chef, I considered myself knowledgeable about nutrition. Thanks to the strict diet my father followed during my childhood due to the triple heart bypass, I became aware of healthy eating from a young age; This awareness was also reflected in my work in hotels and restaurants in my youth. However, this awareness was not reflected in what I ate during my workday. Being under constant pressure, eating regularly was impossible and I would grab whatever was on the go; most of the time it was something unhealthy but easy like a fish finger sandwich.
There were other factors that caused me to gain weight. First of all, I loved my beer. Working in London but living on the south coast meant I had a long train journey each way, so I was getting up at 4am every day. My sleep was also fragmentary and irregular, which was not good for my metabolism.
Because of these early starts and long journeys, exercise was out of the question; I would go home, eat dinner, and fall asleep immediately.
However, before going to the doctor, I had no idea that my health was seriously at risk. At a routine appointment, he announced the blood test results showing that I had diabetes, and it came out of nowhere. However, when we look back, we see that symptoms such as severe thirst and frequent urination have been present for a while. I was devastated when she arranged for me to see the diabetes nurse for a follow-up appointment.
Sarah was really worried; We were both worried. This diagnosis was especially scary because it put me at risk for other serious health problems, including heart disease, kidney damage, and stroke. I realized this was serious because there was a family history of coronary disease. But the advice in the diet brochures the diabetes nurse gave me was simplistic and even misleading; For example, advice to eat foods labeled ‘low-fat’ isn’t exactly healthy because they’re often chock-full of sugar. Armed with medicine bags, I was sent on my way; I was a diabetic with no hope of reversing my diagnosis.
At the time, in the early 2000s, Type 2 diabetes was considered a progressive condition; once you had it, you would always have it and it would probably get worse. Still, I was determined to improve my health and soon quit smoking and cut down on beer. Both Sarah and I have worked hard to reduce our weight through healthy eating and exercise. Quarantine in particular gave me the chance to get fitter and eat healthier, and I managed to reduce my weight to 108 kilograms (17 stone). But I still lived with diabetes for twenty years.
Then, three years ago, at the age of 59, I medically retired from my last job as a safety manager on the railway due to osteoarthritis in my knee; This is a condition that stems from a childhood rugby injury, but is undoubtedly made worse by the extra weight I carry. . At this point, the pressure of work and long days away from home became unbearable, so I felt relieved to quit my job and wanted to focus on my health.
Knowing that I would be undergoing knee replacement surgery, I felt encouraged to lose more weight. It was at Sarah’s insistence that I started working with Natalie Burrows, a nutritional therapist who specializes in diabetes, and I was delighted when she told me that my diabetes could actually be reversed. No doctor had ever told me this. I said I wanted to be healthy and off my medications, especially the statins I was taking for high cholesterol and heart health; He said statins sometimes have the potential to raise blood sugar.
I kept a food journal that I shared with Natalie to get her feedback and advice on diet choices. Wearing a continuous glucose monitor for four weeks meant I could keep track of my blood sugar; This allowed him to understand how I process food and what changes needed to be made in my diet. For example, I always used to eat porridge for breakfast, it was a healthy choice, but it turned out my body couldn’t process it and I had to start the day with protein like an omelette.
As I changed my diet and lifestyle, the weight started to come off. No more commuting meant I was now sleeping properly and eating more regularly. Cutting out bread and potatoes made a huge difference. I have become more conscious of the origin of my food, as well as the hidden sugars in store-bought foods, and am now getting the best quality meat and fish possible. I ate more legumes for fiber and cut out red meat. Where before I was eating steak and chips, now I was eating a chicken dish with green leafy vegetables and sweet potatoes.
I bought an exercise bike and used it every day and started lifting weights. Now that I’ve had knee replacement surgery, I’m eating better and sleeping better, so I feel full of energy. Although I haven’t stopped working completely (I’m currently a social worker for the transport union) I mostly work from home and this gives me control over my diet and health. I now realize how negatively affected I was by my commute, but now I can walk the dogs and bike to work for 30 minutes before running an errand and have a much better work-life balance.
Seven months later, my blood test showed that I was back in the normal blood sugar range; I reversed my diabetes. While my diabetes level was 12.5 when I was first diagnosed, I managed to reduce it to 7.5 with a combination of diet and medication. But now, working with Natalie, I’ve made the final leap; I dropped my level below 6. Since then, I’ve been bouncing back and forth between being pre-diabetic and in remission, meaning I’m still on medication but half the amount I was on before.
Best of all, I feel healthier, have more energy, sleep better, and fit more into my day; I have lost almost 4 stone in total since I was first diagnosed and have an overall better quality of life. Sarah is so proud of me for taking control of my health and putting my diabetes into remission. I would advise anyone who is overweight and facing a diagnosis of diabetes to consider their diet and lifestyle together; It’s never too late to improve your health.
what did i eat before
Breakfast
Overnight oats with fruit and nuts.
Lunch
Pret or home made sandwich or the occasional Cornish pasty or fish finger wrap.
Evening meal
Pasta with garlic bread or homemade pie with potatoes and vegetables or Chinese fries with two to three pints of real ale.
What am I eating now
Breakfast
Egg-based dishes like omelets, shakshuka with black beans and spinach, or eggs and ham with watercress.
Lunch
Homemade soup or salad or apples and cheese with peanut butter.
Evening meal
Chicken, fish or tofu curry with pulses and vegetables or beans and vegetable chili.
How can proper nutrition reverse Type 2 diabetes?
“If you have type 2 diabetes or are pre-diabetic, it’s a good idea to work with a nutritionist to get personalized advice. But the following advice will still make a big difference,” says Burrows.
Eat whole foods
Avoid processed foods and balance your blood sugar with essential nutrients from whole foods like nuts, beans, unprocessed meat and fish; so you’re supported by essential macronutrients (protein, fats, fiber) and all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in these foods. .
Increase protein, fiber and healthy fats
They digest slowly and keep us full for longer, reduce the urge to snack, and do not affect blood sugar. Get protein from chicken, eggs, beef and authentic Greek yogurt, and healthy fats from extra virgin olive oil, avocado and fatty fish. Increasing your fiber intake can be as easy as adding lentils or black beans to your diet.
Support your liver with cabbage and cauliflower
Due to type 2 diabetes and blood sugar problems, the liver has to work harder. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cabbage, arugula, cauliflower) contain isothiocyanate, which supports the liver and is a precursor to the production of glutathione, an important antioxidant. They also help produce sulforaphane, which is highly supportive in reducing inflammation and aiding the liver’s detoxification task.
Protect your heart with fruits
People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, so supporting the vascular system and heart health is crucial. Vegetables and fruits rich in anthocyanins (blackberries, apples and almonds), punicalagins (pomegranates) and resveratrol (apples, raspberries, grapes and blueberries) and supporting nitric oxide production (beets and green leafy vegetables) are beneficial due to the properties they contain. antioxidant status and anti-inflammatory properties.
Cut bread and potatoes
Bread and potatoes, two foods that are easily consumed excessively and negatively affect Type 2 diabetes patients, are broken down very quickly by the digestive system, causing blood sugar to rise.
Reduce inflammation with green leafy vegetables
They are great sources of fiber and phytonutrients, including antioxidants that support lowering inflammation and cholesterol that often accompanies Type 2 diabetes. Choose legumes such as lentils, black beans, kidney beans and peas, and leafy green vegetables such as kale, spinach, spring greens, kale, arugula and watercress.
As told to Marina Gask
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