Can you CURE yourself of Type 2 diabetes? Meet three people who have
- 21:00, 28 SEP 2015
- UPDATED 08:21, 30 SEP 2015
- BY FIONA DUFFY
The condition affects more than three million people but a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis doesn't have to mean a life sentence
Diabetes: It doesn't have to be a life sentence
Type 2
diabetes is a modern-day epidemic, affecting more than 3 million people – with five million more at risk.
But while it brings serious health complications, a diagnosis doesn’t mean a life-sentence.
Fiona Duffy meets three former patients who reversed the condition and have never felt better.
I cut out sugar and ate more fish
Courtenay Hitchcock: He cut out sugar and ate more fish
Dad-of-four Courtenay Hitchcock, 49, is a lifestyle photographer from Sturminster Newton, Dorset. He is married to Laura 41.
“My job involves lots of driving, unsocial hours and eating late but I was shocked to realised I’d gone from ‘a big chap’ to ‘
clinically obese’ in a few years.
“For months I’d felt lethargic but, over Christmas 2013, I began to feel fluey – with a raging thirst.
"My GP suspected Type 2 diabetes and I was horrified to discover that complications include limb loss, blindness and kidney failure.
“I was even more aghast when I stood on the scales and reached 19 stone 8lb.
"Blood tests also revealed dangerously high blood sugar levels – anything of 6.5 and above is classified as Type 2 diabetes. Mine were 23.
“I was put on medication and referred to a diabetes nurse.
Exercise: This can really help
"Meanwhile, I researched it – reading about people who had improved, and even reversed, their diabetes through diet and
exercise.
“But the nurse was dismissive when I suggested I try to do the same. ‘That’s not very likely,’ she said. Her attitude was like a red rag to a bull.
“I cut out sugar and used Stevia – a natural sweetener. I also adopted a Mediterranean diet with more fish.
“I was too ashamed to join a gym. Instead, I started really walking Blue, our rottweiler, and I abandoned the car – if we needed milk, I’d walk briskly into town. I bought a stationary bike too.
“By September, just six months later, I was down to 14 stone and off the medication. The nurse was thrilled.
“I recently completed a 14-mile race, raising £700 for Diabetes UK.
“Before, playing with the kids, I couldn’t bend over to pick up a cricket ball – now I dive for it.”
I started walking - and lost 8st
Julian Porter: He started walking and it had remarkable results
Dad-of-two Julian Porter, 53, a wedding photographer, from Southampton, is married to Sue, also a photographer.
“When it comes to food I don’t have an off switch. At work, I’d tuck into free food before a big dinner and four pints when I got home. I’d always hated exercise.
“I inherited
high blood pressure from my parents and at my annual health check-up in 2010, the doctor said, ‘The good news is that your blood pressure is under control. The bad news is you’re diabetic.’
“I was stunned. Just two weeks earlier, I’d photographed a diabetes patient, in his 40s, who had lost a leg due to complications.
“Looking back, I was urinating excessively and experiencing blurred vision, which I now know are classic signs.
“It was a huge wake-up call. I was prescribed Metformin – a drug to lower blood sugar levels – and statins for my high cholesterol.
Getty
Junk food: Julian made sure he emptied his house of the stuff
“That first evening, after diagnosis, Sue and I emptied the house of junk food. Then, each morning, I set off 6am, when there was no one to see me, for a five-mile walk.
“After two months, I bought a treadmill so I could fit in walks around work.
"I discovered a forum on
diabetes.co.uk where I could get advice and joined
weightlossresources.com, which works out exactly how many calories you need per day.
“Returning to my GP for checks every three months, he was astounded at how quickly my weight and blood sugar levels dropped.
"Within a year, I had lost eight stone and no longer needed medication. My doctor was, and still is, in awe.
“I decided to up the speed on the treadmill until I was jogging. Just one week later, I did a 5k race with my son, Andy, now 30, who had been running for years – and beat him!
“After a lifetime of hating sport I was hooked. I’ve gone on to do countless half marathons and marathons, love cycling long distances and even do race duathlons (running and cycling).
“People are amazed at the times I clock up at my age. I’m still on the diabetes.co.ukforum where I try to support others who are newly diagnosed. Because if I can do it, anyone can.”
I followed a low-carb diet and quit bread
Michele O' Sullivan: She's quit bread and feels better than ever
Grandmother of two and mum to three grown-up children, Michele O’Sullivan, 49, lives in Telford, Shrops, with husband, Richard, 48.
“Richard and I had been together for seven years after meeting online, and in 2012 I moved from the US to be with him.
“But before I moved, I’d been feeling exhausted and had aching joints. I’d gained weight, had blurred vision and was
hospitalised twice for high blood pressure.
"My doctor in Ohio had focused on treating the blood pressure. But my new GP in the UK suspected diabetes.
“I was shocked as I wasn’t a
junk food eater. But I know now that I’d been eating all the wrong things – lots of grains and carbs which spiked my blood sugar levels.
“An HbA1c test, which measures glucose carried by red blood cells, gave a result of 7.9 – 6.5 and above is classed as Type 2 diabetes. I was put on a daily medication, Metformin, to reduce it.
“I found a forum on
diabetes.co.uk and was amazed to read that some people had reversed it by following a low-carb diet.
Dominic Lipinski/PA
Healthy diet: Cutting out the junk can really help
"So I found recipes and carefully weighed my food – lowering my carbs to 50g, then 20-30g, a day. (Healthy guidelines usually recommended that a third of our diet is made up of carbs.)
“The weight started dropping off. Within a month, my blood pressure improved. In just three months, my GP halved my diabetes medication.
"And because I was no longer exhausted I felt able to start exercising. I started off slowly on an elliptical trainer until I was covering two miles every other day.
"In between, I’d do light weight training.
“Over 18 months, I’ve lost four and a half stone and am medication free. My HbA1cs levels have dropped to 5.3. I still have three stone to lose but am happy to do it slowly and steadily.
“Before reversing my diabetes, I was miserable and couldn’t get through the day without naps.
“Now, I have so much energy. I feel amazing – better than I did in my 30s.”
Ways you can stop diabetes
PA
Diabetes: You can cut your risk
Whereas Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas stops producing insulin, Type 2 diabetes is caused by either the body not producing enough insulin (a hormone which helps the body store and use the sugar from food) or not using it correctly.
Experts agree that diet and exercise changes can have a huge impact on improving and even reversing Type 2 diabetes. Here’s how you can start:
- Lose weight. A typical person with Type 2 diabetes needs to lose two-and-a-half stone for the pancreas and liver to work properly again, says Dr David Cavan, author of Reverse your Diabetes (£11.99, Vermillion).
- Reduce portion sizes, avoid cakes and biscuits and opt instead for fruit, nuts and seeds. Steer clear of sugary and sports drinks.
- Opt for a low-carbohydrate diet of around 100g of carbohydrates a day (approx 30g for each meal). Swap breakfast cereal for eggs or natural yogurt with nuts and seeds – and sandwiches for soup or salad.
- A five-year DiRECT study, backed by Diabetes UK, is being carried out into the long-term effects of a restricted diet (not suitable for those with active, or ongoing, medical problems) on Type 2 diabetes. For further information on the study see diabetes.co.uk.
- Get moving. “You may need to take baby steps towards going back to an active lifestyle,” says US diabetes and exercise expert Dr Sheri Colberg. “Think about consciously standing up more during the day. Don’t sit for longer than an hour at a time without getting up and walking around. Where you can start to fit little bits of exercise into your day – so that it becomes a way of life.”
- Build up to a combination of aerobic activity (cycling, fast walking) plus muscle strengthening activities such as heavy gardening, yoga, push ups or sit ups.
- You can find a one-year step-by-step plan for complete beginners on Dr Colberg’s website Diabetes Motion (www.diabetesmotion.com).
- Or try the NHS programmes: Couch to 5k and Flex (www.nhs.uk/strength-and-flex).(Diabetes UK recommends seeking medical advice before embarking on exercise – particular intense exercises like running and weightlifting, which can worsen retinopathy – a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes).
- For more info visit Diabetes UK’s site diabetes.org.uk or log on to the UK’s largest online community for people with diabetes at diabetes.co.uk