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Diabetes complications stem from problems with insulin production, which raises the spectre of dangerously high blood sugar levels. While it’s no secret that you can tame the threat posed by high glucose by adjusting your diet, an NHS trial suggests that a certain food regime might even reverse the condition.
Food can feel very much like the enemy when you are trying to figure out how to get a grip on your blood sugar.
Fortunately, an NHS trial suggests that a soup and shake diet might be able to reverse type 2 diabetes.
Restricting your calorie intake to 850 a day, the food regime showed very promising results.
What’s more, doctors will be able to start prescribing this diet as early as next year.
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The trial showed that sticking to soups and shakes helped around 2,000 people lose an average of more than two stone.
Even more exciting, earlier research found that almost half of those who gave the diet a go managed to reverse their type 2 diabetes.
The results surprised many experts as diabetes is considered to be a life sentence.
The food regime consisted of sachets of powder that were added to water to make shakes and soups.
Designed to be followed for three months, this timeframe will continue to be implemented when it’s rolled out nationwide.
After the soup and shake period, a “carefully managed” plan will help to reintroduce other healthy and nutritious foods.
However, there’s a catch. Not everyone can take up this “fantastic” diet as GPs will need to refer patients.
Professor Jonathan Valabhji, diabetes and obesity chief at NHS England, said: “We have seen fantastic early results from the NHS low-calorie diet programme and are now planning to expand the offer nationwide, to give thousands more the chance to shed the pounds and improve their health.
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“Rolling out low-calorie diets on the NHS may help many more people to turn the tide on type 2 diabetes and potentially slash their risk of serious health implications.
“We know this weight loss will go a long way to help people stay well and avoid preventable illness, and for many will also mean they can put type 2 diabetes into remission.”
The diet will be open to patients between the ages of 18 to 65 diagnosed with the blood sugar condition.
Eligible Britons must also have a body mass index over 27, or over 25 if they are from black, Asian or minority ethnic groups.
This means that around 10 to 20 percent of people living with the disease in England will be able to take part.
If just a quarter gives it a go and 46 percent achieve remission, like in the trial, it would mean around 25,000 people could save themselves from type 2 diabetes every year.
The diet is planned to be fully rolled out nationwide in the financial year 2023/24, according to the NHS.
However, that timescale could change as the nationwide roll-out has not yet formally been announced.
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