Dr Unwin has put 150 type 2 diabetes patients into drug-free remission (Image: Iain Watts/Mercury Press)
Britain’s most successful GP says colleagues call him a “mug” for prescribing life-changing advice instead of pills to cure type 2 diabetes.
David Unwin has seen 150 patients brought back from the brink with low-carb diets to reverse the debilitating condition.
Dr Unwin and his team started offering the option 12 years ago at his surgery in Southport.
And the results are remarkable with more than half of the Type 2 patients who signed up cured of the condition and medication-free.
Of those who had only had the condition for a year or less, 77% achieved drug-free remission. Among the patients that continued to need medication, 97% managed to get their diabetes symptoms under control.
Type 2 diabetes is a serious condition with a prevalence rising rapidly, especially among children. The problem is uncontrolled blood sugar with sufferers five times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.
Dr Unwin said: “I am often asked why so few doctors set up clinics to do work like this. Several times I have had it pointed out I am a mug to do all this extra work for no extra pay to fund our low carb service.
“The NHS will never be able to cope until we do something about demand by looking seriously at prevention of chronic diseases.
“I believe we have eaten our way into a pandemic of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and chronic ill health. It is urgent we do something to help people understand that we are what we eat.”
The medic has saved the NHS £400,000 by helping patients adopt lifestyle changes (Image: Iain Watts/Mercury Press)
Dr Unwin added: “In my practice near Liverpool we have seen an astonishing ten-fold increase in Type 2 diabetes since I started as a GP in 1986. In 40 years this cannot be genetic but an environmental problem with poor diet as the most likely culprit.
“I am convinced it has been caused by the dramatic increase in poor quality takeaway meals and run-away consumption of junk foods.”
The simple approach, which has saved the NHS almost £400,000 in the cost of diabetes drugs, sees patients eat nutritious and satiating food that does not see blood sugar rocket, like green vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and dairy.
They are told to avoid industrially-made and so-called beige foods, like pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, and processed meats, crisps, snacks and alcohol.
On average patients in Dr Unwin’s diabetes clinic – run for free and as an extra service – lost 10% of their body weight (equal to one and a half stones) – a weight loss maintained for three years.
There are now almost 5 million sufferers in the UK, a similar number thought to have it but undiagnosed, and 13 million at risk.
Taken together, it means roughly one third of the UK population has or is prone to the disease.
It is now being diagnosed routinely in children when 40 years ago it was almost exclusively a condition seen in the elderly and known as Sugar Diabetes.
Fast and ultra-processed food is a danger to health (Image: Getty Images)
The disease is diagnosed with a haemoglobin blood test known as a Hba1c with the threshold being two readings of 48 or more. A reading of 42 or above is considered pre-diabetes.
Starchy foods like bread or potato are broken down into sugar by digestion but in people with the disease the hormone insulin – which regulates blood sugar – fails and sufferers become resistant to its effects. Blood sugar starts to rise, damaging circulation and blood vessels, causing inflammation. Sufferers are often overweight as livers become clogged with fat.
Before launching his pioneering service Dr Unwin had never heard of a single case of remission from Type 2 diabetes without drugs.
The NHS spends £15 billion a year servicing the condition – equal to £1 million every hour. Metformin is one of the most commonly prescribed diabetes medications.
Dr Unwin’s practice has saved more than £370,000 on diabetes drugs in the past six years, in addition to saving cash on weight loss drugs, blood pressure medication and statins.
He said: “Eating lots of green veg with protein and healthy fats leaves you full up in a way that lasts.
“As an NHS GP, things continue to deteriorate on the ground. Our practice has seen a ten-fold increase in the numbers of people suffering with Type 2 diabetes, a condition closely linked to overconsumption and obesity. A quick Look around any petrol station or supermarket will show the likely culprits: shelf after shelf of sugary treats, crisps, and chocolate bars. All washed down with litres of equally sugary drinks.
“We gave up waiting for someone else to tell us how to solve this problem and started offering a low carb approach. The idea is a logical one, why not eat nutritious food that doesn’t put your blood sugar up? Foods like green veg, meat, fish, eggs and dairy.
“We are achieving an average weight loss of over 10% body weight (or one and a half stones) after three years.
“I am unaware of any national incentives for busy GPs either to take on this extra work or refer people. An intervention like ours may also work in other areas. Surely now is the time to invest in drug-free prevention.”
Follow Dr Unwin’s golden rules to help combat rising blood sugar and ward off type 2 diabetes:
1. Sugar – cut it out altogether, although it will be in the blueberries, strawberries and raspberries you are allowed to eat. Cakes and biscuits are a mixture of sugar and starch that make it almost impossible to avoid food cravings; they just make you hungrier
2. Reduce starchy carbs – these digest down into surprising amounts of sugar. Cut out ‘white stuff’ like bread, rice, pasta, potato, and cereals. All green vegetables and salads are fine. Eat as much of these as you can and turn the white green.
3. Fruit is tricky – some tropical fruits like bananas, oranges, grapes, mangoes or pineapple have too much sugar and can set carb cravings off. Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, apples and pears are better.
4. Eat healthy protein – try to base meals on non-processed meat like chicken or red meat, eggs, and oily fish like salmon and mackerel.
5. Healthy fats are fine in moderation – olive oil is very useful, butter may be tastier than margarine and could be better for you, and coconut oil is great for stir fries. Four essential vitamins A, D, E and K are only found in some fats or oils. But avoid margarine, corn oil and vegetable oil.
6. Beware of ‘low fat’ foods – these often have sugar or sweeteners added to make them palatable. Full fat mayonnaise and pesto are definitely ok but cheese – a very calorific mixture of fat, and protein – should only be eaten in moderation.
7. Avoid snacking because it becomes habit forming – unsalted nuts like almonds or walnuts are fine to stave off hunger and the occasional treat of strong dark chocolate is also acceptable in a small quantity.
8. Alcohol is full of carbohydrates – beer is almost liquid toast hence beer bellies. The odd glass of dry white, red wine or spirits is not too bad if it doesn’t make you hungry afterwards – or just plain water with a slice of lemon. Sweeteners can trick you into being even hungrier, making weight loss more difficult. Drink tea, coffee, and water or herbal teas but remember 100ml milk is one teaspoon of sugar.