Newcastle Diet 3 years on

[youngmanfrank]

I think it important that people who have tried the Newcastle Diet post their longer term results here,if only to discourage/encourage the rest.

In my case I followed the usual path,despite my best efforts and losing weight I continued to get worsening results.Initially 3xMetformin a day helped but eventually my blood sugars were rising back to where they were before I went onto Metformin,with fasting bloods in the high 7's and low 8's.

Three years ago I made the decision to try the Newcastle Diet.I used 3x Slimfast bottles per day plus 3x small Salad bowls.I know the reservations about muscle wastage so to counteract this I maintained a strict exercise regime:each day I ran 3 miles in the morning,swam 20 lengths just before lunchtime and walked the dog for up to 1 hour after tea.After 7 weeks my weight bottomed out at 12stone 3 ( a 2 stone loss) and I started introducing normal meals.

At the end of the diet my Hb was 38,this rose steadily over the course of the first year to 40.During the latter half of the second year I suffered a disaster in that an inflamed achilles restricted my running and walking so I took up cycling.At the end of the second year my Hb was 41,still just within the normal range.My heel finally got sorted towards the end of the third year and I was able to exercise normally for the last quarter.My Hb at the end of this third year was 37,well within the normal range.Weight rose during the third year to almost 13 stones,however I have put on a lot of muscle due to the cycling,to the point where I have had to abandon slimfit trousers.

Diet wise I do nothing special.I try to avoid over eating and stay within 2000-2500 calories per day.Over the course of the third year I have tried to avoid commercial foods and stick to low and medium GI meals I have made myself.Exercise has been scaled back to once or twice a day.Most days I run 3 miles for my newspaper first thing,three times a week I am out on my bike for up to 40 miles and again most days I walk the dog.Cycling seems to give the most benefit,after 3 hours and 40 miles a dipped Ketostix reveals that I am in fat burning mode,so for my 65th birthday I bought myself a new carbon fibre drop handle bar racing bike (!) with my first two pension payouts.

A consultant I was chatting to put forward the theory that the Newcastle Diet normalises insulin sensitivity and after that what happens depends on you sticking to your diet /exercise regime.She had personal knowledge of patients who had maintained their improvement over a 5 year period,and of others whose results had slipped back within a year.

For myself all I can say is that I have lost all the signs of type 2 diabetes and have never felt more positive and energised.

I hope this helps.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I notice that nobody has replied.

Yes, thank you, it does help.
A lot.

 

[daddys1]

Hi @youngmanfrank, A very interesting read, thankyou for that.

It's pleasing to see that it is working for some, I am not doing the amount of exercise that you are doing, nor the diet, just slowly losing the weight.

Not sure I may have to take the plunge into the restricted Newcastle Diet as I seem to be plateauing a lot. We will see after xmas.

But thanks once again it's very encouraging well done.

Neil

 

[Brunneria]

Wonderful story!

I find your exercise regime really impressive, but while I admire it, I know that I wouldn't maintain that level of activity, no matter how good my intentions.

I wish I could.

 

[youngmanfrank]

I don't think the slow weight loss really works for diabetics.Prior to diagnosis I was over 16 stone.With dieting,exercise and metformin I gradually got down to 14.5 stones at the point at which I decided to take the plunge and do the Newcastle diet.My blood sugars were still getting worse to the point that extra meds on top of the metformin were looming.

My understanding of the effect of the Newcastle diet is that it resets your insulin sensitivity due to the shock to the system of what is really a starvation diet.What happens after the diet depends on the changes you make to your lifestyle.In my case the physical and mental effects of my diabetes meant that my business collapsed and I was left unemployed in my mid fifties,in rural Devon.Without a job I was free to run,swim,walk and cycle to my hearts content.I have the time to make all my meals from scratch.Although I try and make low/medium GI meals,because my insulin sensitivity is so improved I deal with carbs and sugar spikes in a normal manner.

It helps that I enjoy exercise,especially now I am fit.Today is Christmas day,so I shoved the turkey in the oven at 8.30am and went for a 4.5 mile run,for fun,and it was great.My son has a new pair of cycle wheels for Christmas so later on I fitted a pair of tyres and we went off for a cycle around the local lanes to try them out.The trick to exercise is to do what you enjoy.I hated swimming (always find the water too cold and its boring) so I substituted cycling and have not looked back since.

I am heartened by the lack of negative replies to my posting.I find that reactions to my success story fall into three camps.Old school (hi doctor) says that once a diabetic always a diabetic and no cure is possible.New age says this is it,cured,no problem.I tend to go with the middle view,which is that I will always have a (genetic?)propensity for dropping into a diabetic condition,but having done the diet,which has worked,providing I watch what I eat and how much I consume,I have the possibility of staying in the normal blood non-diabetic sugar range.

At the time I decided to do the Newcastle diet I was in a bad place and decided that 8 weeks of hell was a small price to pay if it worked.I will never regret that decision.

 

[douglas99]

An excellent choice.
And and excellent result.

Newcastle diet and intensive exercise, (where possible) should be the first method of attack, in my opinion.

 

[Brunneria]

I don't think the slow weight loss really works for diabetics.Prior to diagnosis I was over 16 stone.With dieting,exercise and metformin I gradually got down to 14.5 stones at the point at which I decided to take the plunge and do the Newcastle diet.My blood sugars were still getting worse to the point that extra meds on top of the metformin were looming.

My understanding of the effect of the Newcastle diet is that it resets your insulin sensitivity due to the shock to the system of what is really a starvation diet.What happens after the diet depends on the changes you make to your lifestyle.In my case the physical and mental effects of my diabetes meant that my business collapsed and I was left unemployed in my mid fifties,in rural Devon.Without a job I was free to run,swim,walk and cycle to my hearts content.I have the time to make all my meals from scratch.Although I try and make low/medium GI meals,because my insulin sensitivity is so improved I deal with carbs and sugar spikes in a normal manner.

It helps that I enjoy exercise,especially now I am fit.Today is Christmas day,so I shoved the turkey in the oven at 8.30am and went for a 4.5 mile run,for fun,and it was great.My son has a new pair of cycle wheels for Christmas so later on I fitted a pair of tyres and we went off for a cycle around the local lanes to try them out.The trick to exercise is to do what you enjoy.I hated swimming (always find the water too cold and its boring) so I substituted cycling and have not looked back since.

I am heartened by the lack of negative replies to my posting.I find that reactions to my success story fall into three camps.Old school (hi doctor) says that once a diabetic always a diabetic and no cure is possible.New age says this is it,cured,no problem.I tend to go with the middle view,which is that I will always have a (genetic?)propensity for dropping into a diabetic condition,but having done the diet,which has worked,providing I watch what I eat and how much I consume,I have the possibility of staying in the normal blood non-diabetic sugar range.

At the time I decided to do the Newcastle diet I was in a bad place and decided that 8 weeks of hell was a small price to pay if it worked.I will never regret that decision.

Are you aware that Professor Taylor (who designed and ran the Newcastle Diet trial) believes that it is the loss of fat from the liver that causes the diabetes 'reversal'?

And that he has stated that it is not the speed and drama of the weight loss, or the details of the diet that have the beneficial effect?

He recently stated in an open lecture that any diet and any weight loss will achieve the same effect. Provided the loss is sufficient.

 

[daddys1]

Are you aware that Professor Taylor (who designed and ran the Newcastle Diet trial) believes that it is the loss of fat from the liver that causes the diabetes 'reversal'?

And that he has stated that it is not the speed and drama of the weight loss, or the details of the diet that have the beneficial effect?

He recently stated in an open lecture that any diet and any weight loss will achieve the same effect. Provided the loss is sufficient.

Thank you, you have saved me a job replying Brunneria, I read exactly the same.

The last thing I would want is all those people who do not think or want to take the very low calorie route of the Newcastle Diet, deciding they will not be able to do it through steady dieting & weight loss.

Neil

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Although the newcastle diet was supposed to mimic the effects of gastric bypass surgery it appears that is not the case, except for the calorie restriction/weight loss part.

From http://www.healthline.com/health-news/aging-how-gastric-bypass-eliminates-type-2-diabetes-072913:

"Here's how it works: After gastric bypass, which is a common weight loss solution for the severely obese, the small intestine spontaneously begins to produce a molecule called GLUT-1 that helps the body use glucose.

“The quite amazing thing is that this is not present normally in the small intestine of adults, but only in the fetus,” said Dr. Erini Nestoridi, a research fellow in Stylopoulos' lab, in an interview with Healthline. “This happens most likely because the intestine has to work harder to do its job, for example to absorb the nutrients or move the food further down. Also, it may be that the mechanical stress of 'dumping' the food directly to the intestine, since the stomach is bypassed, contributes to these changes.”

Although weight loss and improved diabetes symptoms go hand in hand, previous research has shown that gastric bypass surgery helps resolve the disease even before weight loss occurs."

 

[douglas99]

Thank you, you have saved me a job replying Brunneria, I read exactly the same.

The last thing I would want is all those people who do not think or want to take the very low calorie route of the Newcastle Diet, deciding they will not be able to do it through steady dieting & weight loss.

Neil

It is an interesting viewpoint.
I did the Newcastle diet, as the original diet, as that was the one that had the results.

But then, I also did a low fat, lower calorie diet before that, which also had good results.

So, reckon I agree with both viewpoints

Any weightloss is going to be good.

The newcastle diet is the first choice, if you can decide it's for you.

 

[daddys1]

Although the newcastle diet was supposed to mimic the effects of gastric bypass surgery it appears that is not the case, except for the calorie restriction/weight loss part.

From http://www.healthline.com/health-news/aging-how-gastric-bypass-eliminates-type-2-diabetes-072913:

"Here's how it works: After gastric bypass, which is a common weight loss solution for the severely obese, the small intestine spontaneously begins to produce a molecule called GLUT-1 that helps the body use glucose.

“The quite amazing thing is that this is not present normally in the small intestine of adults, but only in the fetus,” said Dr. Erini Nestoridi, a research fellow in Stylopoulos' lab, in an interview with Healthline. “This happens most likely because the intestine has to work harder to do its job, for example to absorb the nutrients or move the food further down. Also, it may be that the mechanical stress of 'dumping' the food directly to the intestine, since the stomach is bypassed, contributes to these changes.”

Although weight loss and improved diabetes symptoms go hand in hand, previous research has shown that gastric bypass surgery helps resolve the disease even before weight loss occurs."

Hi No Carbs4me, I followed your link but the very next paragraph after what has been quoted above concerns me,

"Bypassing the Bypass
Stylopoulos' initial research has focused on rats. He has yet to determine whether GLUT-1 also appears in humans who have gastric bypass surgery. Next, the research team will test whether non-surgical techniques can re-create the effects of gastric bypass in animals.

Their goal is to find a way to turn the small intestine into a "depot" to "dump" glucose from the bloodstream, Stylopoulos said. That would be a novel way to get rid of some circulating glucose in the body. This would be a boon for patients with diabetes, since lowering blood glucose levels can prevent diabetic complications."

I really think we have to be very careful in taking quotes from these studies unless we have ourselves really studied what was or is actually been said. I found this whole report rather confusing as it appears to contradict itself throughout but is very subtle.

Neil

 

[NoCrbs4Me]

Hi No Carbs4me, I followed your link but the very next paragraph after what has been quoted above concerns me,

"Bypassing the Bypass
Stylopoulos' initial research has focused on rats. He has yet to determine whether GLUT-1 also appears in humans who have gastric bypass surgery. Next, the research team will test whether non-surgical techniques can re-create the effects of gastric bypass in animals.

Their goal is to find a way to turn the small intestine into a "depot" to "dump" glucose from the bloodstream, Stylopoulos said. That would be a novel way to get rid of some circulating glucose in the body. This would be a boon for patients with diabetes, since lowering blood glucose levels can prevent diabetic complications."

I really think we have to be very careful in taking quotes from these studies unless we have ourselves really studied what was or is actually been said. I found this whole report rather confusing as it appears to contradict itself throughout but is very subtle.

Neil

You are probably right, although I'm not clear on why you are concerned or about what. Nevertheless, the point I was trying to make was that "Although weight loss and improved diabetes symptoms go hand in hand, previous research has shown that gastric bypass surgery helps resolve the disease even before weight loss occurs."

So whereas the Newcastle diet appears to reverse T2 diabetes through weight loss, gastric bypass surgery works by some other mechanism. The original intent of the newcastle diet was to mimic the food intake restriction that results from bypass surgery without actually doing the surgery thinking that this is what was reversing diabetes in people who had gastric bypass surgery.

 

[jack412]

You are probably right, although I'm not clear on why you are concerned or about what. Nevertheless, the point I was trying to make was that "Although weight loss and improved diabetes symptoms go hand in hand, previous research has shown that gastric bypass surgery helps resolve the disease even before weight loss occurs."

So whereas the Newcastle diet appears to reverse T2 diabetes through weight loss, gastric bypass surgery works by some other mechanism. The original intent of the newcastle diet was to mimic the food intake restriction that results from bypass surgery without actually doing the surgery thinking that this is what was reversing diabetes in people who had gastric bypass surgery.

the newcastle drops the BG first, then the weight loss, then hopefully the reversal

that's also similar to my LCHF and met, I had the BG in normal range in a month and the weight loss followed. The low BG was first and I'm dropping weight

 

[daddys1]

You are probably right, although I'm not clear on why you are concerned or about what. Nevertheless, the point I was trying to make was that "Although weight loss and improved diabetes symptoms go hand in hand, previous research has shown that gastric bypass surgery helps resolve the disease even before weight loss occurs."

So whereas the Newcastle diet appears to reverse T2 diabetes through weight loss, gastric bypass surgery works by some other mechanism. The original intent of the newcastle diet was to mimic the food intake restriction that results from bypass surgery without actually doing the surgery thinking that this is what was reversing diabetes in people who had gastric bypass surgery.

Hi Nocarbs4me,

As I said, I found this article rather confusing and note its actually a report from a science journal and may have been misinterpreted, what was my concern, was that we can quote/snippets from an article like this, but it contradicts its self further on and appears to give not such a clear picture as first alleged.

This is from the first paragraph.
"Here's how it works: After gastric bypass, which is a common weight loss solution for the severely obese, the small intestine spontaneously begins to produce a molecule called GLUT-1 that helps the body use glucose".

This is from the second paragraph.
He has yet to determine whether GLUT-1 also appears in humans who have gastric bypass surgery.

I'm not sure which one is right!

Neil

 

[douglas99]

That's the problem with studies, they simply contradict each other in the end.

The Newcastle diet seems to work, for some, and then again, not others.
As to how it works, personally, if it did, I wouldn't greatly worry why.

But it's not a low carb diet. It's low calorie, low fat, and a lot of the calories come from carbs, even so BG decreases quickly, (within a week in some), while still consuming carbs.

So the metabolism of the body is certainly going to be in a different state from others on a completely different diet.
That needs to be taken in context on the low calorie diet forum here as well.

 

[daddys1]

That's the problem with studies, they simply contradict each other in the end.

The Newcastle diet seems to work, for some, and then again, not others.
As to how it works, personally, if it did, I wouldn't greatly worry why.

But it's not a low carb diet. It's low calorie, low fat, and a lot of the calories come from carbs, even so BG decreases quickly, (within a week in some), while still consuming carbs.

So the metabolism of the body is certainly going to be in a different state from others on a completely different diet.
That needs to be taken in context on the low calorie diet forum here as well.

Hi Douglas,

I understand that perfectly, BGs have to reduce, from the mere fact you will be taking in a lot less, carbs & fat, making less food to process and therefore it takes an immediate effect.

Cheers Neil

 

[Pipp]

You are probably right, although I'm not clear on why you are concerned or about what. Nevertheless, the point I was trying to make was that "Although weight loss and improved diabetes symptoms go hand in hand, previous research has shown that gastric bypass surgery helps resolve the disease even before weight loss occurs."

So whereas the Newcastle diet appears to reverse T2 diabetes through weight loss, gastric bypass surgery works by some other mechanism. The original intent of the newcastle diet was to mimic the food intake restriction that results from bypass surgery without actually doing the surgery thinking that this is what was reversing diabetes in people who had gastric bypass surgery.

I am not too sure that the statement "Newcastle diet appears to reverse T2 through weight loss". is entirely correct. I can report on my own experience, and that of 3 other people I know who followed the Newcastle diet method, that the BG levels became non-diabetic within days of starting the diet. For me they have stayed that way for over 3 years, despite still having a lot of weight to lose.

 

[douglas99]

Hi Douglas,

I understand that perfectly, BGs have to reduce, from the mere fact you will be taking in a lot less, carbs & fat, making less food to process and therefore it takes an immediate effect.

Cheers Neil

I've found my BG tends to follow my eating overall.
Days when I eat less, my BG tends to decrease.
Overeating, and it creeps up.

it makes some sense, as I know I'm thin enough for my body to be trying to store energy, so would be expecting my metabolism to be trying to keep the BG up at the top end of normal, so I can lay down some fat, if there is any excess calories about.

My answer is to balance it out long term.

 

[Pipp]

I've found my BG tends to follow my eating overall.
Days when I eat less, my BG tends to decrease.
Overeating, and it creeps up.

it makes some sense, as I know I'm thin enough for my body to be trying to store energy, so would be expecting my metabolism to be trying to keep the BG up at the top end of normal, so I can lay down some fat, if there is any excess calories about.

My answer is to balance it out long term.

Following Newcastle diet, which I did as a Total Food Replacement diet, I find that I am able to eat high carb foods without subsequent increase in BG. However, high calorie foods, either high fat or high carb, still cause weight gain. As I was morbidly obese when I first was diagnosed T2, I do not want to risk getting that heavy again, so. I am striving to lose the remaining excess weight. Initially the impetus was to reverse diabetes. With the stable BG levels since September 2011, despite still needing to lose around 4 stones, motivation is not as strong as it was.

 

[daddys1]

I am not too sure that the statement "Newcastle diet appears to reverse T2 through weight loss". is entirely correct. I can report on my own experience, and that of 3 other people I know who followed the Newcastle diet method, that the BG levels became non-diabetic within days of starting the diet. For me they have stayed that way for over 3 years, despite still having a lot of weight to lose.

HI Pip,

I view it like this, there is an individual 'tipping point' where the fat 'issue' that has moved us into the diabetic range is different for everyone, therefore some people would have to loose less weight to achieve the same lower BGs consistently as others, where they may have to loose all their fat. Also some loosing all fat still does not produce the effect of reversal.

I can see that you would immediately move into non diabetic BGs as soon as you start a 600 to 800 calorie diet which has reduced Carbs, Fat & Protein, which I would imagine would be the same for anyone on that number of calories.

I am fairly sure however, that in those first few days when they saw this effect of very low non diabetic BGs, if there was an immediate revert back to eating carbs on a full 2000/2500 calories say on the 4th day you would not be in the non diabetic range, according to DR. Taylor, it is the weight loss over the short or long term that can help in reversing of the diabetes.

Neil