An independent committee of scientific experts has published a draft document on how the diet can improve health outcomes for people with the condition.

Now, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) is requesting healthcare professionals and leading experts to review the draft report before it is officially published.

Representatives from Diabetes UK, NHS England, the British Dietetic Association, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of GPs also assisted the SACN in drawing up the guidance.

At the moment, Public Health England’s (PHE) nutritional advice for people with type 2 diabetes is based on the Eatwell Guide. The current approach suggests approximately 50% of dietary intake should consist of starchy carbohydrates such as potatoes, bread and rice.

Typically, a low carb diet will consist of 130g or less of carbohydrate a day. This means focusing on eating fats, proteins like meat, poultry, fish and eggs, and some non-starchy vegetables.

In recent years, studies have demonstrated the low carb approach can be hugely effective at managing blood sugar levels and achieving weight loss among those with type 2 diabetes.

Peer-reviewed outcomes from the award-winning Low Carb Program show 1 in 4 members are able to put type 2 diabetes into remission after 1 year. It is a behaviour change platform for adults with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and obesity designed to provide the education, resources and support people need to achieve their health goals.

Dr Adrienne Cullum, head of nutrition science at PHE, said: “The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), with support from a range of partners including Diabetes UK and NHSE, have undertaken a thorough review of the evidence on low carb diets for adults with type 2 diabetes.

“SACN is consulting on the draft report to make sure it has considered all the relevant evidence, and to invite comments on the draft conclusions.”

Once SACN has considered all the responses to the consultation, it will publish its final report and make recommendations to the government. The consultation period closes on April 30, 2020.

Mr Hancock was joined by England’s Chief Nursing Officer, Ruth May at the No 10 briefing. Ms May urged people to “stay at home” for 2 nurses, Areema Nasreen and Aimee O-Rourke, who died from COVID-19.

“I worry that there’s going to be more and I want to honour them today and recognise their service” said Ms May.

Warm weather is expected as the Easter holidays and people are being urged to stay at home. Local councils and police forces are appealing for the public to refrain from visiting beauty spots.

Mr Hancock also noted that there are 3 clinical trials looking at how existing drugs can be altered to treat COVID-19.

Mr Hancock ended the briefing saying “I end with the advice we all know. This advice is not a request – it is an instruction. Stay at home, protect lives and then you will be doing your part.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, virtual consultations have become the norm, while face-to-face appointments are now seen as a ‘privilege’.

As a short-term measure during the first lockdown, most General Practitioners were speaking to their patients over the phone, videocall or email.

Nearly 18 months after the beginning of the pandemic, face-to-face appointments have still not fully returned in the UK, data from the Commons Library identifies.

Healthcare professionals across the UK have now revealed what type of appointments require an in-person consultation and which ones should remain virtually.

They have claimed that three quarters of GP appointments could be conducted by nurses or pharmacists instead of doctors, such as medication checks and blood pressure readings.

In addition, they have said that individuals who frequently suffer with urinary tract infections (UTI) should be spoken to virtually.

Former chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), Dr Clare Gerada said: “If a young woman who has had a UTI before accurately describes symptoms of a UTI again, a GP doesn’t need to see her but can prescribe antibiotics.

“It is when you have these symptoms for the first time, or UTI symptoms don’t clear up with treatment, that patients should push for a face-to-face consultation, as this may suggest GPs need to take a sample to check which antibiotic to give.”

Experts have stated that people should see a GP face-to-face if they suffer with continuous headaches, constant back ache or serious skin conditions.

They have also advised that children below the age of one with a high temperature should physically see a doctor.

Additionally, suspected breast or testicular lumps should be examined in person, healthcare professionals say.

Consultant Breast Surgeon at the Princess Grace Hospitals in London, Professor Kefah Mokbel said: “Most doctors and patients believe virtual consultations cannot be an adequate replacement for face-to-face consultations especially when a clinical examination is required in patients with breast symptoms.

“Even breast cancer can present with symptoms less obvious than a lump — dimpling of the skin, for example.”

He added: “With other cancers it may be even more subtle, hence the need for a face-to-face consultation.

“However, virtual appointments are adequate for follow-up to ‘discuss results of tests, side-effects of treatment, management of chronic cancer symptoms and genetic counselling.”

Previous studies have found that virtual diagnoses can be problematic, especially for complicated cases.

New RCGP research has revealed that more than half of GPs think remote appointments are more suitable for current patients instead of newly joined patients.

The government is keen to modernise remote consultations but has instructed GPs to still offer in person appointments.

Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs said: “Face-face-appointments will always be an essential element of general practice, but remote consulting should also be an option as things get back to normal because there are advantages to both.”

A Canadian team say consuming two servings of dairy everyday might also help reduce blood pressure and other medical issues related to heart disease.

The trial, carried out by the McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, involved looking at data from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. This has recorded information for more than nine years from 140,000 people and 21 countries.

All participants were aged between 35 and 70 and had provided data on their medical history, including prescription medicines, smoking and measurements of weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose. They were also asked to complete a survey on their dietary habits.

Having studied the data, the research team say they found an association between dairy intake and the reduction of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is the medical term for heath conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension) and obesity.

Infact, eating two portions of dairy a day was found to reduce the risk of MetS by 24 per cent. That percentage dropped even lower to 28 per cent among those who opted for the full fat dairy options.

The researchers said: “Higher intake of whole fat (but not low fat) dairy was associated with a lower prevalence of MetS and most of its component factors, and with a lower incidence of hypertension and diabetes.

“If our findings are confirmed in sufficiently large and long-term trials, then increasing dairy consumption may represent a feasible and low-cost approach to reducing (metabolic syndrome), hypertension, diabetes, and ultimately cardiovascular disease events worldwide.”

The findings have been published in the BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care journal.

More evidence has been published which supports that diabetes is a “significant risk factor” for stroke and its complications.

After taking into account age, sex and education, researchers found cognitive function was “significantly poorer” among those with diabetes and who had survived a stroke, but not in those with prediabetes.

The senior author of the study, Dr Perminder Sachdev a scientia professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing in Australia, said: “That’s why type 2 diabetes is another important target in the prevention of dementia, and the focus should be on early treatment for prediabetes to delay or prevent the progression to type 2 diabetes.

“This is important because prediabetes is very common, and individuals can have prediabetes for several years before progressing to type 2 diabetes. Early and aggressive treatment of prediabetes can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. If we target the treatment of prediabetes, could this prevent the development of dementia in some individuals?”

The research involved 1,601 people from across seven international studies. All the participants had their blood sugar levels measured when they were admitted to hospital with a stroke.

Once they had recovered, each person had their memory, attention and speed of processing information tested between three to six months after they left hospital.

The findings suggested that those who had type 2 diabetes fared much lower in the cognitive tests when compared to people who did not have the condition.

Dr Jess Lo, lead author of the study and research associate at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, said: “The deficits we found in all areas of cognitive function highlight the importance of assessing the capacity for self-care in patients with type 2 diabetes following a stroke.”

The researchers concluded: “Diabetes mellitus, but not prediabetes, is associated with poorer cognitive performance in patients 3 to 6 months after stroke.”

The research has been published in the prestigious Stroke Journal.

The health and wellbeing of frontline NHS staff has been prioritised among a taskforce of leading healthcare professionals.

Led by a top type 2 diabetes professor, together the team has developed a Risk Reduction Framework for medical workers who may be at risk of COVID-19.

The document, drafted by Professor Kamlesh Khunti, Professor of Primary Care Diabetes and Vascular Medicine at the University of Leicester, is to help employers and managers ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees during the pandemic.

The expert working group took into account the age, gender and ethnicity of those who have died from COVID-19 among healthcare teams and have used the data to put together the guidance which focuses on risk management and reduction.

They also used existing research to complete the document, which will be continually updated as new information about COVID-19 becomes available.

• To view the framework document, click here.

To date, more than 170 frontline healthcare staff have died during the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising death toll comes amid criticism over the lack of essential protective equipment that have been available for frontline staff.

In addition, the amount of COVID-19 related deaths have been “disproportionately” higher among the black and minority ethnic (BAME) healthcare workers, but no one knows why.

The authors of the framework have said there is an “urgent need” to better understand why BAME workers are either dying or becoming extremely unwell from coronavirus.

They said: “A significant research and audit programme is also currently underway. This is the first attempt to create such a Risk Reduction Framework with currently available evidence and the Tool will be reviewed and updated in light of any evidence. It is however important to acknowledge is this area is continuously evolving and this framework provides a baseline but remains fluid.”

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