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Itv The Fat Fix: Diabetes



@Boo1979 I'm sure they only did 2 weeks on the fasting diets.

@Bluetit1802 The presenter said they were HbA1c tests.
 
Mr_Pot said:
No doubt they were tested before being on the programme. Choosing 2 "celebrities" and finding out they weren't diabetic wouldn't have worked. I didn't think Paul set a good example as as doctor, no wonder he changed career.
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Yes they must have been tested before being chosen to go on the program, bu that still wouldn't explain the drop to an HbA1c of 55/56 in just two weeks.

tbf Paul Sinha was a gynaecologist, but he should have known more about diabetes as he said his father was T1 and his mother had recently been diagnosed T2.
 

Exactly. The program didn't address this at all. I tire of these recent programs where they can't even be bothered to do an OGTT on the participants before and after. Seems a pretty basic thing to me. It's so stunning that these 'groundbreaking investigations' don't 'go there' that I'm beginning to wonder if it's a conscious decision not to, because they suspect things won't look so good and they just want to focus on the most dramatic-sounding improvements.
 
Petaluk said:
I’m really confused by this show -
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The thing is...they might have to finally admit that they have been getting it wrong for way too long now so they dance round it and give us these half baked ideas while still missing the obvious....that LOW CARB is the one thing that WILL help and you don't have to half starve yourself or drink disgusting gloopy shakes to make a difference
 
Prem51 said:
@Boo1979 I'm sure they only did 2 weeks on the fasting diets.

@Bluetit1802 The presenter said they were HbA1c tests.
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I find 2 weeks hard to accept given that it doesnt match my memory but more because they were given and met weight loss targets of 5-7kg in one celebs case and more for the other. One celeb was on 16:8 protocol without calorie restriction, the other was on an alternate day fasting with a daily average of 1200 cals split 600:1800 across 2 days
 
Are you still with us @Guzzler? Do you need help? Should we call an ambulance?

In the first section before the advertisements last night, the 'experts' said 1) Exercise is crucial for tackling diabetes, and 2) Calories are everything.

I had visions of your head exploding. Are you okay?
 
I suspect that for the media ( and much of the great British population) titling a proramme “the hard slog to get T2 diabetes under control / in remission” is a lot less sexy than “ fast fix diabetes”. - sexy soundbites rule the day with the media. I remember when I worked in a night shelter for homeless kids, we had 2 News of the world journalists pitch up asking for “ shock horror stories” - we gave them very short shrift!
I also suspect that for the researchers it dosn’t much matter what the media tagline is, as long as they get their findings into the public domain
 
Diabetes dietitian
Wow the passion in your posts is so up-lifting, I wish we could do one massive XPERT Health programme. I am a facilitator for the XPERT Health diabetes education programme and the low carb lifestyle WORKS for those who want control of this condition. I am witness regularly to huge drops in HbA1c, medication and weight and equally see huge increases in self-esteem and confidence as empowered participants take control of their condition using knowledge and support from peers. NO brown sludge or isolation clinics necessary! This is such an important subject that it grieves me to see it being used for entertainment and agree wholeheartedly with those who are beside themselves with anger at the lack of scientific explanation or genuine real life advice given in this programme. I guess this is television: so should we expect this kind of elephant man, bearded lady type of approach? My biggest concern is the waste of an opportunity to speak to the nation, millions of people with diabetes could have been helped to gain control. Unfortunately what has been achieved is those with diabetes feel they are to blame for their diabetes and the only acceptable solution is handing over control to to someone else to provide what looks to me like a totally impractical diet which needs to be taking in isolation form family and friends with regular doses of national fat shaming.

Wow. No mention of the obesegenic environment we are forced to live in , where every cup of shop bought coffee comes with a free biscuit !!! Food is forced on us at every opportunity and guidelines are written by academics with connections to the food industry. ?? My patients tell me all the time they are confused by mixed messages they get from different quarters.
I work with real people, leading real lives where the "quick fix" just doesn't work for long. No need to starve or eat anything you wouldn't give your dog. If you are offered diabetes education grab it with both hands if your are not offered find out where you can get on a programme. Meantime, understand the link between your medication and your carbohydrates, you may need to eat with some medications, understand carbohydrates, check your portion size, eat real foods and avoid processed food and eat because your hungry and not because the time of day dictates it. you won't starve to death I promise. where possible leave longer periods between food to allow your body to reset. Thanks for allowing me to comment. Nicole
 
I didn't see the programme, but it sounds like just another attempt to demonise and punish people for being fat and having the bad luck to have inherited the genetic tendency towards type 2 diabetes.
I attended a diabetes prevention course which was very patronising and treated us all like fat dumb peasants [even though some people in the group weren't fat] - I stopped going before I lost my temper with the course leader who wasn't even a qualified healthcare professiona let alone a diabetes specialist. I find that approach just as bad as the bullying. What a pity none of them had the confidence to stick 2 fingers up at the presenters, and to tell them to stick their revolting drink where the sun don't shine.
 
Did you see the BBC programme "The Truth about Carbs"? I thought it was in a different class, what was your opinion?
 
I thought it was a bit un-cool to have the skinny Anita Rani presenting a program like this and telling fat diabetic people what to do.

I think they missed a trick. Rosemary Shrager shouldn't have been one of the celebrity participants, she should have presented the show. She's a lot more fun, and knows a thing or two about food, at least from a taste perspective. She could have served as the presenter, and a cook at the 'clinic', and a participant.

I can just see her at the start talking to the other participants, "Right then, I don't know anything about this diabetes thing, but let's see what happens if we all eat pheasant and badgers for a few weeks". Or whatever it is that these jolly country people eat.
 
I'm going to go against the grain. I thought it was OK. When I was diagnosed, Oct 2027, I opted for the Blood Sugar Diet and 800 calories a day for two months. I could have opted for the shakes but it was actually easier for me to keep a food diary and manage what went into my mouth. (Of those 8 weeks I spent five overseas on business.)

I was overweight and eating a carb laden diet of processed food when diagnosed and dropped 15 KG and lowered my blood sugar to "normal" levels in 8 weeks. Since January I have steered clear of carbs and moved to a higher healthy fat diet. I also fast intermittently, have a strong interest in the impact of bacteria in the gut and also the impact of stress.

Whilst this show was an awfully long way from being perfect I think it at least offers an alternative to the current medical advice which at best is vague and at worst unhelpful. When I was diagnosed my first reaction was to find a way of avoiding medication and I have been lucky enough to do that so far. I am under no illusion that if I want to remain free of medication I have to be disciplined but also keep researching. (I have little faith in the medical system.) I know this does not work for everyone but I think the Newcastle Diet approach will work for large number where weight is a major factor.

I made some bad food decisions in the past, some based on my own gluttony, and others based on dodgy marketing from the food industry. I am now agog at the past and continuing demonisation of saturated fat.

After one week on the BSD I had lost over 4KG in weight and. my blood sugar meter readings were in the mid 5's and man alive that gave me a boost to continue.
 

I think I share your general sentiments there in terms of the dietary approach. There's certainly a lot of positives as well as negatives to this sort of approach and some people may even prefer it.

The programme could have presented exactly the same process and result in a far more humane way however - I think some of the elements were shaming, in a way that will have done nothing to help the participants or the people watching it.

Re your use of the word "gluttony", I quite like the meaning of the word from biblical times, when it was very specifically about depriving other people of food so that you could have more. That is clearly wrong. I'm going to guess that you didn't steal food from people though, so I think it's important to have zero bad thoughts, at least on an ethical level, about yourself in terms of your past eating habits.
 

All I can say is that you would not have wanted to share a pizza with me.

.....but I take the definition from OED.
 
TonyHancock said:
All I can say is that you would not have wanted to share a pizza with me.

.....but I take the definition from OED.
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Yes I think we'd have had a fight on our hands over the pizza!

I know the word gluttony has a very simple meaning these days, but there seems to be blurred line, where people seem to think that eating enough to gain weight is gluttony, and that gluttony is morally wrong (because gluttony was a biblical sin). Personally I don't see eating a lot of food as morally wrong however, whereas stealing other people's food is.

I see the modern use of the word gluttony as being a bit like 'hedonism'. Hedonism seems to have bad connotations too, but should it? What's wrong with pleasure-seeking provided you don't harm others? And so what if food is one of those pleasures?

Some people get away with enjoying all the food they want, of any type that they want. Some people don't.

Personally I'd spent so many years, particularly at weekends, drinking huge amounts of alcohol, and stuffing myself crazily the day afterwards, that I'm happy to say that I've over-eaten and therefore gained weight. I look back on that with regret since it is likely to have played a large part in my current condition, but I will apologise to nobody for it. It wasn't a deliberate decision to cause problems for society. I've learned a lesson, paid the price with my own health, and have made significant lifestyle changes to combat it.
 
Oh well dr did say they only had “a touch of diabetes”!! I’m sure I heard that quite shocking....
 
You are right, on watching the ITV Hub replay, the presenter does say Rosemary Shrager, after 4 weeks on her 18/6 diet was halfway through, so they did it for 8 weeks.
 
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