A man who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has revealed how he managed to reverse his condition in just 11 days with an ultra-low calorie diet.
Richard Doughty was left shocked after a routine health check revealed he had type 2 diabetes at the age of 59. At that time, he was fit and in shape, weighing 10st 7lb, ate a healthy diet, had never smoked and had no family history of diabetes.
After being told by his GP that his diabetes was mild enough to be controlled through diet alone, Mr Doughty did some research on the internet and came across the Newcastle Diet – an extreme low calorie diet plan created by scientists at Newcastle University who suggest it can reverse type 2 diabetes in under eight weeks.
The diet involves eating just 800 calories a day – less than a third of a man’s recommended daily intake of 2,500 calories – with 600 calories coming from meal replacement shakes and soups and 200 calories from non-starchy vegetables, in addition to 3 litres of water a day.
It is commonly referred to as the 600 calorie diet (rather than the 800 calorie diet), due to the meal replacement aspect of the diet, and has been shown to free people of their type 2 diabetes.
The researchers behind the diet believe its success is linked with loss of fatty tissue from around the liver and pancreas, which are crucial in producing insulin and controlling blood sugar. The theory is that drastic dieting causes the body to go into starvation mode and burn fat stores for energy. The loss of fat around the liver and pancreas helps unclog the organs and return insulin and blood sugar levels to normal.
With the consent of his doctor, Mr Doughty embarked on the Newcastle Diet, setting a target weight of 8st 12lb. He followed the diet for 11 days and two months later tests revealed that his diabetes had resolved itself.
“I stuck to the diet for 11 days and reduced my blood sugar to a healthy non-diabetic level (5.1mmol/l ),” Mr Doughty said.
“It has remained that way for the past year – my latest reading was 4.9mmol/l. I have kept to just under 9st, joined a gym and gone running three times a week.”

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