Former NHS Chief Executive speaks out about how type 2 diabetes can be effectively controlled when basic self care tools are provided.
Within the last week, former Chief Executive of the NHS, Sir David Nicholso, has spoken out about his type 2 diabetes diagnosis and what he has learned about the condition, how easily it can develop and what options people have to manage it.
On speaking about the factors that led to his diabetes, he noted travelling as part of his work led to poor dietary choices as he frequently subsisted on sandwiches, crisps and muffins. Outside of the working day, he compounded these poor diet choices by having 8 pints of beer on a Friday night on a weekly basis.
Since being diagnosed, which he said was sobering; the former NHS chief has spoken about how useful structured diabetes education is in helping him to get his health back on track. Sir Nicholson took part in the X-pert diabetes education programme which teaches people with diabetes to understand diabetes and provides guidance on making lifestyle choices.
Sir Nicholson also researched what he needed to do to help improve his health and noted having difficulty in persuading his dietician that some foods would be better kept off limits if his efforts to improve his health were to be successful.
Many people, that are very committed towards controlling their diabetes, will tailor the diabetes education the have received to fit in with their own lives and personality and this is precisely what Sir Nicholson did. The former chief developed a simple set of 8 rules, in order to bring his health back into line, which was:
No snacking between meals
Have a packed lunch, including whole grain Burgen bread
Avoid desserts
Have alcohol three times per week but in moderation
Stick to small portion sizes
Have no potatoes and choose whole grain starches such as brown rice and pasta
Have plenty of vegetables and fruit but avoid fruit juices
Take in at least half an hour of physical activity each day
In addition to making a number of simple but important changes to his diet, Sir David Nicholson also used regular blood glucose testing to check the suitability of his diet and monitor how his blood glucose levels responded to the changes he made.
It is noteworthy that Sir Nicholson stated the importance of structured diabetes education and home blood glucose testing, in controlling his diabetes, as it is still the case that many people with type 2 diabetes struggle to receive either diabetes education or the chance to test their blood glucose levels on prescription.
If your GP is refusing to prescribe blood glucose testing supplies, Diabetes.co.uk’s Type 2 Testing programme provides an excellent opportunity to regularly test your blood glucose levels at great value. Join the home testing revolution today at type2testing.com
