Webchat with Dr Michael Mosley about preventing and reversing Type 2 Diabetes, Tuesday 26 January, midday to 1pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Dr Michael Mosley is returning to Mumsnet on Tuesday (26 January) between midday and 1pm. This time he will be on hand to answer questions about his latest book The 8 week blood sugar diet which reveals a game-changing approach to one of the greatest silent epidemics of our time - raised blood sugar levels.

Mosley’s book explains that because of the high sugar/carb diet we eat today, more than a third of adults in the UK now have raised blood sugar levels and most don’t know it. This is not only making us fat, but also putting us at risk of type 2 diabetes, strokes, dementia and cancer. His book shows how to shed the dangerous abdominal fat fast, reprogramme the body and prevent and actually reverse type 2 diabetes. The book has been described as “a potentially a life-changing book for people with raised blood sugar levels as well as those with type 2 diabetes" by Dr Tim Spector, Professor of Genetics at King's College, London. A former diabetic, Carlos says: "The diet cleaned out my liver and pancreas. It's not so easy for me to gain weight any more. It's as though my body is working metabolically like a young man's again, and I like the person I see in the mirror now."

Interested? Come and chat to Dr Mosley at midday on Tuesday and if you’re unable to join the live webchat, post a question in advance to this thread.

Hazel A medical doctor is entitled to use their title if they give up their licence to practice, or even give up their registration (and he may well have kept the latter)
See point 7 under GMC

Hi dr Mosley.

Like many people, I've also been on many different types of antibiotics (in my case for over a year for a persistent infection - drug resistant pneumonia) with steroids and have put on 4 stone. How can I get back to my bmi I feel happiest at? (Back to 19 from 25)

As a recovering anorexic (long time ago) I had an interesting time on the 5:2 diet: I began to feel the high of anorexia on fast days and I found I was overeating on my non fast days.. I came off 5:2 after three weeks as I didn't like where I was heading. To be honest it was the feeling of being able to eat anything on my non fast days that was most disconcerting.

Can you suggest how to lose weight with fasting and LC without tipping off and reactivating eating disorders?
Would more regular snacking help, so that we don't get the high of hunger, or just using a liquid diet - having a glass of smoothie every two hours or so. Is there a whole plant juice/ smoothie version of this LC diet?

I do hope you don't throw up your hands and say that fasting, 5:2 or LC isn't suitable for those of us who are recovered from eating disorders, as this cuts out quite a lot of people.
Is there a work around? I do hope so. As I say, I've quite a lot of weight to lose!

Thanks, and keep up the good work.

TotallyPear All the big names in fasting - Mosely, Varady, Harvie, Mattson etc - say
those with past or present EDs should NOT fast

I highlight this warning in the OP of each of the main 5:2 threads.
This is why we need different kinds of diets, so people can choose one that is suitable for their individual needs.

Maybe his longterm Low Carb Mediteranean (NOT the low calorie version) could suit you, but you would need support and advice along the way.
Ideally from your HCP, but that is often difficult to obtain, or is the low fat dogma.
BIWI Is your Bootcamp thread at all suitable for folk with EDs ?

Hmm. I'm not sure anything that's overtly about losing weight is easy or suitable for people with EDs. I've had a few join various Bootcamps over the years, and it's always been very worrying. I can usually tell, however, by the way they post (i.e. what they're eating/not eating), and I have had to resort to PMs before now to warn them/talk to them about it.

That said, if they low carb properly, i.e. include plenty of veg/salad in their meals, eat reasonable quantities, eat plenty of fat and eat three meals a day (all of which are rules of Bootcamp) then I would have thought that they would be fine.

Where did I read that low carbing affects women quite differently from men but that most of the research has been on men? I say that as a huge advocate of low carbing and fasting, both really work, both are good/natural for the body. But I think there's a need (as in most medical research which generally avoids testing women due to risk to any unborn child) to focus on women too.

One reason diets may not deliver the desired rl weight loss for women is that the studies are mostly on men, who tend to lose more quickly because of height, muscle mass, hormones etc.

Studies could take post-meno women, who often find weight has piled on, without risk of affecting a foetus.

I appreciate Michelle Harvie's research on her 5:2 version, which was funded by Breast Cancer charities, for women at high risk.

Most comparisons of any diet are compared to low fat, which is not difficult to beat !
I've seen studies suggesting low fat is especially useless for women. Like this (but still too few women) :

Women & Men and Low Carb vs Low Fat vs Mediterranean
Study NewEngJ Med compared low fat / low carb / Mediteranean diets for 2 years , much longer than most studies.
Women did much better on the Mediterranean Diet over 2 years, men slightly better on low carb.
Low fat was worse for all and appalling for the women.

277 male participants with mean 24-month weight loss:

• 3.4 kg on lf
• 4.0 kg on Med
• 4.9 kg on lc Only 45 women participants, with mean 24-month weight loss:
• 0.1 kg on lf !!
• 6.2 kg on Med
• 2.4 kg on lc

Thanks for this new book it is really interesting and I think fantastic that despite success of 5:2 you are still investigating other options etc. I am still confused though, Varady suggests that ADF is better for muscle mass protection with weight loss, and the 800 cal diet has only been compared to a low fat diet? Does this mean the 800 cal diet still needs be trialled against a med or a low carb diet, or pos the 800 cal 5:2 approach of your BSD?

I have noticed successful women 5:2 ers are sometimes 50 + (based on the ages of case studies in 5:2 books I have read etc and this forum) do you think there might be anything in this?

Ooh I think I need to read Bic chocs post!

I have now read the book and found it very interesting and informative.

My question is about wholemeal bread

I buy wholemeal flour from an old fashioned local mill, where the old fashion methods are used leaving the flour not as refund. I make my own bread so don't use sugar, is this acceptable in moderation ( 4/6) slices per week? Once on the maintenance

Dr Moseley,
How can we get the NHS to change their guidelines? Are you planning on working with them in any way?
Some gp's eventually came round to the idea of 5:2 (mainly because they were doing it themselves! )
I followed 5:2 successfully for around 2.5 years and I'm a bit evangelical about it!

I am a newly diagnosed type 1. (Diagnosed age 44, so no it's not just children and teens )
But honestly as a type 1 it is just soooo frustrating the amount of bad advice. The NHS 'eat well plate' which is still promoted is guaranteed to make life harder as a type 1
I think this will work whether you're type 1 or 2.
Either way, your body CANNOT tolerate carbs so for me, fewer carbs = less insulin= less room for error. The HCP up thread who said it might not work for type 1's imo is wrong. It will work for type1's who are on MDI/pumps.
If I eat low carb and have to inject 2 units of insulin to cover a meal I am less likely to experience a hyper/hypo than if I eat high carb and inject 12. Simple no?
If it wasn't for the diabetes uk forum, I'd be completely lost and still experiencing regular hypos/hypers.
We must get the NHS out of the 1960's or people will continue to damage their organs, lose their limbs and go blind. That's the grim reality.

Wicks I thought those with T1 andhe pump would do better on low carb.
Apart from hypos, I'd be concerned at the longterm side effects of injecting large amounts of insulin. Better to reduce the need for it, with low carb ?

The ideas presented in book sound great but how do I cook for and encourage my family to eat this way on a budget?

How does this diet adapt for the nutritional requirements of small children?

Dr Mosley my 91 yr old mother was diagnosed T2 six months ago. Although she has lost a lot of weight, she is very confused about what she can and can't eat and has now been put on medication as she didn't reduce her levels enough on her own.

Would you recommend your diet for someone of that age?

Yumyum Varady says Intermittent Fasting, unlike a standard calorie-reduced diet, minimises muscle loss - lots of research has proved this for all kinds of IF, not just ADF.
With the 800-calorie weight loss phase, I think you'd need to ensure you get enough protein AND do regular resistance exercise, to retain muscle.

This Blood Sugar Diet is intended to reverse or reduce T2 / pre-T2.
The large-scale trial ongoing needs to establish the success rate for a larger group of people.
We already know that low fat just makes T2 worse.

The major difference I see with 5:2 and ADF is that they let the individual choose the type of food - and some choose sugary crap, which won't help T2.

I would like to join a trial for this as tick all the boxes but need the rigour of a controlled trial maybe and the support of the experts if possible. Is it possible to be included in a trial and how to apply?

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes three years ago, aged 35.
I am slightly over weight, I eat a good balanced diet with everything cooked from scratch, but no fish or fruit due to food allergies. I eat lots of vegetables and salad instead of fruit. I eat a low carb diet, under 100g a day (have done for years). Exercise 2-3 times a week.

I was on Metformin, had good control, but couldn't tolerate it (diarrhoea) so was switched to Gliclizide, Hb1Ac went up to 61 so was switched to Glimepiride last month.

I am still struggling to get control, often have high blood sugar BUT also often have hypos between meals..... Would your diet help me to stop the hypos?
My Diabetes Specialist GP has suggested I eat toast every 2 hours to combat the hypos!

Also, why have I got Diabetes and my brothers don't???
They eat junk food everyday, drink alcohol, smoke, don't exercise....one is overweight. Three of our grandparents had Diabetes Type 2 (and died of heart attacks) and my GP says I inherited it...is this correct?

Shorty I'd suggest a small handful of nuts rather than toast.

Yes, BigChocFrenzy, I agree, low carb is the way forward for type1's.
That's what I was waffling on about

WicksEnd feels very much like I do, see my earlier posts.
I do hope your'll be trying to get the HCP's out of the dark ages.
Fortunately the specialists You've been working with at one of London's hospitals, had one of the best diabetic departments - they don't fall into this category!!
Let's hope you can educate others.

My husband is T2 and since being prescribed Metformin he craves sweet things which he never ate previously. I would be grateful for any advice about any alternatives to this.

I have just been told I am pre-diabetic so need to change my diet. I've only just found out about this book, I watch everything that Michael Mosley presents and will be getting the book asap. Hopefully if I follow the advice in the book I won't become diabetic and my husbands will be more controlled.

I ordered this book on Saturday and read the book on Sunday, talked to my dad about it and he downloaded the book on Monday and is reading. He has a question about oats - particularly steel oats, what is the difference between steel cut oats and normal rolled oats?

I know instant oats raise blood sugars but its the difference between steel cut and rolled oats he would like to know and can he eat them as part of the Mediterranean diet?

I've recently been told I'm pre-diabetic, and although my BMI is in the healthy range, my body-fat is 36 which is too high. I've just down-loaded your book.

q1. Due to the increasing rise of type 2 diabetes, do you think that more attention should be paid to body-fat rather than BMI?

q2. Do you think the use of high fructose corn syrup should banned?

I too read the book over the weekend and it made absolute sense to me. I understand why I am so overweight and with 2 type 2's in the family (mother and sister) I am desperate not to go the same way.

I would love to take part in the trial and started the exercise regime.

my only query is that whilst the recipes look great, the ingredients are not what one would call store cupboard friendly. I live in a remote rural area and just could not get hold of some them easily. without the rigour of the meal plan, I know I would just be making it up.

would it be possible to come up with a meal plan that most people would be able to stick to? more fish, chicken, eggs and soup recipes that use things most of us would have access to? even goats cheese is tricky to find if you don't have easy access to a supermarket.

I am sure a lot of people will be put off by the non common menus.

So this book advocates 64 days of 800 cals per day (I think, based on Big Choc's summary).

Isn't the elephant in the room therefore that compliance is likely to be extremely low (like probably 1%) outside controlled trials? I have no doubt that pretty much all diets - low fat, high fat, fast, 6 meals a day, work, IF you stick to them, but that's the problem isn't it? People don't/can't stick to them in the environment that we live in. So this is really just another way for people to fail and diet book writers to get rich- no offence!