The fastest way to beat Type 2 diabetes: Ten golden rules

The fastest way to beat Type 2 diabetes: Ten golden rules to banish the illness for good

We are now clear that type 2 diabetes can be reversed if you are willing to take on a short but intense period of calorie restriction and modify your eating to keep your weight down.

It might seem like a big undertaking, but I have more than 40 years of experience at the cutting edge of diabetes research and cannot emphasize enough just how worthwhile this really is.

If you were facing any other life-threatening disease that could only be cured by an operation, and your doctor said this would mean changing your normal activities for a few months, you wouldn’t hesitate.

Avoid ready meals as these tend to be relatively unsatisfying and often contain added sugar. There are plenty of easy meals you can conjure up from fresh ingredients and quickly microwave [File photo]

Diabetes is a serious condition that threatens your eyesight, your feet and your heart, not to mention doubling your risk of a stroke.

Isn’t it be worth doing whatever it takes to see if your diabetes can be reversed?

All this week I have been serialising my book, Life Without Diabetes, explaining the three simple stages to reversing type 2 diabetes and giving you delicious recipes packed with protein, vegetables and nutrients to boost your health.

Today I list my golden rules for keeping your diabetes in remission for the rest of your life:

1. Eat only three-quarters of the amount of food you used to eat. Remember, eating less is the only way to maintain your new, healthy, more svelte form.

2. Don’t snack. Ever. Only eat at mealtimes. Be aware of activities, such as watching television that involve communal snacking. Drink water instead.

3. Eat purposefully. Sit down at the table and really savour your food. If it is eaten while reading, working or watching television, far more slips down — and you don’t even notice, let alone enjoy it.

We are now clear that type 2 diabetes can be reversed if you are willing to take on a short but intense period of calorie restriction and modify your eating to keep your weight down, writes Britain’s leading diabetes expert Professor Roy Taylor

4. Avoid ready meals as these tend to be relatively unsatisfying and often contain added sugar. There are plenty of easy meals you can conjure up from fresh ingredients and quickly microwave.

5. Your fridge should never contain fruit juice or smoothies. These calorie bombs contain far too much sugar, and do not satisfy hunger. There is nothing healthy about them.

6. Be more active each day. This means building activity into your routine, so whether you walk to the shops or take the car or trot up the escalators instead of standing still, this becomes the ‘new you’ and not something that requires a decision.

Take up activities, such as dancing or sport. Remember, the best form of exercise is the one that you really enjoy.

7. Enjoy the occasional drink, if you like, once you reach stage three, but restrict beer, wine and spirits to weekends or partially substitute them with zero-calorie drinks.

Will this plan work for you?

Your odds of remission from type 2 diabetes through diet are a ‘dead cert’ soon after diagnosis, they drop to 50/50 in the first ten years, then fall further.

But remember that sometimes a 100/1 outsider will beat the odds. We’ve seen people who have had type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years reverse their condition.

No matter how long you’ve had type 2 diabetes, it is never too late to give this plan a try!

8. Weigh yourself at the same time once a week and keep a record. Day to day, your weight may fluctuate, but week to week your scales will tell you what’s really going on.

If you see the numbers are steadily falling you will soon be able to say: ‘I’m the same weight as I was in my 20s.’

9. Be vigilant. If your weight rises by 3kg (half a stone) above target, take immediate action.

Have a rescue plan waiting and either go back to the liquid formula diet for a few weeks or drastically cut your daily amount of food.

In our studies, nearly half of volunteers needed to go back to stage one to get back on track.

10. Enjoy life. All your good intentions won’t be ruined by one party, or a big birthday meal. But you must eat less during the following week.

Try having half-sized portions at one meal each day of the week, or, if intermittent fasting suits you, one day of eating very little.

Get your plan ready before the big event, so you can swing into action afterwards.

Haddock & prawn chowder with peas, spinach & quinoa

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Cals per portion: 535

Serves 2

250ml unsweetened soya milk
200g undyed smoked haddock
100g raw king prawns
1 bay leaf
1 onion, peeled and halved
6 peppercorns
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium leek (about 200g), trimmed, quartered lengthways and finely sliced
100g frozen peas
90g spinach, finely shredded
500ml vegetable stock
40ml double cream
100g cooked quinoa
10g chives, finely chopped

Place the soya milk, smoked haddock, prawns, bay leaf, onion and peppercorns in a saucepan over a medium heat.

Slowly bring to boiling point, then reduce the heat and very gently simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Strain, remove the bay leaf, onion and peppercorns and reserve the cooking liquid. Clean the saucepan and return it to a low heat.

Add the olive oil and leek and sauté for about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

Add the peas, spinach and vegetable stock, bring up to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat, pour in the double cream, poaching liquid, haddock, prawns and finally the quinoa and heat everything through.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, garnished with the chopped chives.

Haddock & prawn chowder with peas, spinach & quinoa. Season with salt and pepper

Carrot and celeriac curry

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 60 mins

Cals per portion: 215

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp jeera spices (mixture of whole cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and nigella seeds)
2 red onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
450g celeriac, cut into cubes
3 medium carrots, cut into slices
50g red lentils
2 tsp haldi spices (mixture of turmeric, ground coriander seeds, crushed cumin seeds, ground fenugreek seeds and a little ground black cardamom)
2 tsp ground Kashmiri chilli
1 tin chopped tomatoes
200g green beans, cut into small pieces
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tsp methi spices (fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, fennel seeds, green cardamom seeds and cloves all ground together)

Heat the olive oil in a flat-bottomed pan and fry the jeera spices for about a minute over a medium to high heat.

Reduce the heat to low, add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 15 minutes.

Stir in the celeriac, carrots, lentils, haldi spices and chilli, together with a teaspoon of salt and mix everything together.

Add 450ml water, bring to the boil and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.

Mash all the ingredients together, then add the tomatoes. Cook for a further 15 minutes.

Finally, add the green beans, lemon juice and methi spices and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes more.

Cook’s Tip: You can buy methi spice mix in most large supermarkets; and the jeera and haldi you can mix up yourself at home.

Carrot and celeriac curry

Stuffed aubergines with spiced Puy lentils

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30-35 mins

Cals per portion: 440

Serves: 2

2 medium aubergines (about 300g each), halved lengthways
½ medium onion, finely sliced
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely grated
10g piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
250g cooked Puy lentils
20g fresh coriander, finely chopped
20g panko breadcrumbs
20g feta
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 240c/fan 220c/gas 9. Turn the aubergines cut-side up and slice a 1cm-deep criss-cross pattern across the surface, starting about 1cm in from the edge.

This allows them to cook more quickly and makes the flesh easier to scoop out. Place the aubergines on a baking tray cut-side up and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little before scooping out the flesh with a spoon, taking care not to break through the skins.

Stuffed aubergines with spiced Puy lentils

Place the flesh in a small bowl and reserve the empty aubergine shells. Place the onion, chilli and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes more. Tip in all the spices, stir to combine and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the Puy lentils and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the coriander and season to taste.

Add the cooked aubergine to the lentil mixture, stir well and check for seasoning. Divide the mixture evenly between the empty aubergine skins.

Preheat the grill to a medium setting. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a bowl and crumble in the feta.

Stir together with the remaining olive oil, then scatter over the top of the stuffed aubergines.

Place under the grill for 1-2 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden and crispy. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip: The aubergines in this recipe are cooked on a very high heat initially and will be slightly blackened. This gives the flesh a gorgeous smoky flavour.

Precooked Puy lentils are available in most supermarkets.

Shopping List

If you don’t particularly like vegetables, add extra flavour and interest to veg-only dishes using herbs, spices and low-calorie sauces.

The more times your taste buds are exposed to new flavours, the more they come to like them.

The aim is to find a range of low-calorie vegetable dishes you can enjoy, not only to carry you through the weight-loss phase of my plan, but also to change the way you eat for good.

Cod & fennel with haricots

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Cals per portion: 390

Serves 2

1 large bulb fennel (about 250g), halved and very thinly sliced
1 medium courgette (about 200g), thinly sliced into rounds
30g capers
½ lemon, pips removed and cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
1 x 400g can haricot beans, drained
15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2 cod fillets (about 150g each)
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180c/fan 160c/gas 6. Place the sliced fennel, courgette, capers and lemon wedges in an ovenproof dish.

Drizzle 1½ tablespoons of the olive oil over the top, toss and season generously.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the dish from the oven and stir in the haricot beans and the fresh parsley.

Place the cod fillets on top, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Cod & fennel with haricots

Chicken traybake with tomatoes

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Cals per portion: 465

Serves 4

400g cherry tomatoes
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained
50g capers
4 medium red and yellow peppers (about 200g each), deseeded and each sliced lengthways into 4-5 strips
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp chilli flakes
4 free-range chicken breast fillets (about 180-200g each)
15g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200c/fan 180c/gas 6.

Chicken traybake with tomatoes

Place the tomatoes, chickpeas, capers and peppers in a roasting tin.

Combine the olive oil, mustard and chilli flakes in a small jug or bowl and season.

Pour one half of the oil and mustard mixture over the vegetables, toss to coat, then roast in the oven for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Pour the remaining oil and mustard mixture over the chicken breasts. Place them on top of the roasted vegetables and return the tray to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Divide the chicken and vegetables between four plates, garnish with parsley and serve.

Tasty tacos

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Cals per portion: 310

Serves 2

Tasty tacos: Spoon some sauce into the centre of each lettuce leaf (you could also top with a teaspoon of sour cream and/or guacamole)

1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped lengthways into large segments
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground cumin
Either 2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks, or 300g minced beef
2 peppers, of different colours, deseeded and chopped into large chunks
200g mushrooms, cut into quarters
½-¾ tin of chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
4 little gem lettuce leaves, to serve
Squeeze of lime juice

Place a medium flat-bottomed pan over a low heat and add the oil.

Fry the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the spices and keep stirring for 1-2 minutes.

Add the chicken or mince and continue to cook, stirring every minute or so until the meat is sealed (the chicken has turned from pink to white, or the mince from red to brown).

Add the chopped peppers and mushrooms and cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until the peppers start to soften.

Tip in the chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and let everything simmer for at least 20 minutes, or longer for a richer flavour.

Spoon some sauce into the centre of each lettuce leaf (you could also top with a teaspoon of sour cream and/or guacamole).

Add a squeeze of lime juice. Wrap and enjoy!

Recipes by participants on the diabetes reversal trial and Alison Barnes and Kathryn Bruton

I’ve beaten diabetes — and lost 4st into bargain

Jane Akshar, 64, is a former IT consultant. Widowed with one 28-year-old daughter, she lives in Barry, South Walkes. She says:

Shortly after having my daughter in 1991, I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. By 1998, I’d been put on insulin injections and was having to inject myself four times a day. I thought that was simply how my life would be from that point onwards.

It was a friend who mentioned last summer that there were diets where you could reverse your diabetes and at first I thought he was talking absolute rubbish. But I looked online and found that it was true.

I thought I’d be a diabetic for life but it just shows it can be done by anyone at any age. Jane Akshar is pictured above before her weight loss

I checked with my local surgery that it would be safe to embark on the diet and they couldn’t have been more supportive. Although it doesn’t sound like many calories, I found the diet really easy.

I’ve now lost nearly four stone and at my last blood test I was told I’m no longer diabetic. It’s incredible

I was having things like scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for breakfast, salad with chicken for lunch and then some other meat with vegetables for dinner. I was never hungry.

With my diabetic nurse’s help I gradually reduced my insulin injections as my blood sugar came down and in July of this year, I took my last injection.

I’d gone from 120 units a day to nothing. I wanted to skip out of the surgery because I was so happy.

I’ve now lost nearly four stone and at my last blood test I was told I’m no longer diabetic. It’s incredible.

I thought I’d be a diabetic for life but it just shows it can be done by anyone at any age.

I only eat one meal a day – such as sprouts with bacon and toasted almonds – around 5pm and then nothing else for 24 hours.

I don’t find it difficult at all. If you’re eating the right foods, which contain fat and protein, you find that you’re full up after one meal anyway.

If more people did this we would have more money in the health service.

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