APRIL 18, 2018
The following extract is taken from:
‘Self experimenter’ Dr Michael Mosley tests on himself in the name of science
Trust Me, I’m A Doctor premiered in Asia Monday at 10.50pm on BBC Earth (Unifi channel 501) and online at www.bbcplayer.com.
Diet For Diabetes
In over three decades that he’s been at the BBC, Dr Mosley has produced, directed and presented dozens of TV series, episodes and documentaries on various science and health topics. He is probably best known for popularising the 5:2 diet.
About six years ago, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes – something not altogether surprising, considering that his father had the disease and eventually died from its complications at the age of 72.
His doctor naturally wanted to start him on diabetes medication, but Dr Mosley wanted to see if there was something else he could try, as he knew that the drugs would be a lifelong commitment.
He explains: “The reason you develop type 2 diabetes in most cases, is because you have too much fat in your liver and in your pancreas, not talking to each other. And the best way to get the fat out is through rapid weight loss, and you can effectively reverse your diabetes in as little as eight weeks.”
After doing his research and speaking to various experts, Dr Mosley came up with the 5:2 diet, where you eat only around 700-800 calories for two days in a week, but normally for the remaining five.
He shares that, to his surprise: “I lost 10 kilos, which was about 15% of my body weight at that time, and my blood sugars went back to normal, where they have stayed.
“If you had spoken to me before that, I would have told you that fasting was good for religious people. That was because I didn’t know about all the scientific research, which had been going on for 20 years.”
His self-experiment with this diet, also known as intermittent fasting, was documented in the 2012 Horizon episode Eat, Fast And Live Longer. He also wrote The Fast Diet with Mimi Spencer.
Later, Dr Mosley refined the diet to become the eight-week blood sugar diet, which is specifically tailored to reverse diabetes and written about in his eponymous 2015 book.
“With the eight-week blood sugar diet, you are eating 800 calories seven days a week – it’s a much faster weight-loss diet. Particularly if you want to reverse type 2 diabetes, it is a good idea to do it rapidly,” he says.
He adds that UK-based studies have shown that those on this diet usually lose an average of 14kg after eight weeks, with 85% of those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for less than five years managing to reverse their condition. For those who have had diabetes for more than five years, the reversal rate is about 50%.
http://healthticket.blogspot.my/2018/04/self-experimenter-dr-michael-mosley.html
