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Dr Michael Mosley and the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet

Photo credit: Anna Kurzaeva - Getty Images
Photo credit: Anna Kurzaeva - Getty Images

From Netdoctor

Type 2 diabetes is on the rise worldwide. Statistics show more people than ever are at risk. More than 4.8 million Brits have diabetes and 90 per cent of them have type 2, eight per cent have type 1 and two per cent have rarer types, according to the British Diabetic Association. This figure could reach 5 million by 2025.

Dr Michael Mosley, a medical doctor and BBC broadcaster, created an 8-week blood sugar diet, which purports to combat high blood sugar levels and in some cases reverse type 2 diabetes.

In 2017, Netdoctor spoke to Dr Mosley about the 5:2 diet, intermittent fasting (of which he is an advocate), and his newer 8-week blood sugar diet.

Four years ago you started making programmes about losing weight and doing exercise. Was this interest fuelled by your own health concerns?

"Yes, I had just found out that I had raised blood glucose levels, despite the fact that I wasn't obviously overweight. But I was a so-called TOFI: Thin on the Outside, Fat on the Inside. I was storing fat in and around my internal organs where it is most damaging. In fact I was diagnosed as an early type 2 diabetic. I was advised to go on medication, but I was keen to see if I could find an alternative to medication.

"The main problem in type 2 diabetes is that there is an excess amount of fat infiltrating the liver and the pancreas, which makes them less efficient. Diabetes expert, Professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle University, has said that you need to lose just one gram of fat from the pancreas to change things, but in order to do that, you'll need to lose at least 10 per cent of your body weight. Looking for a way to lose this weight, I talked to people like Dr Krista Varady and Professor Mark Matson, through them I became familiar with the idea of intermittent fasting."

The 5:2 diet

Your investigations into intermittent fasting led you to develop the now popular 5:2 diet?

"Yes, the 5:2 diet basically consists of cutting your calorie intake to one quarter for two days a week. So if your intake is 2000 calories on a normal day, on those two days per week it's just 500 calories. People on the diet lose about half a kilo per week and the weight they lose is 90-95 per cent fat, which is highly effective compared to other diets where fat loss is 70 per cent and the rest is muscle loss. Studies by Dr Michelle Harvie and others have shown that women lose more weight on an intermittent fasting diet than on a standard diet, and they are more likely to stick to it.

"I like to draw an analogy between this diet and taking your car to the garage for a service. When you are going without food your body takes the opportunity to get rid of old, damaged cells and replace them with new ones. Fasting also releases helpful growth hormones and adrenaline, which mimic the effects of exercise and it will make useful changes to several other metabolic issues.

"I trialled the diet myself for the Horizon documentary Eat, Fast & Live Longer and I found it easy to stick to. In fact, I felt sharper and more alert on my low calorie days. I lost 10kg and that crucially, reversed my diabetes completely."



The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet

You then went on to further develop the 5:2 diet into the 8-week Blood Sugar Diet...

"Yes, I was interested to try and understand exactly what was going on. We know that even when you are on medication, having a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes can cut your life expectancy by up to ten years.

"Over the last few years, Professor Roy Taylor and others have been doing studies looking at the impact of a low-calorie diet on type 2 diabetes. They found that if patients were willing to try a diet which involves 800 calories per day for 8 weeks it was possible to reverse type 2 diabetes in the majority of cases. The success rate depended on how long they had been diabetic for. Taylor found that in people who had been diabetic for less than two years, 87 per cent were able to bring their blood sugar levels back into the normal range without medication. In those who had the condition for over ten years, the figure was more like 50 per cent.

"Another piece of research, the Preview project, has shown that in people who were prediabetic and who stuck to the 800 calories per day for 8 weeks diet , their risk of becoming diabetic was cut by more than 90 per cent, an incredible result!

"I based my 8-week blood sugar diet on these findings. So the way it works is as follows:

  1. The first 8 weeks you stick to 800 calories per day, which is low but not super low. The average weight loss for those 8 weeks is 14 kilograms.

  2. After the 8 weeks you switch to the aforementioned 5:2 approach.

  3. When your blood sugar levels have come down, you switch to a continuous maintenance mode. This consists of a Mediterranean style low carbohydrate diet. And by this, I mean an original Mediterranean diet, so not your carb-heavy pizza and pasta but olive oil, fresh vegetables and oily fish.

The diet is only for those who are overweight and/or have raised blood sugar. It is not suitable for pregnant women, people with eating disorders and under 18s. However, a Mediterranean style low carbohydrate diet is great and beneficial for everyone."



Diet vs exercise for weight loss

So is it just what we eat or also what we do that's important?

"It's not only what you eat, it's your entire lifestyle that will contribute to your health. I always say that there are three pillars of a diet: one, the diet itself; two, exercise, which helps lift your mood and in turn stops you from comfort eating; and three, reduction of stress and anxiety which stops you from overeating.

"When it comes to exercise, the most beneficial type of exercise does not take long and can easily be built into people's busy lives. All you need to do is short bursts of high intensity exercise. I do this on my exercise bike, but you could also do this by skipping or sprinting. So, you warm up for one minute, then go as fast as you can for 20 seconds (you can build this up from 10 seconds if you're not fit), then have a one minute breather, then you go mad again for 20 seconds, another one minute breather, then as fast as you can again for the last time, then that's it. It takes five minutes and I do this three times a week.

"It's all about the intensity, and you can build this into your day, for example by taking quick strides rather than just walking, or by taking the stairs rather than the lift. It's all about doing it and because it's so easy and takes less time out of your life, people tend to prefer it.

"This high intensity exercise will increase your aerobic fitness, it will increase your insulin sensitivity and it's the only form of exercise I've come across that will actually suppress your appetite. It has been trialled in diabetics over the age of 60 and it appears to be safe."



How to reduce stress and anxiety eating

And how do we go about reducing stress and anxiety?

"A few years ago, I discovered mindfulness. Many people are familiar with the concept as it's a popular practice now. Mindfulness teaches you to live in the moment, to pay attention to your feelings and to what's going on inside your body. Look at it as exercise for your mental muscles, it helps you refocus on positive things. Practicing mindfulness for just 10 minutes a day will keep your stress and anxiety levels down and it will also make you focus and concentrate better.

"I did find it hard to practice mindfulness to start with, but there are some really helpful apps out there that help you stay in the zone. You can also practice in a group which will make it easier."

GPs and the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet

Should GPs not advocate this diet?

"Yes, GPs can make a huge difference. But patients are not routinely weighed and what's often not measured is the waist; a large waist measurement is powerful predictor of ill health, while having extra weight around the hips and thighs is not.

"Many GPs are not well equipped to advice patients on weight loss as learning about nutrition is not a serious part of training. The standard advice is to go on a low fat diet, yet numerous studies have been shown that this is rarely effective, certainly compared to a Mediterranean diet.

"My wife is a GP and she gives her overweight and (pre)diabetic patients a choice. They can either go on medication or they can give the Blood Sugar Diet a go. Most people chose to try the diet."

Maintenance after the 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet

And what do you eat now?

"I'm in the maintenance mode, so I eat a low carb Mediterranean diet and occasionally do some fasting. I do this to keep my blood sugars down but also to help preserve my brain. Professor Mark Matson's work with mice on this is fascinating and convincing. He works with mice that have been genetically engineered to develop dementia. They normally start to show symptoms at around the age of one (human equivalent: 50 years of age). When put on a junk food diet, they do so at about nine months (human age: 37.5). On a 5:2 diet this was delayed to 20 months (human age: 83). He also found that mice on this diet actually started to form new brain cells."

Any food tips you could share with us?

"Yes, my new thing is kefir, it's best described as yoghurt on steroids and together with some berries it's very tasty indeed."

For more on Dr Mosley's 8-week blood sugar diet visit thebloodsugardiet.com

Before making any drastic changes to your lifestyle it is worth discussing with the medical professional who knows you.


Last updated: 23-04-2020

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