Low Carb diet saves NHS £4M in diabetes costs

The support being offered by an online low carb programme has so far saved the NHS £4 million in deprescription costs, it was revealed yesterday.

The free Low Carb Program by the UK’s biggest and fastest growing diabetes patient forum Diabetes.co.uk has so far helped more than 160,000 people since it was launched on World Diabetes Day 2015.

Speaking at the EHI Live event in Birmingham, Arjun Panesar, chief technology officer of the platform,  outlined how the programme worked and shared some of the results they have seen from people who have followed it.

He said: “The results from have been impressive and this a solution that is clearly working for people with type 2 diabetes. We’re in the process of documenting the preliminary results with healthcare savings. We intend to share this with PHE/Diabetes UK for them to review the guidelines.”

He said also the estimated saving involved people stopping their prescriptions for drugs to treat type 2 diabetes and the predicted cost was conservative.

The programme takes people through the theory and also provides the practical application on how to implement a low carb lifestyle.

Diabetes.co.uk was the first community forum where people were able to openly share their experiences or discuss life with diabetes including low carb lifestyles due to the fact that the diet sits outside of NICE guidelines which meant other platforms discouraged or removed their conversations.

However, there is now growing medical evidence that type 2 diabetes can be reversed through diet and lifestyle changes.

Results from the Low Carb Education Progamme have been impressive and show how sharing data can in fact help change lives and help reduce type 2 diabetes in the UK.

The presentation was part of a session at the EHI Live event in Birmingham which explored the Big Data revolution and how having access to vast amounts of data provides healthcare providers with unique and exciting opportunities.

EHI Live 2016 is now in its ninth year and is the UK’s largest digital health ev,ent, attracting visitors and delegates who are keen to listen to industry figures and investigate new technologies.

The show is ideal for those with a close interest in the use of information in healthcare.

http://diabetestimes.co.uk/low-carb-diet-saves-nhs-4m-in-diabetes-costs/

Very commendable I suppose that is till you come to the hypocrisy in the highlighted quote, Panesar stood by whilst low carb conversations were actively discouraged and conversations deleted, this was further exacerbated by his appointment of a moderator catherinecherub (cherub is a misnomer with this nasty piece of work) who has a history of anti low carb antagonistic posts she proceeded to decimate the lowcarbers by banning, editing and deleting posts, also she must hold the record for the number of warnings and temporary bans imposed on members and yet Panesar allowed this to go on

Is Panesar still using that broken calculator? If the 160,000 people number is correct (which I very much doubt) that's a hell of a lot of info he can flog to big pharma.

"One of the ways the website makes money is by charging to put organisations such as pharmaceutical companies doing medical trials in touch with forum members who have diabetes"

From the horses mouth here http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/gps-give-medical-advice-havent-9766465

"Diabetes.co.uk was the first community forum where people were able to openly share their experiences or discuss life with diabetes including low carb lifestyles due to the fact that the diet sits outside of NICE guidelines which meant other platforms discouraged or removed their conversations."

Utter bollocks, it was and for all I know still is the ONLY site with such draconian moderation especially aimed at low carbers.

chris c wrote:"Diabetes.co.uk was the first community forum where people were able to openly share their experiences or discuss life with diabetes including low carb lifestyles due to the fact that the diet sits outside of NICE guidelines which meant other platforms discouraged or removed their conversations."

Utter bollocks, it was and for all I know still is the ONLY site with such draconian moderation especially aimed at low carbers.

"Utter bollocks, it was and for all I know still is the ONLY site with such draconian moderation especially aimed at low carbers."

It's at times like this, I have to wonder what drugs the owner of the flog is on! He is out of his skull in my opinion, or a bigger bullshiter than Hilary Clinton.

I reckon Panesar has seen the £££££ to be made from low carb 

Catherine Collins RD has had her say on the article 

Hi Graham,
As you know there are increasing studies showing low carb works, so it should now only be a matter of time before guidelines get some modification.
These complaints by BDA etc on the damaging affects of low carb diets should be pursued vigorously. Dieticians should put up or shutup or give us the evidence, which they haven't got!!!  They are dietary dinosaurs! (Sorry old fossils that was an unjust critism of pre K/T creatures.)
regards
Derek

graham64 wrote:I reckon Panesar has seen the £££££ to be made from low carb 

Catherine Collins RD has had her say on the article 

Beyond notional extrapolation fact is and has been proved by Dr Unwin that low carb has saved the NHS money which can't be said for the BDA whole grain low fat diet

Of course our own personal journey has kept the medications to a minimum thus saving the NHS money, but despite eight years + of low carbing we are dismissed as anecdotal

Derek wrote:Hi Graham,
As you know there are increasing studies showing low carb works, so it should now only be a matter of time before guidelines get some modification.
These complaints by BDA etc on the damaging affects of low carb diets should be pursued vigorously. Dieticians should put up or shutup or give us the evidence, which they haven't got!!!  They are dietary dinosaurs! (Sorry old fossils that was an unjust critism of pre K/T creatures.)
regards
Derek

So true Derek for years we have been told  that by the NHS/DUK/BDA that due to no long term studies on the effects of a low carb diets they cannot be recommended and that we should abide by their evidence based guidelines, I'd love to see the evidence behind a diet that promotes high carb low fat for us diabetics see [url=https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Enjoy Food/DUK Meal Planner-1800Kcal.pdf]DUK Meal Planner[/url] for weight loss   as I've stated before we are dismissed as anecdotal but  I've got over eight years of documented data at my surgery which for me as well as many other diabetics is all the proof we need 

Pity the poor people who are not supported with means to test blood sugars blindly following guidelines which can only lead to fast progression and a dependency on a multi drugs regime   we are the lucky ones 

Cheers
Graham

By now there must be well over 50 studies on PubMed.

The money saved will only increase as these diabetics will fail to progress in the expected way just as we haven't.

A friend was told to eat a high carb diet and that she would be on insulin within five years. That was about twelve years ago now and she no longer even takes metformin. In all that time she has held her A1c well below 6. She managed to get a mere 50 strips per month prescribed by an endo (who she was seeing for something else). How is she rewarded? Every six months to a year her surgery cancels the strip prescription.

Received this yesterday via email. How long before Panesar is claiming he invented low carb for diabetics?  

Diabetes Professional Care is excited to announce a brand new show feature that is dedicated to the entire obesity spectrum. With more than 1 in 4 UK adults being classified as obese, this hot topic will be addressed by leading speakers including the NHS. Please see below for the latest show news.

If you have any questions, or would like to register for a press pass, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards,
Bethany

Obesity in Focus at Diabetes Professional Care
Obesity is set to take centre stage at this year’s Diabetes Professional Care, with industry experts presenting the very latest thinking on the subject as part of its new dedicated Obesity in Practice area. The two-day, free-to-attend, 7 stream CPD accredited show will also host an obesity led discussion and will feature some of the most innovative obesity focused technologies and solutions on the market.

Toby Baker, Event Director at Diabetes Professional Care, comments: “The UK is currently ranked as having the highest levels of obesity in Europe, with more than 1 in 4 adults being classified as obese. Over the next 20 years, the number of obese adults in the UK is forecast to soar to around 26 million people, which will cause millions more cases of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. This is a subject that needs to be addressed and quickly. We hope that our dedicated Obesity in Practice zone, educational conference streams, practical workshops and cutting-edge suppliers, provide the perfect platform from which we can all learn and share knowledge in order to help combat this devastating condition.”  

New for 2016, Obesity in Practice is a specialist area at Diabetes Professional Care, dedicated to the entire obesity spectrum. Industry leading speakers will be taking to the stage to discuss the most relevant and current hot topics, including the NHS’ five-year plan, hydration, bariatric surgery, the obesity crisis and the effect obesity has on diabetes.
Chairing the presentations within the Obesity in Practice zone and delivering its welcome presentation will be Tam Fry, spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, Expert Advisory Team Member with Action On Sugar and Patron of the Child Growth Foundation.
Those wanting to know more about the NHS’ plans to counteract the obesity problem, will not want to miss the talk titled ‘The NHS’ Five Year Forward View’. The talk will detail a marked shift in focus towards diabetes and obesity prevention. Plus, it will also discuss the latest obesity guidelines and outline Central Government Funding.

One proposed response to the obesity crisis is bariatric surgery. Dimitri Pournaras, Clinical Fellow in Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgery at Musgrave Park Hospital will look at why the NHS should do more bariatric surgery and detail just how much we should be doing.

Medical experts and campaigners criticised the Government’s recent childhood obesity strategy, calling it weak and embarrassing, and accused policymakers of throwing away the best chance to tackle the culture of unhealthy eating that is crippling the NHS. With this in mind Jenny Rosborough, Registered Nutritionist (Public Health) and Campaign Manager at Action on Sugar, will analyse what role the government and the food and drink industry play in tackling obesity.

Research suggests that water could be the secret weapon in the fight against the obesity, with statistics finding obese people and those with higher body mass indexes are more likely to be inadequately hydrated. Professor Tom Sanders, Emeritus Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at Kings College London will follow up this theme during his presentation titled: ‘Obesity and Hydration – am I hungry or am I thirsty?’

Carolyn Pallister, Dietitian & Public Health Manager at Slimming World will explore the role the commercial sector plays in supporting weight management in patients and in reducing health risks. Whilst, Andrew Shanahan, Journalist, Entrepreneur & Director of Man v Fat, will detail ‘MAN v FAT Football - Can The Beautiful Game Solve The Obesity Crisis?’.

In addition to the Obesity in Practice zone, the show will also host The Live Debate, an interactive discussion, which will see several leading authorities examine the hot topic of: ‘Food for Thought - What Should a Diabetes Patient Eat?’ Taking place on day two of the show, the panel will include: Dr Trudi Deakin, Chief Executive at X-PERT Health, Dr Ian Lake, GP and PWD Type 1 and Arjun Panesar, CEO at Diabetes.co.uk. Acting as facilitator and chairing the debate will be Dr Mike Sadler and John Grummit, Vice President at International Diabetes Federation.

The panel will be fielding questions from the audience and challenging each other on all things obesity orientated, covering everything from government nutritional guidance and surgery through to how much onus should be placed on the patient.

For more information or to register for free, please visit www.diabetesprofessionalcare.com.

In addition to the Obesity in Practice zone, the show will also host The Live Debate, an interactive discussion, which will see several leading authorities examine the hot topic of: ‘Food for Thought - What Should a Diabetes Patient Eat?’ Taking place on day two of the show, the panel will include: Dr Trudi Deakin, Chief Executive at X-PERT Health, Dr Ian Lake, GP and PWD Type 1 and Arjun Panesar, CEO at Diabetes.co.uk. Acting as facilitator and chairing the debate will be Dr Mike Sadler and John Grummit, Vice President at International Diabetes Federation.

I get Trudi Deakin and Ian Lake being on the panel but "Panesar" WTF since when has he been a diabetes expert  I'm surprised Giverny not there given her expertise   in T2 and insulin use 

Another new money maker for DCUK Lestrin plant sterol tablets, they are using cholesterol guidelines which are at odds with NICE guidelines (oh the irony) to promote the sales 

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/Diabetes-and-cholesterol.html

They have it completely arse-about-face. So no change there then. Insulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia is the driver of diabetes and/or obesity and probably a bunch of other conditions which have mysteriously become more common since low fat diets were invented.

Control the IR/insulin levels and the rest falls back into place.

Oh wait, no profit in that, as you were.