Better health and weight in conference spotlight
Ways to improve people’s health and weight using food and diet will be the focus of a conference in Cheshire next week.
Food as Medicine: The 5th In The Series will also take a look at the health of healthcare workers who deliver the care for those with type 2 diabetes and overweight people.
The event has been organised by Dr Joanne McCormack, who is a GP in Warrington and Halton.
She said: “What I am hoping to achieve is to stimulate debate and encourage learning about the multiple methods of better diabetes and weight control.
“I find lots of healthcare workers are deeply disillusioned about their patients’ diabetes. They say things like, ‘they keep eating the wrong food, they pretend they hardly eat a thing and they just can’t be bothered’.
“The healthcare workers may also be overweight and that can lead to the patients thinking that nothing useful can be done, so they all – healthcare workers and patients-give up emotionally.”
Blood glucose
A whole host of speakers have been confirmed to take part in the evening which will mainly focus on diet and food.
A patient, who has diabetes, will discuss the effects of different meals on his blood glucose with continuous blood glucose monitoring and how his blood glucose is mostly a flat line within the normal range.
Dr David Unwin, who is an advocate of the low carb diet will discuss the benefits of the diet and how he believes it can help control type 2 diabetes.
The award-winning GP said he has saved more than £40,000 on his latest diabetes drug bill after he encouraged his patients adopted the low carb diet.
The event is aimed at healthcare professionals, personal trainers and interested expert patients.
Dr McCormack said the evidence she has to support her comments comes from figures, which suggest there are up to seven times more people with diabetes in Warrington as there were when she started working in the area in 1992.
She added: “We have overweight diabetes, nurses and overweight dietitians and doctors. They don’t know how to put theory into practice for their own bodies, so how can they help other people?
“What I say is that for some of these people, the weight loss theory, pure calories in/calories out, is incorrect. Trying to get these individuals to lose weight on starchy carbs is like trying to cure person with a gambling problem while insisting on them placing three bets a day. It would not work, ever.
“For these people have insulin resistance or carbohydrate intolerance. Their bodies run better on protein and fat foods with very low carbs. Each of these people needs to find the carbohydrate level they can tolerate.”
The conference takes place on Tuesday, October 25 at the Park Royal Hotel from 7pm. To find out more information or to book a place email joannemccormack@nhs.net.