Soup-and-shakes diet to reverse diabetes will be handed out in NHS health drive

25 April 2023 , 23:01

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The liquid diet involves surviving on soup and shakes (Image: western Morning news)

A diet of soups and shakes is being made available on the NHS after it was shown to reverse diabetes.

Anyone in England diagnosed with the type 2 version of the disease in the last six years can now be referred for the weight loss support scheme by their GP.

Patients are prescribed an 800-calories-a-day liquid diet for three months, with the £1,100 cost of the soups and shakes covered by the NHS.

The meal replacement products are ordered online or over the phone and delivered to the patient’s home, and GPs monitor progress.

Research shows the plan can put type 2 diabetes – previously thought to be incurable – into remission.

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Ingo Schroede before trying the diet

After sticking to the diet, Ingo found he had lost a third of his bodyweight

Patients who stuck to the diet for three months then kept the weight off were free from symptoms five years later and no longer needed medication, a study found.

People on a pilot scheme lost on average more than two stone in three months.

After reintroducing healthy food, most had kept off one and a half stone after a year.

Ingo Schroeder from Windsor, Berks, lost a third of his bodyweight on the diet by drinking a shake every four hours.

He said: “I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in May 2021 and I weighed 140kg and my waist was 126cm.

“I now have a good relationship with myself and food. It has been an enormous change for me.”

Prof Jonathan Valabhji

The NHS spends about £10billion a year treating type 2 diabetes and the complications it causes, such as stroke, heart disease, nerve damage, blindness and kidney failure.

It is hoped half of the more than four million people with the disease could go into remission.

Prof Jonathan Valabhji, NHS national clinical director for diabetes and obesity, said: “Research is clear that weight loss where indicated goes a long way to helping people stay well and avoiding preventable illness, and in many cases it can be the trigger for putting type 2 diabetes into remission.”

Chris Askew, boss of Diabetes UK, which funded the research, said: “We are thrilled to see this will be rolled out across England, giving thousands more people the chance to put their type 2 diabetes into remission.”

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