Diabetic prescription numbers rose to over 40million for the first time in 2011, from 27.1m in 2005-06 to 40.6million in 2011-12. That’s enormous, and it makes me very sad.
In my clinical – and personal – experience, type 2 diabetes is eminently preventable, if only people would eat better. I have polycystic ovary syndrome which carries with it a big risk factor for developing diabetes. Most PCOS sufferers are diagnosed with diabetes by the time they are 40. I felt it coming on and did something about it pronto. No signs at all now. I have seen many people at risk of diabetes too and the vast majority have managed to stave it off.
How? Simple. Just eat in a low GL kind of way which forces you to avoid the insulin spikes that wear out the pancreas and is the trigger for diabetes. It’s not actually rocket science but you do have to do it and be consistent with it!
Download my ebook Lose Your Belly Fat for a mere fiver and, if you do one thing, shop using the best and worst Low GL foods list. If it’s not in your cupboard, you can’t eat it. It doesn’t mean you have to have a boring diet, far from it, and it doesn’t mean you can’t have treats, of course you can. It does mean you need to think about they way you are eating, for life. Conscious eating. (And note, I wrote the book for weight loss initially, hence the title, but it is applicable to anyone at risk of diabetes).
Also, make sure you have enough of the right minerals, zinc, chromium and magnesium for a start. Take a simple blood sugar control multi like this one which includes plenty of the minerals (albeit not the most fabulous forms but it is an affordable goodie), and it also contains cinnamon in decent amounts. Cinnamon is the darling spice as it is known to control insulin levels well; you could add a teaspoon onto your low GL porridge of a morning too!
I also noticed the sheer cost of this rise to the NHS and therefore to us, the taxpayers. The diabetes drugs’ bill rose from £514million in 2005-6 to £760.3million last year and accounted for almost 10% of the overall bill for all drugs prescribed in 2011. If nothing else, that should make you stop and think, and look after yourself better if you need to.
Finally, this rather hidden shocker: Prescription numbers for other conditions rose 33%. 33%!!! That’s enormous again. The cynic in me can’t help thinking of Big Pharma rubbing its hands with glee at convincing so many more people that their drugs are needed. Reducing cholesterol targets so that many more people fall into the guidelines of needing a statin is just one single example of how this must affect the number of prescriptions now being given out. Shocking.
Related articles
- Diabetes prescriptions up by 50% in six years (guardian.co.uk)
- Number of diabetes prescriptions tops 40 million (independent.co.uk)
I’m looking for a good all round multi vitamin and mineral supplement but am overwhelmed with the amount of choice – any suggestions or recommendations?
Hi Rhian, any specific reason/job you are looking to do or just a general? Age, sex?
Diabetes levels will continue to rise whilst GPs recommend ‘eating a few sweets’ to combat low blood sugars and Endocrinologists suggesting ‘ a bowl of cornflakes’ before exercise! Retraining of the medical profession has to come before the general public will take note.
Agree absolutely Karen, I remember once having a diabetic in-clinic whose blood sugar was dropping. She got a Mars bar out of her bag and I asked her what she was doing! She told me that was her instruction from her consultant. I nearly fell off my chair. We tried an experiment (for her) of eating a couple of oatcakes and it came up slower but fine. Mars bar: emergency maybe but not for everyday dropping.