Being diagnosed with diabetes right before my 20th birthday seemed like it was the worst thing that could have ever happened to me. It can seem like the end of the world. It hits you the most when you realize that it’s something you can’t change and you have to live with. When you’re done being upset and angry to the circumstances, you see that you’re not the only one, according to statistics found on the American Diabetes Association’s website, there are 25.8 million people in America alone fighting the same battle with you, everyday.  

 “Diabetes is an incurable disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond properly to insulin,” According the American Diabetes Association website, but not according to the Newcastle diet.

The diet got its name after it was formulated, after research carried out by a team from UK’s famous- Newcastle University.

            Also called “The starvation diet,” by many, it’s now becoming a big deal in the UK. In simple words it is a low calorie diet said to reverse diabetes over the period of 8 weeks. 

            Diabetes runs in my family. I still remember the morning my mother called to tell me about this diet, I was ecstatic. I don’t think anyone realizes how fortunate they are until they have to deal with something out of the ordinary. I hate waking up early to take my medications, taking time out to go to the gym is tough between work and class but I know it’s something I have to do. While you’re out with your friends you can’t always order what you want. And then there’s everyone’s best friend that becomes your enemy and you can’t do anything about it- chocolate and just sugar in general. 

             My mother sent me the Youtube link of the diet and then asked to further research it and email the professor for further questions and assistance if I needed. 

        Professor Roy Taylor (one of the professors working on the study) explains the diet in simple words, he says, “It’s now clear that type 2 diabetes is caused by abnormal fat storage. If you are eating more than you burn, then the excess is stored in the liver and pancreas as fat. On this diet the body is suddenly in negative calorie balance, so it calls on its own reserves of fat. The fat used first is that around the pancreas and liver. This means the pancreas is given a chance to start working again,” on everydiet.org

    During the diet you are allowed a totally daily intake of 600 calories. These calories can be in the form of liquid diet drinks, protein shakes, protein bars and non-starchy vegetables. You are asked to follow a strict vegan diet, ie no animal or animal products, bread, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables like potato and sweet potato, legumes, fruit, alcohol and salt.

   

 Pros and cons of the diet-

 

PROS-                                               

-It could be the first cure ever known for Diabetes if it actually works and help millions of people.

 

CONS-

-Very tough to follow, 600 calories is starvation and therefore can be criticized to be unhealthy.

-It is tested on very few people. (The study is based on 11 people that participated in the study)

-If it actually works, why is it not a big deal yet? Why is it still only famous in the UK if it’s actually a breakthrough discovery? 

            I did try the diet but couldn’t get myself to go past 2 weeks, after that the hunger pangs get unbearable. I also didn’t trust it 100% because the study was only carried out on 11 people. Though the explanation Dr. Roy Taylor gives is very simple and makes a lot of sense to me and because of my desperation to get rid of my diabetes, I’m going to give it another shot. Wish me luck! J