30 Nov 2018 BANT’S Thought’s Re: Type 2 Diabetes: NHS to Offer 800-Calorie Diet Treatment
Following press reports of NHS England offering Diabetic patients an 800-calorie diet to reverse Type 2 Diabetes, BANT (British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine) would like to comment.
Following a trial last year, which helped half of participants living with Type 2 Diabetes, the NHS is now rolling out the low-calorie programme. The treatment consists of 800-calories per day using liquid meals and shake for 3 months.
BANT would like to express concern around the lack of education given to the patients around diet and lifestyle factors that mediate Type 2 Diabetes. There is also reliance on shakes and meal replacements which takes the patient away from a whole-food approach. Often shakes are filled with sweeteners and synthetic vitamins and minerals and therefore not a credible match for quality nutritious food. Finally, there is no mention of calorie quality and it’s well-regarded that not all calories are equal and in fact consuming 800 calories of sugary foods may do little with reversing Type 2 Diabetes. The programme may, therefore, only be a ‘quick-fix’ and creates a high risk of relapse without educating the client on the right foods for prevention of the disease.
BANT Registered Nutrition Practitioners consider individuality that enables personalisation of dietary advice based on the most up-to-date research available. They do not suggest ‘one-size-fits-all’ advice following the health trend of the moment. BANT Nutrition Practitioners will provide the advice that best suits the client in front of them and educate their clients on diet and lifestyle factors for prevention and supporting health concerns.
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
The British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT)is the professional body for Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioners. Its primary function is to assist its members in attaining the highest standards of integrity, knowledge, competence and professional practice, in order to protect the client’s interests; nutritional therapy and the registered nutrition practitioner.
BANT continues to promote its Wellbeing Guidelines campaign to encourage the British people to eat more individual ingredients and unprocessed food. Going back to some old-fashioned values, such a family meal times and improving the nations cooking skills to use fresh ingredients, will go a long way to help the obesity targets and health of the individuals.
BANT experts carefully developed a set of Wellbeing Guidelines, based on the latest science and research in the field of nutrition for optimal health. The BANT Wellbeing Guidelines were specifically designed to provide clear, concise, easy to understand information, avoiding outdated information and research, and addressing some of the most common health concerns. The most frequent reasons people seek nutritional advice is for weight management and/ or for general health and wellbeing. These issues are addressed by BANT with the following:
- THE WELLNESS SOLUTION (https://bant.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/WELLNESS-SOLUTION-IMAGE.jpg)
- FIGHT THE FAT / BEAT THE BLOAT (WEIGHT LOSS) (https://bant.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FIGHT-THE-FAT-IMAGE.jpg)
BANT Registered Nutrition Practitioners are regulated by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) that holds an Accredited Voluntary Register (AVR) for the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). A recent report by the Royal Society for Public Health and the Professional Standards Agency made a key recommendation that AVR practitioners have the authority to make direct NHS referrals, in appropriate cases, to ease the administrative burden on GP surgeries.
As members of the CNHC Accredited Register, BANT Registered Nutrition Practitioners and other CNHC registrants, are the key workforce asset to harness 21st century lifestyle medicine to tackle the rising tide of stress related fatigue, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, dementia and other chronic diseases.
To find a BANT practitioner, please click here: https://practitioner-search.bant.org.uk/
