Page 36 Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 2020
AnnA
EAstwood, 60,
a retired nurse,
lives with
husband Peter,
5 5, in southport,
Merseyside. she
weighed 21st 9lb
— she is 5ft 3in —
and had
non-alcoholic fatty liver
disease. After going low-carb,
her weight dropped to 12st 13lb,
reducing her BMI from 53.6 to
- Her liver is back to normal.
she says:
I’d reached the point where I
hardly went out as people would
shout insults at me for being
overweight. Once I was in a
restaurant and someone shouted
‘fat cow’ at me. I felt so hurt and
humiliated. My weight problem
was partly down to bad arthritis
— I could barely walk. I’d been on
tranquilisers for PTSd from
childhood trauma and weight gain
was one of the side-effects.
I did all I could to lose weight. I
a t e a h i g h - f i b r e c e r e a l a n d
skimmed milk for breakfast; pasta
and chicken in a low-fat sauce
with lots of vegetables for lunch;
and dishes such as Quorn stews in
the evening, or rice or pasta. The
portions I ate weren’t overly large,
either — I even had a plate with
portion sizes marked up on it.
Two years ago, I tried the keto
diet [a more extreme version of a
low-carb approach that involves
eating a diet with 75 per cent fat,
15 per cent protein and 10 per cent
carbs] and lost 7st in six months.I didn’t crave carbs as much as I
did when I was eating them, as
I had no sugar highs and lows.
however, I developed bile duct
stones and was told I’d been eating
too much fat. My gastroenterologist
said I should switch to a low-fat
diet. Within eight months I
regained all the weight I’d lost.
That was proof that the low-fat/
high-carb diet didn’t work for me,
and I sought medical advice.
By this time not only was I
suffering from sleep apnoea, where
you temporarily stop breathing in
your sleep, but I’d also developed
severe non-alcoholic fatty liver
disease — my liver was twice its
normal size in a scan, and I was
told I was at risk of cirrhosis and
ultimately liver failure. as a nurse
I’d looked after people with end-stage liver disease so I knew what
could lie ahead, and it scared me.
dr Unwin turned out to be my
saviour. I went to see him in
december 2018 and he suggested
I try the low-carb approach, which
has a moderate fat level (unlike the
high-fat keto approach), and
combine it with intermittent
f a s t i n g f o r 1 8 h o u r s , w h i c h
encourages your body to burn fat.
and so I ate my main meal at
6pm and didn’t eat again until
noon the next day — though I had
a black coffee in the morning. The
carb cravings went after four days,
and within a week I began to feel
so much better.
I didn’t feel hungry, either — it
was a miracle. The weight came
off and 16 months on, I have lost
8st 10lb and my liver has returnedto normal. My sleep apnoea has
gone, too. Losing so much weight
h a s m e a n t m y m o b i l i t y h a s
improved and I can now walk a lot
more, albeit with sticks. I don’t
use my wheelchair as much.
I’ve had no problem with bile
d u c t s t o n e s e i t h e r, a n d m y
cholesterol levels are normal.
Just over a year ago I was wearing
a size 30 jacket, but now I’m down
to a size 12/14. I’ve also been able
to come off some of my medication
for PTSd as dr Unwin got me
access to psychological therapy.
I feel so much more confident
and happier — I look in the mirror
and it’s like the old me has
come back.
INTERVIEWS: JO WATERS
AND JILL FOSTERthink they could never live without refined
carbs, but you might be surprised.
yOu’RE NEVER
TOO OLD TO
BREAK BAD
hABITS
BrIAn ClArk oBE, 81,
a retired engineer and
widower with two
daughters, lives in
southport, Merseyside.
He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
in 2005. After following a
low-carb diet his weight has dropped
from 15st 11lb to 10st 8lb and he has
stopped taking medication for type 2
and high blood pressure. He says:
afTer I got back from a cruise in 2018, my
GP, dr david Unwin, phoned me excitedly
and asked me what I’d been doing, as my
blood sugar had come down and I’d lost a
few pounds.
I told him I’d been eating well on the
cruise, having more protein such as lean
meat and fish, and more vegetables than
usual, as well as less bread, pies and
pastries. It was then that he suggested I try
the low-carb diet.
I’d had type 2 diabetes for 13 years and
had been on insulin injections for almost
all that time. My health had deteriorated
quite a bit.
as a young man I was a champion runner,
but I gave up athletics when I started work
and developed unhealthy habits, including
smoking and a liking for pies and chips. I
took no formal exercise and told myself I
was getting enough by being on my feet
at work.
after I retired and became a carer for my
late wife I didn’t get much time to look
after myself and take exercise, so my
weight crept up.
By 2016, I weighed around 15st, so at 5ft
5in tall, I was quite plump — my BMI was
38.4, which made me ‘obese’. I didn’t feel
well, either; I had no energy. My blood
sugar was also high, and I seemed to need
higher and higher doses of insulin.
after dr Unwin’s call I decided to give
the low-carb diet a go.
It was a very different way of eating —
previously my breakfast would have been
fruit juice and a sugary cereal with milk,
but I switched to black coffee, a piece of
cheese and an apple, or Greek yoghurt
with berries. Once a week I treated myself
to a traditional english breakfast. This
was not too dissimilar to how I had eaten
on that cruise.
for lunch, I’d have a two-egg omelette
with mushrooms, or smoked fish with
steamed green vegetables. dinner would
usually be a salad with chicken or cured
meat, avocado or prawns. I made the effort
to include vegetables with every meal so
my diet was much more varied.
I also started exercising once a week, and
now I do a workout with a personal trainer
for an hour a week, too. I’ve become a lot
fitter, stronger, with more energy. People
say I look ten years younger, and I feel it.
as well as losing the weight, I’ve come off
insulin and diabetes tablets, and my blood
pressure is 118/68, which I’ve been told is
what you’d expect in a 25-year-old. I was
proud to be told this.
I’m living proof that it’s never too late to
change bad habits.
I BEAT my FATTy LIVER
DISEASE AND SLEEP ISSuES
fROM pREVIOUS pAGE
The bread and
pasta that will
cut your carbs!
FroM pasta to jam, you can
now buy ‘low-carb’ versions of
many foods. we asked Priya tew,
a dietitian in southampton, to
assess a selection.hOVIS LOWER CARB
SEEDED BREAD
£1.20, 400g, morrisons.com
Per 100g: calories, 269;
saturated fat, 1.6g;
carbohydrates, 27.2g;
protein, 15.7g; fibre,
11.4g; sugar, 2.9g;
salt, 0.98g
CLAImS: This has 30 per
cent fewer carbs than
an ordinary seeded
loaf, because some of
the wheat has been
replaced with vegetable fibre inulin.
EXPERT VERDICT: This also has more
hunger-curbing protein and twice the
amount of fibre found in Hovis Seed
Sensations. The seeds provide healthy
fats and vitamin E, too. If you want to cut
carbs, this is a good choice.
Note, however, that it has no fewer cal-
ories than a standard seeded loaf, and
the added fibre — though good for
boosting gut bacteria — might be hard on
a sensitive stomach if you ate too much.EAT WATER SLIm
PASTA FETTuCCINE
£2.49, 200g, ocado.com
Per 100g: calories, 35;
saturated fat, 0g;
carbohydrates, 8.4g;
protein, trace; fibre, 1.3g;
sugar, 0.5g; salt, 0g
CLAImS: This ‘zero carb’,
low-calorie ‘pasta’ is made
using the konjac plant —
an Asian edible tuber.
EXPERT VERDICT: The konjac
‘flour’ contains a soluble fibre called
glucomannan, which absorbs water,
causing it to expand in the gut and make
you feel full for longer. This has a quarter
of the calories of standard pasta.
The E uropean food Safety Authority
says konjac can contribute to weight loss
as part of a calorie-controlled diet.
However, wholewheat pasta supplies
more protein, fibre, iron and B vitamins
(which help to sustain energy levels).RAW GORILLA mIGhTy
muESLI KETO BREAKFAST
£5.49, 250g, ocado.com
Per 100g: calories, 624;
saturated fat, 5.9g;
carbohydrates, 8.1g;
protein, 20.1g; fibre, 9.6g;
sugar, 3g; salt, 0.07g
CLAImS: This is made with
activated seeds, which
are soaked in water then
dried. The maker claims
these help us absorb more
iron and zinc by reducing the phytate in
seeds, which usually binds to these
minerals. It also contains cashews,
coconut and cacao nibs, and claims to be
2 0 per cent protein.
EXPERT VERDICT: This has four times
more protein and a little more fibrethan typical muesli, mainly due to the
high nut and seed content — so it’s a
more satiating breakfast. It is also free
from added sugar, which is a downside
to many cereals. A 30g serving provides
our recommended daily intake of
vitamin E, which protects cells against
damage that can lead to cancer.
Activated seeds may be better for
sensitive guts, but a 2017 study found the
process didn’t significantly change
phytate levels. This also contains around
5 0 per cent more calories than standard
muesli, so could easily lead to weight
gain if you didn’t control portion size.GENIuS GLuTEN-
FREE CARB CuTTER
BREAD CRISPS
£2 for five 24g bread crisps,
sainsburys.co.uk
Per 100g: calories, 514;
saturated fat, 3.4g;
carbohydrates, 31g;
protein, 16g; fibre, 19g;
sugar, 1.7g; salt, 0.8g
CLAImS: Made with oats,
seeds and chicory root
inulin, which ‘contributes
to normal gut function
through more frequent
bowel movements’, these are also
gluten-free.
EXPERT VERDICT: Inulin is a prebiotic,
which means it stimulates the growth of
healthy gut bacteria. But standard crisp
breads such as Ryvita are naturally high
in fibre, which has a similar effect and
might be a bit easier on the stomach —
too much chicory fibre can cause gas and
diarrhoea in sensitive people.
These crispbreads are also twice the
weight of a standard Ryvita, and higher
in calories. They’re not that low in carbs,
either — one has 7.3g carbs, so wouldn’t
be good for those following strict diets.LIZZA LOW CARB PIZZA BASE
£9.29 for four 80g bases, amazon.co.uk
Per 100g: calories, 233; saturated fat,
1.3g; carbohydrates, 2.4g; protein, 22g;
fibre, 19g; sugar, 1.7g; salt, 1.6g
CLAImS: This has 95 per cent fewer carbs
than conventional pizza bases as it ismade with linseed and soy flours,
psyllium husk powder and sea salt.
EXPERT VERDICT: Compared
with standard pizza
bases, these are
lower in calories
and carbs, making
them a good choice
if you are watching
your weight.
Each 80g base has a
huge 15.2g of fibre (half
your daily intake), and
higher levels of protein and
‘healthier’ fats from soya and linseeds
(these also provide omega-3 fats, which
are useful for brain and heart health).
However, they are around twice
as high in salt as standard pizza
bases — one would provide 27 per cent
of your daily limit, and that’s without
any toppings.CARBZONE LOW CARB
STRAWBERRy JAm
£3.49, 320g, ocado.com
Per 100g: calories, 28;
saturated fat, 0g;
carbohydrates, 27g;
protein, 0.4g; fibre, 11g;
sugar, 3.8g; salt, 0.5g
CLAImS: This contains 75 per
cent berries, and sugar is
swapped for the sweeteners
erythritol and stevia.
EXPERT VERDICT: On the plus
side, erythritol has 70 per cent of the
sweetening power of sugar, but none of
the teeth-damaging effects and doesn’t
affect blood sugar levels.
It’s a good choice if you have type 2
diabetes or are watching your weight.
But I would still rather top bread with
something that has some nutritional
value, such as nut butter or hummus.
Also, despite the high berry content, as
with ordinary jam the fruit will have
been heat-processed, so won’t contain
as much vitamin C as it does when fresh.
And watch out if you have irritable
bowel syndrome — erythritol might
cause a flare-up of symptoms.ANGELA DOWDEN