Terence Kealey

A while ago, I watched a fascinating documentary in which a doctor and a group of volunteers- all overweight, all suffering from the lifelong illness of diabetes - locked themselves in a clinic and the subjects were put on a nutritional but extremely lo-cal diet. Of course they all lost weight...but on leaving, all of them had fixed the diabetes. A return to unrestricted eating would, of course, mean it returned. But after the initial 'cold turkey', a careful normal dfiet should hold it at bay.
In this book, the author (a doctor and diabetic) shows how the popular mythology on diet ("breakfast is the most important meal...diabetics should eat regular small meals throughout the day" is entirely erroneous.) Ignoring all the official advice, his primary move is to DITCH BREAKFAST. I'm not a scientist, and some bits went over my head. But this was broadly a fairly customer friendly explanation: on waking after a night's fasting, everyone (but diabetics most of all) will get a huge and unhealthy insulin spike as they imbibe the first croissant. But by holding off till later (after noon) the first meal of day doesnt have such ill effects. There are pages of scientific reasoning, experiments etc to back this information.
Moreover (and I can attest to this!) by not allowing yourself ANYTHING (rather than "well ONLY ONE slice of toast rather than the normal three!") you avoid the terrible cravings for MORE as the digestive juices are awoken and demand satiety.
AND by missing a meal, you must be cutting your daily calories (Kealey shows that the mythology that "you'll just eat more later" is actually NOT the case.
The whole idea of breakfast as a necessity comes, he argues, from scientifically incorrect propaganda put about by food agencies (Kellogg's were behind a lot of it!)
This book is NOT only for diabetics- I'm not one, tho' DO have to rein in the pains au chocolat now I'm older- but a really useful work for all. Certainly fasting is the only workable eating plan if you want to banish the hunger pangs.
The bit I have yet to attempt is his recommendation to cut carbohydrate...HOW can one not eat bread and PORRIDGE ("the cardiac death rates in Scotland are not just the product of whisky-porridge plays its ignoble share in that holocaust. Muesli is another emanation from the nether regions.") Oo-er!

VERY well written, VERY persuasive, one for all older people...and diabetics above all- to peruse.
Oh yes, the diabetic author now has his illness completely under control.… (meer)