Type 2 Diabetes Nutritionist in London

Type 2 diabetes can significantly affect your health in several ways. Common symptoms include fatigue, particularly after meals, which can make daily activities challenging. Many individuals also experience difficulties in managing their appetite, often feeling an increased hunger or cravings for carb-heavy and sugary foods. This can lead to problems with concentration and noticeable weight gain.

Additionally, those with Type 2 diabetes may observe slower wound healing and impaired vision. Increased thirst and frequent urination are also typical signs. Skin changes such as the development of skin tags or a darkening of the skin areas are common. Furthermore, there is a higher incidence of infections, including yeast and urinary tract infections, which occur more regularly.

Diabetes is the fastest growing health threat today, with UK diagnoses doubling to 3 million in the last 20 years and nearly 1 million undiagnosed cases. Another 7 million are on the cusp with prediabetes. That's why regular health screenings are crucial to detect and address these issues early.

Genetics may increase diabetes risk, but lifestyle and nutrition ultimately determine its onset. Remember, "Genes load the gun; our lifestyle habits pull the trigger."

Risk factors extend beyond genetics to include age, weight, ethnicity, inactivity, poor diet, and cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels.

Fortunately, lifestyle changes are the most powerful defence against type 2 diabetes, offering significant natural remedies and preventive measures.

There are three basic causes of type 2 diabetes, excessive production, over consumption and poor clearance.

Excess Production

The body produces glucose in the liver. This can come from storage forms of carbohydrate, known as glycogen or it can also be created from proteins and fats. This can then be released by the liver into the blood stream. This process is triggered by a hormone called glucagon and when sugar levels are low or need stabilising this process is crucial. However, chronic increases in glucagon can contribute to chronically elevated levels of blood sugar.

Stress hormones are another factor. Whether the stress is psychological such as our daily demands and emotions or physiological such as exercise or an illness, glucose levels can temporarily increase as a result. There are also certain medications that mimic the effects of the stress hormone cortisol, and this also results in increased glucose levels.

Consumption

This points more towards the foods that we eat.

Higher carbohydrate foods from starches and sugars will raise glucose levels more than proteins, fats, and fibres.
Equally, a high fat diet can induce a more insulin resistant state, meaning glucose is more poorly absorbed.

When one has insulin resistance and diabetes, part of managing that will be managing the balance of foods consumed, especially the total calories, as well as the quality and quantity of both carbohydrates and fats.

Don’t worry, our expert nutritionists are here to personalise an approach and empower you so that you feel in control and clear on what you need to do.

Clearance

This refers to how efficient we are at clearing glucose from the blood to use to make energy or store in the body for later use. This is influenced by insulin production, muscle activity, the sensitivity of our cells to insulin and liver and kidney function.

We dive into your underlying causes, so you are targeting the areas that are right for you.

Two diets often recommended for diabetes management are the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet. Both emphasise fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and heart-healthy fats and are supported by research for improving overall health and managing diabetes.

Equally, other diets such as a plant-based and at the opposite end of the spectrum ketogenic diets, paleo and low carbs diets have also been shown to help with type 2 diabetes.

The key is finding a way of eating that is right for you. Something that takes into consideration several factors such as food preferences, times demands, social and professional commitments, family preferences and of course physiological needs.

A poor diet significantly contributes to the development of Type 2 diabetes primarily through promoting excessive calorie intake and weight gain. Excess body fat, especially around the abdomen, leads to insulin resistance, where the body's cells don't respond effectively to insulin.

Overall, a poor dietary pattern characterised by processed foods, high fats, sugars, and low nutrient intake promotes systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, further impairing insulin function and blood sugar regulation.

Yes, just as much as diet contributes to type 2 diabetes, it also allows you to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally as well.

The over-consumption of refined grains, processed foods, high saturated fats, and sugar-sweetened drinks promote weight gain and increase risk for type 2 diabetes risk.

Diets low in fibre and vegetables and high in red and processed meats are also correlated with increase type 2 diabetes risk.

Consuming an excess of energy and increasing your body fat levels will be the main trigger for most type 2 diabetics.

At Steve Grant Health, we like to focus on what you can eat a lot of. This helps to maintain a positive association to the foods you eat but at the same time guides you towards foods that support your health, diabetes, and body composition goals.

Equally, we do not believe you need to eliminate all your favourite foods to reverse type 2 diabetes and maintain remission from type 2 diabetes.

Working with you, we figure a personalised approach to your diet. One that takes into consideration your time demands and food preferences, so you do not feel overwhelmed and unable to make the changes need to achieve type 2 diabetes remission.

Weight gain substantially increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and even modest weight loss significantly reduces the risk. For someone who is overweight, each kg of weight gained yearly over a 10-year period is associated with a 49% increase in risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the subsequent 10 years. However, each kg of weight loss annually over 10 years is associated with a 33% lowered risk of type 2 diabetes in the subsequent 10 years.

Weight reduction along with diet and exercise intervention, reduces the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 58%. A 5-10% reduction in body weight significantly reduces blood glucose levels, decreases use of diabetes medication, and improves a variety of factors: overall fitness, depression symptoms, sleep quality, cardiovascular risk factors and reducing blood pressure medication use.

A review of multiple studies over 3 years concluded that quantity and quality of sleep consistently and significantly predict the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The lowest risk for developing type 2 diabetes is associated with 7-8 hours per day of sleep and there is an increased risk of 9% for each hour of sleep lost per day per year.

General light exposure throughout the night and blue light exposure pre-bedtime is also strongly associated with increased levels of insulin resistance and thus diabetes risk.

Improving your sleep can help to reverse diabetes naturally and addressing the factors that cause type 2 diabetes can often result in improvements in sleep quality, giving you more physical and mental energy.

Being inactive, overweight, and having type 2 diabetes are all strongly associated with one another. High physical activity versus low physical activity is associated with a reduction in type 2 diabetes risk by approximately 30%.

Exercise and planned periods of physical activity significantly enhances insulin sensitivity. It enhances glucose uptake into the muscle, increases blood flow to the muscle, resulting in growth of muscle mass, and reduced levels of fat mass. It also improves mood, well-being, sleep, and general stress levels, all typically helping to improve how we manage our dietary choices.

Our team of practitioners all have strong exercise physiology backgrounds and can program appropriate exercise and movement for you.

Chronic stress can directly impact glucose levels and indirectly influences choices, such as dietary habits that contribute to type 2 diabetes.

High stress can also influence on how fat stores grow and develop, especially the deeper abdominal fat, known as visceral fat. Visceral fat is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes as it causes significant insulin resistance.

We look at ways in which we can help to manage your stress levels and perception of stress, helping to reduce the time spent in a fight or flight state, reduce anxiety levels and improve focus and memory.

Nutritional supplements can play a supportive role in managing Type 2 diabetes, although they are not a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle changes. Certain supplements have been found to help improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity.

Our nutritionists stay on top of all the research associated to supplements and Type 2 diabetes. This means we can make appropriate supplement recommendations where necessary.

Some of the supplements that show promise in managing type 2 diabetes include resveratrol, chromium, berberine, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid and more. Finding the appropriate dose, quality and type of ingredient and reviewing potential interactions with medications is crucial.

Our practitioners form a therapeutic partnership that helps to address the root causes of dysfunction using natural methods where possible.

Receive unrivalled access to your practitioner through regular consultations at our London clinic or via video call.

Our practitioners are on hand to help with any questions or concerns through email or instant messaging. You can see us as a practitioner in your pocket, guiding you to make the necessary changes. We provide you with support when you need it and how you need it.

Our team are qualified nutritionists, all with a deep knowledge and training in exercise prescription, sleep & stress management, behaviour change coaching, lab test interpretation and more.

Simply fill out the contact form below so that we can start to understand your unique situation.

Before you commit to working with us, you’ll have the option to book in for a complimentary discovery call with one of our nutritionists so that you can get to know them and so that we can discuss your situation in more detail.

If you decide to proceed, we'll book you for our initial one-month consultation package. You then continue on a monthly basis, or for an agreed timeframe following a conversation with your practitioner at the end of the first month.