Meetings

Meeting Notes:

At this meeting Verner Wheelock talked about Diabetes and Children. Dr Wheelock is a respected food scientist who has spent much of his professional life researching and teaching food science and is also the founder and leader of Low Carb Skipton.

He explained that children who get diabetes usually get Type 1. The numbers are small but it is one of the most important diseases children get. The pancreas becomes damaged by an immune reaction and is then unable to produce insulin and so injections of insulin are then needed.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by poor diet eg eating too much sugar (often hidden in food) – which requires the pancreas to produce large amounts of insulin. The pancreas cannot cope with this and eventually gives up leading to Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes in children differs in its incidence with lower rates occurring nearer the equator and higher rates further away. It is thought that this difference may be partly due to higher levels of Vitamin D in those living nearer the equator.

The consequences of not treating diabetes are very damaging and so it is important to monitor the position. Symptoms are excessive thirst, increased urination, tiredness, loss of muscle bulk and unexplained weight loss. There may also be loss of appetite.

Following Verner’s talk there was some general discussion and various points were made particularly about sugar – as follows:

• The large amount of sugar in a can of Coca Cola – some children have more than one of these every day.
• There is often sugar added to low fat foods. Sugar is highly addictive, cheap and widely used.
• Sugar is often hidden in starches and so care is needed where dietary recommendations suggest eating starches as this can lead to the consumption of significant amounts of sugar.

Frank Kuhne then referred to a talk he gives about sugar. He is a Bradford Community Health Champion and volunteer within the NHS and is also a licensed Lay Educator in Diabetes Prevention. From Bingley, he runs courses at his GP’s local surgery and, within the district, gives talks to educational, social and church groups. His talk illustrates an average day’s food intake and how that can mean the consumption of as much as 53 teaspoons of sugar a day. The body only needs one teaspoon at a time and if required the liver can produce glucose by gluconeogenesis.

Large jar containing 53 teaspoons of sugar and small jar containing one teaspoon.

Fat is the only food group that doesn’t have an effect on blood glucose – healthy fats are a main part of low carb eating.

Following this members then formed into smaller groups where they could talk to others who have personal experience of various health challenges and find out how a low carb lifestyle could help. The small group topics are usually Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and healthy eating/weight loss but may vary according to the interests of attendees.

If you would like to know more why not come along to one of our meetings where you could talk to others who may have similar interests or problems? All meeting information is on the website.

Meeting Notes:

Afternoon meeting at the Rendezvous Hotel.

Meeting Notes:

Our June evening meeting was started off by Hilary Allan giving a brief introductory talk supported by handouts to welcome the new members and explain some key points about low carb eating such as what to eat and what to avoid and the importance of counting total carb content of foods and not just the sugars.

Then Jean Rhodes from Skipton told us about her experience of blood glucose monitoring. Jean is a long term (almost a founder) member of Low Carb Skipton having joined at its second meeting. Initially, about 33 years ago, she was diagnosed as a Type 2 Diabetic but after a year she was subsequently diagnosed as a Type 1. She finds that eating low carb makes it easier to keep her blood glucose level and avoid spikes which means she uses less insulin
Jean tests her blood glucose 4 or 5 times a day using a device that provides her with continuous information on her blood glucose levels. She tests on waking, after meals, when going to bed and before driving.

She said that not everyone needs to test as regularly as she does particularly if they aren’t Type 1 Diabetic but that many people do find it a useful tool. Some medications given for Type 2 Diabetes can lead to low blood glucose and so such testing can help keep track of this.

Jean then talked about different equipment for monitoring blood glucose. This ranges from pricking the finger with a needle (which she said doesn’t hurt) and then putting a drop of blood onto a test strip which is then inserted into a reader to more sophisticated flash glucose monitors such as the one she uses. This is a small sensor which she wears on her arm and which lasts about 2 weeks. It’s not accurate enough for establishing how much insulin is required but is good for showing trends eg whether the blood glucose level is rising, falling or steady which a one off measurement doesn’t tell you.

Following Jean’s talk members then formed into smaller groups where they could talk to others who have personal experience of various health challenges and find out how a low carb lifestyle could help. The small group topics are usually Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and healthy eating/weight loss but may vary according to the interests of attendees.

Interested to know more? Then why not come along to one of our meetings and find out more? All meeting information is on the website.

Meeting Notes:

The talk at this meeting was given by Frank Kuhne who is a Bradford Community Health Champion and volunteer within the NHS and is also a licensed Lay Educator in Diabetes Prevention. From Bingley, he runs courses at his GP’s local surgery and, within the district, gives talks to educational, social and church groups.

Present at the inception of Low Carb Skipton, Frank is an Ambassador for the Public Health Collaboration, a charity dedicated to informing people about health matters.

Frank gave a demonstration and talk at the meeting centred on showing how much equivalence of sugar (unknown to most people) is hidden within starchy foods. This has a severely damaging effect upon people’s metabolisms, seriously compromising their life-span and health-span.

Frank explained that there are about 60 to 70 different names for sugars & so even reading food labels it can be difficult to find out how much sugar foods actually contain. He had samples of various different foods (please see table below – updated since the meeting to show the impact on blood sugar levels) accompanied by jars of the associated equivalent of teaspoons of sugar in the foods.

He explained that the body only needs one teaspoonful of sugar at any one time but as his table shows it is very easy to exceed that even when eating foods that are generally considered to be healthy.

As usual handouts were provided for members to take away with them. These include an illustration of the amount of sugar in everyday (supposedly healthy) starchy carbohydrates and ideas re what to eat, recipes etc.

Following Frank’s talk members then formed into smaller groups where they could talk to others who have personal experience of various health challenges and find out how a low carb lifestyle could help. The small group topics are usually Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and healthy eating/weight loss but may vary according to the interests of attendees.

Low carb eating can help with a range of health conditions. Interested to know more? Then why not come & join us at a meeting? All welcome.

Meeting Notes:

Our April evening meeting was, as usual, well attended by both existing and new members.

Hilary Allan gave a brief introductory talk to welcome the new members, explaining some key points about low carb eating.

As usual starter packs were provided for the new members to take away with them. These include an illustration of the amount of sugar in everyday (supposedly healthy) starchy carbohydrates, information on how to get started with a low carb lifestyle and ideas re what to eat, recipes etc.

After this two people recounted how making key adjustments to their lifestyle had greatly improved their health.

John Goodall, from Settle, talked about how he had come to follow a low carb lifestyle. He had been diagnosed as pre-diabetic and had subsequently tried unsuccessfully to lose weight. He then found out about low carb eating and by following that had lost two stones in weight but, importantly for him, he felt able to enjoy his food without feeling guilty or that he was denying himself. His blood pressure and cholesterol level had also reduced.
John’s wife added that ‘the diet has been fantastic for both’ saying that the switch was ‘incredibly easy’ to make.

Then Philip Coope, from Skipton, told us about his experience. When Philip joined Low Carb Skipton in April 2018 his main health concern was heart disease. He had always tried to eat a healthy diet, had no weight problems and had never smoked or indulged in too much alcohol.

He had taken statins for 24 years during which time he had had three heart attacks so although the statins had reduced his cholesterol they hadn’t prevented progression of his heart disease. He had also felt tired and had achy, painful joints which he thought might be side effects of the medication.

After attending his first Low Carb Skipton meeting he and his wife began following a low carb way of eating. At around the same time he also decided to stop taking his statin medication. Twelve months on from then he has more energy and his aches and pains have all gone. Subsequent blood tests have shown that his cholesterol is stable and has not increased.

As usual members then formed into smaller groups where they could talk to others who have personal experience of various health challenges and find out how a low carb lifestyle could help. The small group topics are usually Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and healthy eating/weight loss but may vary according to the interests of attendees.

Low carb eating can help with a range of health conditions. Why not come to one of our meetings and find out more?

Meeting Notes:

A monthly meeting for those interested in Low Carb matters, and who would prefer to meet during the daytime.

Low Carb Skipton, March 11th 2019 Meeting Notes:

Our March Low Carb Skipton evening meeting was well very attended by existing members and a good number of individuals joining for the first time and interested to learn more about adopting a low carb lifestyle to improve their health.

Hilary gave a short introductory talk to welcome our newest members, explaining how starchy carbohydrates convert to sugar when eaten and raise blood glucose levels. The talk explained 10 key points and practical tips to getting started with a low carb way of eating. All new members received printed handouts to take away with them. These starter packs demonstrate how much sugar is contained in common (so-called ‘healthy’) starchy carbohydrates such as wholegrain cereals and pasta, and explain how to get started with a low carb lifestyle. New members also received food guides showing all the tasty low carbohydrate foods.

Verner delivered a talk about cholesterol and shared information from a clinical trial that showed why aggressively lowering cholesterol levels with medication, especially in the elderly, has been shown to be detrimental when death from all causes is the measured outcome.

Following on from this, Sarah delivered a talk to the group about low carbohydrate diets for weight loss. This talk covered a range of factors that affect appetite and weight control including hormone signalling, our hormonal response to foods, hyper-palatable processed foods and an environment which tends to encourage obesity. Members also learnt about the importance of our satiety hormone leptin, and our hunger hormone ghrelin (the Gremlins).

Members then formed into smaller breakout groups for the remainder of the evening where they could find out more information about a particular health concern.

Those with a diabetes or pre-diabetes diagnosis joined the diabetes group where they are supported by existing members who are managing both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

The second discussion group this month was hosted by Sarah and followed on from the weight loss talk. Members in this group raised questions they had about weight loss and low carb eating. One new member was looking for help with getting started with what to eat and low carb breakfast ideas.

The third group this month discussed low carb lifestyles for cardiovascular and blood lipids (cholesterol) conditions. This group was hosted by Verner and also included patient-experts who have experienced dramatic health improvements in their own cardiovascular risk markers.

If you are dealing with health issues including diabetes, excess weight, low energy, aches and pains or brain fog and would like to know more about how reducing your carbohydrate intake can be a delicious way to improve your heath, then join our next Low Carb Skipton meeting.

Low Carb Skipton hosts monthly meetings at The Rendezvous Hotel in a relaxed, friendly environment sharing information and guidance on eating low carb for better health. We bust through the confusing media headlines and conflicting dietary advice and share simple strategies to cut your carbs whilst eating lots of delicious foods that are usually banned on a typical ‘diet’. There is also time during the evening to chat to other members and find out how low carb eating is working for them.

Apart from evening meetings the group also stages afternoon get-togethers. Watch out for details on this website.