Launched in 2015, NHS England’s Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) records that, “around 22,000 people with diabetes die early every year. Type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of preventable sight loss in people of working age and is a major contributor to kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke.”
Diabetes UK announced a new pilot by NHS England starting in 2019 which, “…will test a Type 2 remission programme … involving low-calorie diets.”
The Guardian reports, “The 800-calories-a-day regimen, made up of soups and shakes, has been shown to help people lose excess weight that has caused fat to build up around their internal organs including the pancreas, leading to type 2 diabetes.”
We hope that those taking on such a regimen consider the role of phlegm (mucus, balgham) we wrote about last week.
And also the role of foods from prophetic medicine in the management of diabetes mellitus as listed by Bassem Y. Sheikh of the College of Medicine, Taibah University, Madinah in his review of the literature:
Blackseed
Lemon Grass
Olives
Miswak
Honey
Barley
Dates
Zamzam Water
Vinegar
Costus
Trouffles
Figs
Gourd (Cucurbitaceae)
And we are reminded, again, of the hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said, “No human being has ever filled a container worse than his own stomach. The son of Adam needs no more than some morsels of food to keep up his strength. Doing so, he should consider that a third of [his stomach] is for food, a third for drink and a third for breathing.”