123: Mark Hancock – Being Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes At 39

Mark Hancock

 I recently featured in a book written in the UK by Dr David Cavan. This was the piece which covered quite a bit of my background.

In 2005, Mark left his job at a bank to become a self-employed financial adviser. He feels that the stress of the job combined with his already unhealthy lifestyle, contributed to the diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes in 2010 when he was just 39. At that time, he weighed 102kg (224 pounds). He says “I felt sluggish, overweight, tired and just felt run down. I had symptoms of diabetes such as repeated thrush and a tingly foot. I didn’t realise how bad I felt though until I got better.”

When he was diagnosed, he was advised to follow the Eatwell guide and lost weight probably because he cut out all the unhealthy takeaways. He also threw himself into long distance running, joining the local parkrun and completing The Great South Run, a 10-mile road race in Portsmouth, every year. The running, together with medication appeared to keep his weight and blood sugar under control until 2016, when they both started to increase again. He was told that his condition was progressing, and he would need to increase his medication.

All changed, however, when he happened to hear Dr Michael Mosley being interviewed on the radio. He explained that people with diabetes have been advised to eat the wrong foods, and that it was these foods that were leading to the condition being chronic and progressive. “As I’d been threatened with more drugs, I felt I had nothing to lose. I bought “The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet” and gave it a go. I cut out all bread, pasta, rice and sugar. No more breakfast cereals and no potatoes with my dinner. I started cooking too which was a first for me. I realised that preparing meals isn’t as difficult as I thought, and I enjoyed the reward of eating what I’d cooked rather than putting a ready-meal in the oven for 20 minutes. The changes in my weight and blood sugar levels were very quick. I didn’t find it too hard. I can be tempted to eat the wrong things and if out with friends I won’t get too anxious over what I eat, but I don’t let that allow me to “fall off the wagon” for days on end. I’m lucky like that but I think you need to know yourself and whether you can have the odd thing without undoing all your good work.”

He lost nearly 20kb (44 pounds) in weight and his diabetes is now in remission. He feels much better, both mentally as well as physically. “In 2018, I was invited to parliament to speak alongside Professor Roy Taylor and Dr David Unwin and others who had found evidence for diet reversing diabetes. If you had asked me previously to stand up in front of audiences or push myself forward like that, I would have avoided it and thought of any reason to get out of it. My confidence just wasn’t there. I feel like a fog lifted from my head in 2016 and I now find myself doing all manner of things and I absolutely love it. I put this down to how I now feed not only my body but my brain too.”

Mark also became an ambassador for the Public Health Collaboration, and this has opened many doors to help others put their type 2 diabetes into remission. For the past 3 years he has been working with his local Primary Care Network to put on a low carb programme for patients which, combined with movement, combatting stress and prioritising a good night’s sleep, has led to some wonderful outcomes. “So far, we have run 16 groups with an average of around a dozen participants in each group. The first 20 patients alone lost an average of 9 kg (20 pounds) in weight and reduced their HbA1c by 19 mmol/mol (1.8%). It is truly heart-warming to see how happy people are, now they have a plan that works. I’m now a Health and Wellbeing Coach and employee of the NHS. I never would have believed it!”

Recently I’ve been working on a project through the Public Health Collaboration to create a new running group for the real food eate