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War on diabetes newsletter 16th August 2025

Welcome to the tenth War on Diabetes newsletter, your weekly tips and ideas from someone who has had diabetes for five years and learned a lot about it. It's a practical and actionable guide to details your doctor probably won't have time to tell you about.

War on diabetes newsletter 16th August 2025
Family of swans on 10k by 10am day for the million step challenge

It's been a tough week with three social events that have caused problems for my glucose control but it's been a one off so I'm not going to stress too much about it. Things definitely need to improve next week!

Million step challenge

Last Sunday was the 10k by 10am challenge which requires doing 10,000 steps before 10am on 10th August. My mum wanted to come with me and we managed over 4.5 miles in just under two hours. I hit the 10,000 steps point with ten minutes to spare. Another benefit of the million step challenge that I hadn't expected is finding decent new pubs!

Progress Update

A busy social week plays havoc with my glucose levels. My CGM's estimated HbA1c has caught up with my last few months' progress so I'm actually looking forward to my next blood test results.

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What I learned this week

This week, I've put together a collection of weight loss tips that I wish I'd known about decades ago. I've lost a total of six stone so far, so something is working.

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New Recruit Tip

High insulin levels are the root cause of type 2 diabetes and if you have type 1, you should still look at keeping levels within range to avoid developing insulin resistance. Professor Tim Noakes is a pioneering scientist who had to outline how high insulin levels drive metabolic syndrome in a court case in order to defend himself from prosecution after sharing sound medical advice on high fat diets through social media.

Why insulin levels cause type 2 diabetes with Tim Noakes

Diabetes Veterans

Exciting things are happening in the USA, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. starting to crack down on ultra processed food (UPF) ingredients as part of the MAHA movement. But a possibly even bigger development for diabetes sufferers is the formation of the American Diabetes Society last year. This new organisation is increasing education about reversing type 2 diabetes in the face of confusing guidance from more established organisations who are stuck in the 'low-fat' mantra of the 1960s, which has caused so many health problems around the world. This is a big development because these highly qualified and experienced scientists and doctors are starting a movement that will gather enough momentum to eventually force the bad advice out of the general media. I'm calling it now - there will eventually be a BBC article that says "high fat diets are the best way to prevent and reverse type 2 diabetes".

Find out more about the American Diabetes Society

See a replay of this week's live stream from The American Diabetes Association. If you want to know how to start reversing type 2 diabetes then these are some of the leading voices.

This week's food heroes

Grilled chicken salad

Two beers on an empty stomach last Saturday, and I needed to find something to make sure I didn't have another case of reactive hypoglycemia (no one likes hangry-hypo Martyn). I really enjoyed this well presented lunch from Tom's Table in Clitheroe.

Croutons and dressing made me a bit nervous but this stabilised my glucose levels nicely without going too high.

Ham & cheese for a hot day's dinner

I picked up a ham joint from the local butcher's. It doesn't smell great straight out of the oven so it's best to let it cool for a few hours before serving. It's a good way to have something quick and easy to grab from the fridge for a few days. This was a really nice dinner after a hot day when I really didn't want anything heavy. No glucose bump from this so it's joining my regular go-to meals list.

Ham, cherry tomatoes, sauerkraut, double Gloucester & Cheshire cheese. There's three olives hiding underneath the ham as well.

Chicken Ruby (butter chicken)

I'd promised to make this Dishoom recipe for my partner's birthday and it takes two days to prepare the garam masala, marinade, and eventually the makhani sauce. I added barberries instead of pomegranate seeds and they worked really well. I'm wary of vegetable oils so around 230g of butter went into around six portions. Even adding two chapattis didn't upset my glucose too much.

We're not allowed Indian takeaway anymore because mine "is better" 🥵
I'm walking a million steps this summer to help Diabetes UK fund research and support for people living with diabetes in the UK. If you're able to make a donation, I'll be made up and have one more reason not to back out 😅

I struggled to find where to buy non-homogenised milk locally and eventually found The Modern Milkman. Their organic whole milk in my area is non-homogenised so I've been getting milk and eggs from them for two years now. Use this link to get 50% off your first two weeks and they'll give me 50% off my next delivery as well. Cheers!

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