In this episode, Dr Elizabeth Thompson talks with Dr David Unwin, a GP based near Southport, about his journey from a conventional, prescription-first approach to becoming aleading voice in lifestyle medicine for type 2 diabetes. David reflects candidly on the years he spent frustrated with patients who weren't improving, before realising the problem lay with the advice he was giving rather than the patients themselves. He describes how a shift toward low-carb, collaborative, and data-driven care, sparked by his wife Jen's encouragement to run free evening clinics, transformed both his practice and his own health, as someone living with type 2 diabetes himself. The conversation covers the ethics ofinformed consent, the risks and benefits of GLP-1 drugs, the power of visual tools like his sugar-teaspoon infographics, and the remarkable outcomes his practice has achieved, including drug-free diabetes remission in as little as eight weeks for some patients. Key Takeaways: 159 patients achieved drug-free type 2 diabetes remission, averaging just 8 weeksPractice saved the NHS over £350,000 in diabetes drug costs since 201893% of pre-diabetic patients reached normal blood sugar on a low-carb dietGLP-1 drugs carry real risks; informed consent matters as much as the prescriptionSugar-teaspoon infographics, translated into 39 languages, made glycemic load easy to graspTurning point: realising he was to blame for patients' lack of progress, not the patients themselvesCollaborative, choice-based care improved outcomes and strengthened doctor-patient trustOver 30 peer-reviewed papers built on real-world data from his own practice About Our Guest: Dr David Unwin is a family doctor at the Norwood NHS Surgery in Southport, UK, where he's practiced since 1986. He's helped 150 of his Type 2 diabetes patients achieve drug-free remission, one of the best results of any clinic in the world, by pioneering a low-carb approach to treatment. A Royal College of General Practitioners clinical advisor on diabetes and Fellow of the college, David has published over 20 research papers on reducing dietary carbohydrate toimprove blood pressure, cholesterol and kidney and liver function. His famous "teaspoons of sugar" infographics have been translated into 35 languages and downloaded millions of times, and his research has twice been recognised, including "paper of the year" from the International Academy of Nutrition Educators, and the most-read paper in BMJ Nutrition's history. Together with his wife, psychologist Dr Jen Unwin, he's spoken to audiences worldwide and hiswork has been featured by the BBC, the New Scientist, The Times, and the British Medical Journal among others. He shares his insights with over 100,000 followers as @lowcarbGP on Twitter. READ THE FULL SHOW NOTES HEREIf you’re interested in learning more about Integrative Medicine, you can: 👉 Sign up for our free newsletter Integrative Medicine Matters 👉 Sign up for our NCIM Membership, just £4.99 per month 👉 Sign up for our free Introduction to Integrative Medicine course 👉 Explore our 10 CPD Point Discovery Course in Integrative Medicine 👉 Find out more about our master’s Level 7 Diploma, including single modules you can enrol in today! NCIM also offers an Integrative Medicine Clinic, where our expert team of Integrative Medicine Doctors and Integrative Clinical Team work collaboratively to support your health and wellbeing. Learn more/book an appointment. Don’t forget to subscribe and share if you enjoyed this episode! Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of NCIM. Always seek the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health or treatment plan.
