Giving Up Sugar For Good
I’m nearly at the fourth anniversary of giving up refined sugar and ultra-processed food. Even now, I have days where I miss it. Last week I flipped the metal cap off an ice-cold bottle of Corona beer. The smell that blew into my nostrils evoked hot summer beer drinking afternoons. I still look at chocolate hobnobs and salivate. A lifetime of poor food choices hard wires powerfully deep memories that are hard to escape.
Back then breakfast would be a giant bowl of cereal with honey and bananas swilled down with a can of pop. That would have to keep me going until a mid-morning snack in the House of Commons tea room where they provided all the chocolate and cake you could stuff into your mouth.
Type 2 diabetes happens when insulin – the hormone created by the pancreas to regulate blood sugar in the body – is not working correctly. Glucose mainly comes from the carbohydrates in our food and is important as it’s a significant energy source for our body. For Type 2 diabetics, the glucose and insulin levels keep rising, and eventually, our pancreas can give up.
That’s why I was honoured to report in a two-part series for ITV Tonight about the effect of sugar in our diet. Since leaving the House of Commons, I’ve had more time to think about long-term policy. If the post-pandemic environment is suitable for one thing, it’s a complete rethink on public health policy. There are too many people with too many illnesses linked to a single cause: Poor metabolic health.
Obesity, hypertension, Type 2, Cardio-Vascular disease and even dementia are linked to poor metabolic health. And poor metabolic health is often related to poor nutrition and low physical activity. The number of lives we can save if we deal with these conditions before the need for the NHS to intervene with lifelong prescription medicines and surgery is enormous.
Persons Of Interest With Tim Marshall
I spoke with author, journalist and broadcaster, Tim Marshall. For nearly 25 years, Tim broadcast from over 30 countries and covered twelve wars for Sky News.
In the world of journalism, there is something unique about foreign affairs correspondents. They stand out amongst journalists as a breed of their own. I think it's the events they have to cover that allow them to grasp the big picture. And when you're explaining war, conflict and diplomacy to your audience, you have to reduce complex issues to understandable stories. That's why I've always admired Tim. He's a fabulous explainer.
Tim's book, 'Prisoners Of Geography, Our World Explained in Twelve Simple Maps', was a bestseller on multiple continents. The sequel, 'The Power Of Geography, Ten Maps That Reveal The World's Future', is out now. I spoke to him about it for this weeks episode of Persons of Interest.
As our conversation took us on a canter through the emerging parts of the world we all need to know about, I found myself in awe of his wisdom. He's one of those people who reminds us that journalism is still a noble profession.
Squats On Peston
I recently appeared on Peston for ITV discussing COVID’s impact on the airline industry, prospects for imminent international travel and government support for airlines. During the break, I somehow managed to get Robert Peston, Lord Gavin Barwell and Anushka Asthana up for some squats.
Watch the full playback of Peston on Twitter Live.
Skip to me squatting on Peston
If you can cope with watching me speak for four and a bit minutes, here is my first speech in the House of Lords. I hoped to describe Wyre Forest and big up Bewdley Civic Society, but debate time was cut. I’ll find another opportunity to do this in the new year.