What is the NHS soup and shake diet plan?

DIABETES affects almost five million people in the UK, with their bodies producing too much sugar in their blood.

According to new research, people can reverse their type 2 diabetes by going on a strict 900-calorie-a-day liquid diet offered by the NHS.

What is the NHS soup and shake diet plan?

The plan looks to help sufferers of type 2 diabetes to lose weight in a managed way to aid weight loss.

Using a series of soups and shakes as a way to give those affected the nutrition they need without over-eating, it has been found to have a positive impact on those suffering from the disease.

Obesity in diabetes patients can cause major complications and the condition is believed to cost the NHS around £10 billion per year.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can allow sufferers to work towards an end goal of being in remission from the condition completely.

Diabetes can cause so many knock-on effects for people affected, with risk of dying from the coronavirus doubled for patients.

The move not only improves the health and lifestyle of patients but will also save the NHS huge amounts of money while freeing up the time of staff to focus on others.

How does the NHS soup and shake diet work?

The NHS low-calorie diet plan allows sufferers to better manage their condition and primarily their blood sugar levels.

It works through a year-long programme of low-calorie, diet replacement products such as soups and shakes in the first three months.

The radical soups and shakes diet strips out solid food and limits people to 900 calories for the first three months, to get their weight under control before reintroducing healthy eating.

Statistics have shown that people on the plan, on average, lose around 7.2kg (over one stone) after the first month and 13.4kg (over two stone) after three months.

According to new research, patients who completed it lost a stone-and-a-half, on average.

The end goal of the diet is to get patients into remission from diabetes at the end of the twelve months, but more importantly, in such a way that they can keep the weight off.

After the first three months of soups and shakes, the scheme then looks to reintroduce healthy, nutritious food into the diet.

We hope to see more people benefit in years to come

Dr Elizabeth RobertsonDiabetes UK

All managed virtually through one-to-ones, group sessions and digital support, it offers patients the help to improve their health for the long haul.

Does the NHS soup and shake diet help against type 2 diabetes?

Over 2,000 people have already seen their health drastically improve on the plan which allows them to look to kick the disease completely in the long-term.

One in three – 32 per cent – lost even more flab and went into remission from type 2 diabetes.

Seeing such encouraging outcomes from our programme shows it can be tackled head-on.

Dr Clare HamblingNHS obesity director

Controlling blood-sugar levels are key to entering remission and lifestyle changes such as the soup and shake plan have been proved to allow sufferers to achieve that goal.

NHS projections are forecasting that without such programmes, the number of people affected by diabetes will continue to grow and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Chris Askew, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said "We’re delighted to see the expansion of NHS England’s free weight-loss programme for people living with Type 2 diabetes."

Since its launch, this low-calorie diet pilot, inspired by Diabetes UK’s ground-breaking DiRECT trial, has helped thousands of people across England access the support they need to lose weight effectively and potentially put their Type 2 diabetes in remission.

He added: “Remission can be life-changing, offering people a better chance of a healthier future."

While Dr Elizabeth Robertson, of the charity Diabetes UK, said: “These latest findings add to the real-world evidence that the NHS England programme can help thousands of people.

"We hope to see even more people benefiting in years to come and an increase in referrals.”

NHS obesity director Dr Clare Hambling said: “It’s brilliant that these findings show a large number of those who completed the diet have seen life-changing benefits.

“Obesity is one of the biggest threats to health in the UK.

“Seeing such encouraging outcomes from our programme shows it can be tackled head-on.”

Who is eligible to join the NHS soup and shake diet programme?

Currently the plan is being trialled in various areas of England, due to its success, the availability is growing rapidly.

To be eligible to take part, you must meet the following criteria:

• Aged 18 to 65 years.
• Have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within the last 6 years.   
• BMI of 27kg/m² or higher if you’re white, or 25kg/m² if you’re from an ethnic minority group.
• Have had an HbA1c measurement taken within the last 12 months and the results were:
  • HbA1c of 43-87 mmol/mol, if on diabetes medication.
  • HbA1c of 48-87 mmol/mol, if not on diabetes medication.

It has been offered to 25,000 people so far and the new study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, tracked the health of 7,540 between 2020 and 2022.

In the first instance, if this applies to you, it is recommended to speak to your GP to see if this is something available in your area.