A SKIPTON food scientist is urging people to think twice about official dietary advice on how to combat diabetes and diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and obesity.

Dr Verner Wheelock’s new book - Healthy Eating: The Big Mistake - explores how “modern medicine has got it wrong” and appeals to people to be more conscious of what they eat as part of an investment in life-long health.

He points the finger at carbohydrates as one of the worst nutritional enemies and debunks much of the current “healthy eating” advice.

But his message to people suffering from Type 2 diabetes - and to a certain extent those with Type 1 - is one of hope.

And it has inspired the formation of the Low Carb Skipton voluntary organisation which regularly meets at the Rendezvous Hotel at Snaygill.

His advice is to drastically cut back carbohydrates, which lead to a rapid rise in blood glucose levels, and replace them with healthy fats.

Dr Wheelock’s view flies in the face of most present-day thinking, but his book points to a number of recent studies which have shown that a low carb/healthy fats diet can dramatically improve blood glucose levels.

He says there is now a lot of evidence that the low carb/healthy eating approach can improve the glucose levels for Type 1 diabetics but in the case of Type 2s can potentially put the condition in reverse.

Dr Wheelock, who lives in Glusburn, has spent many years researching why carbohydrates are one of the worse nutritional elements.

He says there is evidence of people with Type 2 diabetes diligently following the ‘official’ rules and still becoming very poorly - even losing limbs.

“It is never too late to reduce the level of sugar and carbs in your diet,” he says. “By doing that, the body is better able to deal with blood glucose.”

He wants to see a complete change-around involving slashing sugar and carbohydrates and increasing the level of fats, such as cheese and butter, consuming more meat and fish, leafy vegetables, olive and coconut oil, almonds, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, avocado, courgettes and mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and berries.

He points out there is a growing number of experts who share his views, showing how a low carb/healthy fats diet can bring life-saving hope to millions.

“ Yet most doctors still say it’s OK to eat carbs as long as you take the correct medication,” he says.

The strongest light in his book is shone on the real cause of many chronic, life-threatening diseases, which are epidemic across the globe.

He says that the ‘healthy eating’ messages for the major killers – cancer, dementia, heart disease, type two diabetes, obesity – are just plain wrong.

Dr Wheelock makes the case for an obvious and simple solution: stop eating the foods that research shows are at the heart of these serious health issues.

“That means eating less of what you’ve been told to eat and more of what you’ve been told to avoid,” he says.

Regarding diabetes, he says Type 2 and Type 1 sufferers can vastly improve their health with almost immediate effect by adopting the low-carb approach.

The book’s contributor, journalist Marika Sboros, relates the “trial” of Professor Tim Noakes who was prosecuted by the medical hierarchy in South Africa. It provides an insight into the battles currently being raged.

Noakes has persistently advocated a change in dietary advice in order to save the lives of thousands of people by turning to a low-sugar, low-carbohydrate diet.

He was eventually vindicated and his ‘not guilty’ verdict may be the watershed needed to trigger an about-turn in official thinking, people believe.

‘Healthy Eating: The Big Mistake - How modern medicine has got it wrong about diabetes, cholesterol, cancer, Alzheimer’s and obesity’ is published by Columbus Publishing Ltd, £12.99, Kindle version available on Amazon.