Dr. David Unwin, MD, FRCGP

Dr. David Unwin is a GP based in Southport in the United Kingdom. After over 25 years of attempting to treat diabetes by conventional methods, Dr. Unwin was introduced to low carb nutrition through one of his patients and the website www.diabetes.co.uk

From this revelation, Dr. Unwin now ignores official advice and treats his patients with a low-carbohydrate diet. Since adopting the approach, his practice now spends £50,000 less each year on drugs for diabetes than is average for his area.

Dr. Unwin is the RCGP National Champion for Collaborative Care and Support Planning in Obesity & Diabetes, as well as a Clinical Expert in diabetes. In 2015 he won the North West NHS ‘Innovator of the Year Award’ and in 2016 he won the National NHS 'Innovator of the Year Award' for his work in treating diabetes with a low carbohydrate approach.

Video Presentations of Dr. David Unwin, MD, FRCGP

Scholarly Articles from Dr. David Unwin, MD, FRCGP

Video Presentations of Dr. David Unwin, MD, FRCGP

"Nine Years of Low Carb T2DM: Making a Long-Term Difference" - Dr. David Unwin & Dr. Jen Unwin

Dr. David Unwin is a practicing GP based in Southport in the United Kingdom and is a recognised international expert on the topic of carbohydrates and Type 2 diabetes. After 25 years of attempting to treat diabetes by conventional methods, Dr. Unwin stumbled upon the website www.diabetes.co.uk and from this revelation now ignores official advice and treats his patients with a low-carbohydrate diet.

David is the RCGP National Champion for Collaborative Care and Support Planning in Obesity & Diabetes. In 2015 he won the North West NHS ‘Innovator of the Year Award’ and in 2016 he won the National NHS 'Innovator of the Year Award' for his work in treating diabetes with a low carb.

Dr. Jen Unwin is a consultant clinical health psychologist who has worked in the NHS for over 30 years, helping people with chronic illnesses to improve their lives. She is also former chair of the UK Association for Solution Focused Practice.

David and Jen are both founding members of the Public Health Collaboration (U.K.) and together the Unwin's have helped pioneer the use of low carbohydrate diets in the treatment of obesity and diabetes through a patient-centric model of ‘hope’.

"Are We Blaming Salt for What Sugar Did?" - Dr. David Unwin

"Before Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes There is a Long Silent Scream From the Liver" - Dr. David Unwin

Doctor's Low Carb Transformation - with Dr. David Unwin

Dr. Unwin was on the verge of retiring as a general practice physician in the UK. Then he found the power of low-carb nutrition and helped hundreds of patients in ways he never thought possible! As a result, he won the prestigious NHS Innovator of the Year award and was named one of the top ten most influential GPs in the UK.

Unwin continues to help patients dramatically improve their health through low-carb living. His story is an inspiration to physicians and patients alike. Dr. Unwin is leading the way to spread the message: there's a better way to achieve health.

Low Carb for Doctors: Explaining Low Carb in a Simple Way

How do you make low carb simple for patients? Dr. Unwin explains that carbs break down into surprising amounts of sugar in the body.

In the sixth part of our low carb for doctors series, Dr. Unwin explains how doctors can explain the concept of low carb in simple terms to their patients.

The Nuts & Bolts of Drug-Free Type 2 Diabetes Remission - Dr. David Unwin (GMTH Primary Care Conference)

Scholarly Articles from Dr. David Unwin, MD, FRCGP

What predicts drug-free type 2 diabetes remission? Insights from an 8-year general practice service evaluation of a lower carbohydrate diet with weight lossBackground Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is often regarded as a progressive, lifelong disease requiring an increasing number of drugs. Sustained remission of T2D is now well established, but is not yet routinely practised. Norwood surgery has used a low-carbohydrate programme aiming to achieve remission since 2013. Methods Advice on a lower carbohydrate diet and weight loss was offered routinely to people with T2D between 2013 and 2021, in a suburban practice with 9800 patients. Conventional ‘one-to-one’ GP consultations were used, supplemented by group consultations and personal phone calls as necessary. Those interested in participating were computer coded for ongoing audit to compare ‘baseline’ with ‘latest follow-up’ for relevant parameters. Results The cohort who chose the low-carbohydrate approach (n=186) equalled 39% of the practice T2D register. After an average of 33 months median (IQR) weight fell from 97 (84–109) to 86 (76–99) kg, giving a mean (SD) weight loss of −10 (8.9)kg. Median (IQR) HbA1c fell from 63 (54–80) to 46 (42–53) mmol/mol. Remission of diabetes was achieved in 77% with T2D duration less than 1 year, falling to 20% for duration greater than 15 years. Overall, remission was achieved in 51% of the cohort. Mean LDL cholesterol decreased by 0.5 mmol/L, mean triglyceride by 0.9 mmol/L and mean systolic blood pressure by 12 mm Hg. There were major prescribing savings; average Norwood surgery spend was £4.94 per patient per year on drugs for diabetes compared with £11.30 for local practices. In the year ending January 2022, Norwood surgery spent £68 353 per year less than the area average. Conclusions A practical primary care-based method to achieve remission of T2D is described. A low-carbohydrate diet-based approach was able to achieve major weight loss with substantial health and financial benefit. It resulted in 20% of the entire practice T2D population achieving remission. It appears that T2D duration <1 year represents an important window of opportunity for achieving drug-free remission of diabetes. The approach can also give hope to those with poorly controlled T2D who may not achieve remission, this group had the greatest improvements in diabetic control as represented by HbA1c. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available.

Substantial and Sustained Improvements in Blood Pressure, Weight and Lipid Profiles from a Carbohydrate Restricted Diet: An Observational Study of Insulin Resistant Patients in Primary CareHypertension is the second biggest known global risk factor for disease after poor diet; perhaps lifestyle interventions are underutilized? In a previous small pilot study, it was found that a low carbohydrate diet was associated with significant improvements in blood pressure, weight, ‘deprescribing’ of medications and lipid profiles. We were interested to investigate if these results would be replicated in a larger study based in ‘real world’ GP practice. 154 patients with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance were recruited into an observational cohort study in primary care. The effects of a low carbohydrate diet sustained for an average of two years (interquartile range 10–32 months) on cardiovascular risk factors were examined. Results demonstrate significant and substantial reductions in blood pressure (mean reduction of systolic BP 10.9 mmHg (interquartile range 0–22 mmHg) (p < 0.0001), mean reduction in diastolic BP 6.3 mmHg (interquartile range 0–12.8 mmHg) (p < 0.0001) and mean weight reduction of 9.5 Kg (interquartile range 5–13 Kg) (p < 0.0001) together with marked improvement in lipid profiles. This occurred despite a 20% reduction in anti-hypertensive medications. This novel and potentially highly effective dietary modification, done very cheaply alongside routine care, offers hope that should be tested in a large prospective trial.

Dr David Unwin: Low carb is not just about diabetes - DiabetesDr David Unwin explores how low carb can be applicable to more conditions than just diabetes, including NAFLD, cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer's.

Does a Ketogenic Diet Have a Place Within Diabetes Clinical Practice? Review of Current Evidence and Controversies - Diabetes TherapyCarbohydrate restriction has gained increasing popularity as an adjunctive nutritional therapy for diabetes management. However, controversy remains regarding the long-term suitability, safety, efficacy and potential superiority of a very low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet compared to current recommended nutritional approaches for diabetes management. Recommendations with respect to a ketogenic diet in clinical practice are often hindered by the lack of established definition, which prevents its capacity to be most appropriately prescribed as a therapeutic option for diabetes. Furthermore, with conflicted evidence, this has led to uncertainty amongst clinicians on how best to support and advise their patients. This review will explore whether a ketogenic diet has a place within clinical practice by reviewing current evidence and controversies.

Renal function in patients following a low carbohydrate... : Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Obesityage, and that LCDs themselves may impact on cardiovascular risk. We review the evidence around LCDs, renal and cardiovascular risk factors and compare to results obtained in a real-world, primary care setting. Recent findings Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-recognised microvascular complication of T2D caused in part by; chronically increased glomerular pressure, hyperfiltration, increased blood pressure and advanced glycation end products. Hyperglycemia can be seen as central to all of these factors. A LCD is an effective first step in its correction as we demonstrate in our real-world cohort. Summary We found evidence that LCDs for people with T2D may improve many renal and cardiovascular risk factors. In our own LCD cohort of 143 patients with normal renal function or only mild CKD, over an average of 30 months the serum creatinine improved by a significant mean of 4.7 (14.9) μmol/L. What remains to be shown is the effect of the approach on people with T2D and moderate/severe CKD....

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