I had a stark choice: a sugar-free diet... or diabetes - just look at me now! says Gloria Hunniford

How TV star Gloria Hunniford transformed her eating habits

The recipes which can help you on your way to do the same

The starlets treading the red carpet were dressed, typically, in revealing gowns designed to grab attention. But it was a woman more than twice their age – albeit dressed in characteristic show-stopping style – who set flash bulbs popping, and made headlines the next day.

Veteran broadcaster Gloria Hunniford, a stalwart of British television for the better part of four decades, looked dazzling in a black studded jumpsuit at the charity award ceremony and, as many onlookers whispered, so slim.

Though she had never been a wallflower, Gloria usually cut a more matronly figure. What could have caused such a transformation?

Look at me now: Gloria Hunniford shows off the results of her low-carb sugar-free diet which has reversed her pre-diabetes syndrome

Earlier in the year she revealed that she had developed blood poisoning after cutting one of her knuckles with a knife while preparing lamb for a curry. She was in hospital for ten days on intravenous antibiotics and many people put her weight loss down to that ordeal.

But today Gloria reveals the true story – and the accident in March was key. It set in motion a chain of events that led to the discovery she was suffering from pre-diabetes, sometimes called syndrome X.

She has reversed what was an ominously high blood sugar level – the main sign of the condition – by adopting a sugar-free, low-carb diet. The happy consequence is that she can now describe herself as being ‘in the shape of my life’.

Far from feeling punished, Gloria is thoroughly enjoying her new way of eating. She says it’s even easy to navigate the countless Christmas parties, if you’re well informed. ‘I eat everything except the potatoes. I don’t have dessert but ask if they can bring me a little cheese instead. You learn how to substitute things.’

Before the change: Gloria in 2006

Her one sadness is that sparkling wine is very high in sugar.

‘I’m not fastidious and I will have a glass of something on Christmas Day, but not more than that.

'My tip is to drink carbonated water with a dash of lime which is extremely refreshing.’

She adds that the internet has been a great resource in finding low-sugar alternatives to festive favourites, and two of the ‘smart choice’ recipes she will be cooking this year are included on these pages.

Gloria, 73, recalls: ‘While I was in hospital, I had my blood tested quite a few times and one of the things that kept coming back was my blood sugar being too high.

'I had already cut down my sugar intake, as I was aware of the problem from previous check-ups with my GP.

‘I was told it was either diet or develop diabetes. So, out of something bad came information that led to my avoiding something considerably worse.’

She knew that diabetes runs in her family. Her late sister Lena was a diabetic.

‘And a naughty one, too,’ the TV host says. ‘She was a wonderful baker and we’d tell her she shouldn’t eat so many cakes and biscuits. Her reply would always be, “Oh well, you’ve got to die of something.”



'She actually died of dementia but her diabetes led to health problems, and I certainly didn’t want to follow her example or become diabetic.

‘The doctor at the hospital was a firm believer that you can avoid becoming a victim of type 2 diabetes, and perhaps even reverse its effects, through diet. I would do anything not to be diabetic and that’s why I managed to switch the way I eat and be so disciplined about it.’

Certain foods we eat are broken down into glucose in our stomachs before passing into the bloodstream. The hormone insulin is produced to help the sugar enter cells, where it is used for energy.

In type 2 diabetes, usually linked to obesity, insulin starts to become ineffective so more sugar remains in the blood. Acute symptoms include frequent urination and subsequent increased thirst, blurred vision and extreme tiredness.

Gloria’s weight had crept up over the years until she weighed ten stone and was a size 12 to 14. She’s 5ft 3in tall. ‘I was never vastly overweight but like a lot of women, I would go through periods of cutting down fat and once went to Weight Watchers and lost some weight there.

‘But it wasn’t until this change in my diet brought on by the doctor’s warning that my body really altered. As soon as I cut out carbs, the weight just fell off – it was quite remarkable. I didn’t change my diet for that reason but it’s a happy by-product.’

However, far more important than reducing her waistline is reducing her blood sugar. For if uncontrolled, high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia) damages small blood vessels, leading to nerve damage, slow-healing wounds and susceptibility to infections. There can also be eye problems – high glucose levels can break the tiny blood vessels that feed the retina – and kidney damage.

Pre-diabetes – thought to affect up to seven million Britons – is thought to be a precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes. Alongside higher than normal blood sugar levels, signs can include lethargy and headaches. However, like Gloria, many will notice no symptoms.

Long career: Gloria with Matthew Kelly, promoting their opera singalong outside the Royal Albert Hall in 1994

There are currently about three million diabetics in Britain, 90 per cent diagnosed with the type 2 form. This condition is controllable – and even reversible – with diet, although many patients will also need tablets or injections.

Libby Dowling, clinical adviser for Diabetes UK, says: ‘Pre-diabetes is a mild condition but incrementally the raised glucose levels are damaging. Half of patients have some sort of complication on diagnosis. Because the symptoms can be mild, they are often ignored.’

Gloria was told by her hospital consultant to stop eating ‘white’ foods such as pasta, rice, bread, potatoes and cakes and biscuits. ‘It’s a brave man who tells an Irishwoman to eliminate potatoes from her diet but I took his advice,’ she says. ‘And the weight just dropped off. I lost two stone. I’m now eight-and-a-half stone, something I haven’t been since my 20s. I feel lighter psychologically, too.’ She still has an occasional dose of ‘brown’ carbs, such as a slice of brown toast with a poached egg, but has found cutting out carbs transformational.

The killer ingredient in what used to be her food intake, she believes, was sugar. ‘Coincidentally, I had to interview a heart doctor for a special edition of the BBC1 programme Rip-Off Britain – Food which will be shown in January. He opened my eyes to the hidden horrors of sugar, which has no nutritional value whatsoever. Effectively, it’s poison and can lead to all manner of diseases.

‘Until recently, fats in our food have been public enemy No 1,’ she says. ‘But more and more experts now believe that sugar is worse.’

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that Britons each consume about 96.5g of sugar per day – almost 23 teaspoons, or 160 a week. This is more than the 90g daily – or 22 teaspoons – that the UK Food Standards Agency says is acceptable. Studies show this level of intake is strongly linked to type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Last January the British Medical Journal published World Health Organisation-commissioned research that proved that high-sugar, rather than simply high-calorie, diets lead to obesity, when weight becomes directly implicated in cardiovascular disease, cancers, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and hypertension, disability and decreased life expectancy.

Gloria, and many health experts, now believe part of the problem is the low-fat diet obsession. ‘Those diet yogurts are a case in point,’ she says. ‘My consultant told me never to buy them, for the simple reason that the fat is replaced with sugar so it tastes nicer.’

Now she follows a high-protein diet that means she can have eggs or yogurt for breakfast, and maybe a bowl of porridge once a week or certain granolas. For lunch, which used to be sandwiches, it might now be soup and a chicken salad.

Healthy alternative: Gloria is swapping the spuds for salad when she prepares her turkey dinner on Christmas Day

‘I used to eat an awful lot of bread as I’d have toast in the morning, too,’ she says. ‘I’d often have pasta or rice for dinner but now in the evening I’ll have chunky vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower with meat or fish and no potatoes. For dessert I might have a bit of cheese but without the biscuits. Or fruit, although I was advised to avoid grapes, bananas and melon which are high in sugar content.

Gloria adds: ‘It’s better to have pear or berries, preferably dark ones, with yogurt or a dollop of double cream because the little bit of fat will help you feel fuller for longer.’

Her main advice is to ensure you have the right foods to hand. ‘At home, make sure you stock up on the foods you can eat – so cook extra vegetables and crunchy veg with your meals so you don’t miss the potatoes. I love sliced Brussels sprouts cooked with mushrooms, bacon and onion. Even cauliflower without the creamy sauce can be spiced up with a sprinkle of cheese under the grill.

‘Buy things you can nibble on that aren’t sugary – I get Greek yogurt, celery and goat’s cheese. Nuts are also great for a snack; whenever I’m travelling I always pack myself a bag of cashews.’

She is also very aware of what she must not eat. ‘You have to learn what to leave out – energy drinks, for example, are really full of sugar. At the beginning it was hard to cut out bread as I’d automatically choose a bread-based meal, but you get used to it; it’s like giving up sugar in your tea; after a while you don’t miss it.’

The most important thing, advises Gloria, is changing the way you think about food. ‘I regard sugar as a poison that’s not doing me any good so I’m not tempted. It’s a mind switch.’

And she has now fully adjusted to her new eating regime. ‘This is for life. I was on the road last week, filming. The guy who was driving me brought me a sandwich. I picked out the chicken and dumped the bread. Six months ago, I’d have wolfed the lot. You’re never too old to retrain your appetite.’

And what about the big meal itself? ‘We’ll be having a traditional Christmas dinner – turkey with all the trimmings – and yes, I’ll have a roast potato or two. I’m not Goody Two-Shoes and nor am I on the Atkins Diet. Carbohydrates aren’t toxic – it’s just that I think having a diet based on starchy foods like potatoes and bread led to me putting on weight and the pre-diabetes. And honestly, I don’t miss them.

‘My weakness at this time of year is mince pies, but instead of eating two or three at one sitting, I’ll now break one in half and give the other half to my husband.’

In the New Year, Gloria is due to have another blood test. ‘And I shall be very disappointed if my levels haven’t come right down,’ she says.