When Chips can be healthy

If everyone in Hawera completed a coronary health course, Dr Trevor Hurlow says he could retire as a general practitioner because there would be insufficient patients left.

"This is an educational programme that can reverse conditions suffered by people who have any of the so-called western lifestyle diseases," says Dr Hurlow, who will facilitate South Taranaki's fourth Coronary Health Improvement Project (Chip) in September.

"As a doctor I sit at the bottom of the cliff and people come in with heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, depression, smoking and drinking to excess. Probably 70 per cent of my patients have one or more of these conditions," he said.

"Chip is an opportunity for me to help them to help themselves through exercise and changing their eating and lifestyle habits, without the aid of medication. Most people who do Chip are able to reduce and sometimes even stop their various medications and drugs.

"I'd be happy if it put me out of business. This is not a money-making programme. I earn nothing from it, in fact it costs me."

He says Chip is a boot camp for lifestyle change, run over 30 days. It's fun, educational, has a good team spirit and not hard work.

"There are 16 two-hour DVD lectures scientifically-based and brilliantly presented by health educator Dr Hans Diehl, food recipes, diet and exercise plans and the results are phenomenal. You are not on your own in this, you are part of a group supporting each other to complete the tasks.

"In the previous three courses, 185 people participated and they are eager to support others, eager to share what it's done for them."

One of them was Manaia pharmacist Peter Copeland, a diabetic who completed Chip last November. He has reduced his insulin requirement from 45 units per day to zero, and also abandoned his blood cholesterol-reducing pills. "I lost control of my medical condition, my blood sugar levels had gone out of control and if I hadn't sought my doctor's advice I would have inevitably been facing possible loss of eyesight and amputations and gradually declining health," Mr Copeland said.

"I expected Trevor to change my dosage; instead he recommended I enrolled in Chip and I registered because I felt I had nothing to lose.

"The net result is that I reduced my insulin progressively and have now been totally off it for four months; I lost 11kg even though I was barely overweight; I no longer have to take my cholesterol medication because my cholesterol just plummeted.

"All I really did was to begin daily exercising, which is walking in summer and using an indoor exercise machine in winter and changing my diet. I have virtually eliminated meat and most dairy products. It's not hard to maintain.

"Almost everyone who did the course with me has had to reduce their medication for similar reasons, because whatever drugs they were taking began to cause ill effects as they became over-medicated.

Chip has improved my health and energy and I recommend it to everyone."

Motor vehicle dealer Gordon Harrop and his wife Sherryl were on the same course and Mr Harrop says they are both "new people".

He was having heart issues and had high cholesterol. Both have gone, he says. "We changed our diet to eliminate food from anything with a face, so that includes fish and eggs, and all dairy products," he said.

"We drink soya milk, eat more greens, lentils, legumes, herbal teas and decaffeinated coffee and substantially reduced sugar and salt. An unexpected benefit is that our grocery bill is much lower because those tasty, addictive things are the most costly. But we haven't given up the occasional bottle of wine.

"We are fitter and sleeping more soundly. We get up at 4.30 most mornings and walk or jog around the Hawera central block. I have lost 13kg in weight. I have more energy. I recommend Chip. It's the best thing I have ever done for myself."

Dr Hurlow says some people need to follow a more radical diet if they hope to reverse and arrest the condition they suffer from, others need to just make some simple adjustments to find their health markedly improved.

He says the course "is all about reversing disease with knife and fork and moving those buns."

He invites interested people to come to a Chip information evening on August 16, 17 or 20, at 7pm, in the community hall (next to the SDA Church), corner South Rd and Albion St. He would like people to register for these sessions on 278 5763.

The Chip course starts on August 31.

- © Fairfax NZ News