Robert Unwin, owner of the award-winning butchery Roast Mutton, Kendal, hosted an evening’s discussion with Dr David Unwin (Rob’s Dad), at Bakery at No4, Woolpack Yard, ‘‘Meat Matters – Diet & Lifestyle.’’
Robert as many will know is focused on delivering quality locally sourced grass-fed meat to his customers. He’s also a firm advocate of the benefits of the carnivore diet as part of a healthy diet, which he believes has led to improvements in his sleep quality, strength, and overall endurance throughout the day.
Whilst Dr David Unwin, for his part, has over the last decade become a formidable voice in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Particularly advocating for a low carbohydrate diet – less sugar and fewer starchy carbs such as bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes that break down into sugar, which then has an impact on blood sugar and insulin production. Dr Unwin is also a clinical expert in Diabetes at the UK Royal College of General Practitioners, additionally, he is the medical advisor to the popular Low Carb Program.
During the evening’s proceedings, 60 guests listened to father and son chatting about the benefits and risks of slow-grown red meat in modern diets. They also heard them discuss some of the best approaches in balancing the body’s needs including some of the conversations around lifestyle medicine and the rationale behind consuming quality, slow-grown fresh produce and the role that produce plays in ensuring that we get the correct vitamins and minerals to function at our best.
All of this forms part of both the medical profession’s and the public’s growing interest in lifestyle medicine, a multi-disciplinary and multi-system approach designed to help prevent, manage, and reverse certain chronic conditions. Which is achieved using supported behaviour change skills and techniques to create and sustain lifestyle changes. Helping patients to eat more healthily, stay active, sleep better, improve social connections and mental health, and reduce harmful substance use. While also considering broader factors impacting on individuals’ health and wellbeing including ecological health, poverty, and health inequality.
During the evening guests heard from Robert and David as they discussed some of the fascinating aspects of lifestyle medicine. They also had the chance to ask questions, as well as tuck into some of Roast Mutton’s delicious handmade Cumberland Sausage and BBQed dry-aged steak.
The £600 raised from ticket sales is generously being donated to Dr Unwin’s chosen charity, Collaborative Health Community (CHC), which is a charity that has been set up as a ‘home’ for projects and initiatives related to improving the food environment and wellbeing in communities, through creativity and collaboration.
Robert Unwin said: ‘’I really enjoyed being in conversation with Dr Unwin (aka my dad) it was a fascinating insight into a subject area we are both hugely passionate about. My Dad’s efforts to raise awareness of the health benefits of eating properly is naturally something I’m very interested and in sits firmly in line with my ethos, especially when it comes to choosing where to source the meat that we as a business supply to our customers.’’
Dr Unwin said: ‘’For the first 25 years of my life as a doctor I thought lifelong medication was the answer to most modern diseases. Now I see prevention of things like diabetes, high blood pressure and even dementia is key. To do this our Southport practice has shown what lifestyle medicine can do. To a large extent we are what we eat, so avoiding junk food seems a good first step. As an example, I have 145 people who now enjoy drug-free T2 diabetes remission.‘’
