Dr David Lovell-Smith

Telehealth Available Nationwide

Losing weight: I welcome people from 30 to 70 years who are motivated to make changes to diet and lifestyle and open to new ideas. Star patient: the 62-year-old woman who in 6 months has lost 32 kg painlessly and with minimal changes to diet (but attention to timing of food).

Reversal of type 2 diabetes.
I work with people aged 30 to 70 who are similarly motivated to make changes to diet & lifestyle and open to new ideas. Star patient: the 52-year-old male engineer who in 6 months managed to lower his HbA1c from 90 to 38 mmol/mol without using drugs. Healthcare professionals please see www.digestionready.com/relearning-hunger for Randomised Controlled Trials on insulin sensitivity & weight.

Inflammatory conditions including gastritis, early rheumatoid, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Graves Disease. Star patient: The 16-year-old boy who presented de novo with Crohns disease and was advised by his specialist he would need bowel resection. He followed the protocol conscientiously and is now in his 20th year of remission without the use of drugs or surgery.

Methods
Rather than rely on willpower or dietary restraint, I help people attend to internal sensations (including hunger and satiety) and to eat according to these cues. Timing of food intake and the conditions under which it is eaten are important. Attention to these ensures the body is in optimum condition to digest and metabolise the food, hence the name of the programme - the DigestionReady™ programme. Although the main principle is simple (eat when youre ready to digest the food) there are many nuances, and it takes time for new habits to settle in. Over the last 30 years I have found a 3-month guided programme is the best way to bring results.

In the diabetes-intensive version of the programme I often add a conventional low carbohydrate diet, and I take advantage of the continuous blood glucose monitor.

Comparison to intermittent fasting
The digestive process is cyclical. Ingestion is followed by a resting phase which in turn is followed by readiness to eat. Readiness to eat is associated with housekeeping contractions of the stomach and duodenum and with secretion of important hormones such as insulin and ghrelin. The DigestionReady programme aligns eating with just that period when the body is ready to accept the food and make best use of it. In contrast, intermittent fasting, while having some benefit, is arbitrary, clock driven and potentially disruptive to the digestive cycle.

Qualifications/Memberships
BA, PhD, MB,ChB, MGP(Distn.) Dip.Gen.Pr.(Distn.), FRNZCGP

Publications and presentations
M. Ciampolini, D. Lovell-Smith, et al. Sustained Self-Regulation of Energy Intake: Initial Hunger Improves Insulin Sensitivity Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism 2010 Vol. 2010 DOI: 10.1155/2010/286952
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/286952

M. Ciampolini, H. D. Lovell-Smith and M. Sifone Sustained self-regulation of energy intake. Loss of weight in overweight subjects. Maintenance of weight in normal-weight subjects. Nutrition & Metabolism 2010 Vol. 7 Issue 4 DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-7-4.
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/7/1/4

M. Ciampolini, H. D. Lovell-Smith, T. Kenealy and R. Bianchi Hunger can be taught: Hunger Recognition regulates eating and improves energy balance International Journal of General Medicine 2013 Vol. 2013 Issue 6 Pages 465-478 DOI: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S40655

H. D. Lovell-Smith Diabetes: Let the body speak its mind New Zealand Family Family Physician 1996 Vol. 3 Pages 37-39

H. D. Lovell-Smith, T. Kenealy and S. Buetow
Eating when empty is good for your health
Medical Hypotheses 2010 Vol. 75 Pages 172-178

H. D. Lovell-Smith Why eating when empty is good for your health In: Second International Ayurveda Congress, Congress Proceedings International Maharishi AyurVeda Foundation ISBN 978-90-828379-0-2 2017

Presentations also to the Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of Ingestive behaviour (SSIB) in 2008 (Paris) and 2019 (Utrecht).