Jeffrey: I am 48 years old and I went for a medical check up two weeks ago because I had a lot of saliva in the mouth. He did a blood test and it showed a blood sugar level of 12.5. Is that very high?

Harry: It's not very high - we would call it moderately elevated - but that would be diabetic. I wouldn't just go on one blood sugar test. Had you eaten before the blood sugar was taken?

Jeffrey: Yes.

Harry: How many hours before taking the blood sugar had you eaten?

Jeffrey: About four hours.

Harry: So 12.5 would be on the high side, so that would suggest that you have got diabetes. But I would always check it again. If it is confirmed and you have got diabetes then the treatment is not, in the first instance, to give you tablets.

Jeffrey: Well the doctor gave me some Amerol.

Harry: Well that is not the right approach. With that kind of blood sugar detected for the first time, we would firstly try you on a diet. Your doctor obviously didn't do that. I'll ask you another very simple question - are you overweight?

Jeffrey: Not really.

Harry: Hang on, when you say "not really", could you lose a few kilos?

Jeffrey: I'm maybe about five kilos overweight.

Harry: Well that's overweight. Now in the first instance, and this is of the greatest importance - if you make the diagnosis of diabetes at your age for the first time and you are at all overweight, the first treatment is not tablets. The first treatment is to treat you with diet alone, which includes losing that five kilos.

Jeffrey: Will that bring the sugar level down?

Harry: Absolutely - you can be cured. You may not be cured permanently, but with a proper diet and losing weight you may not need tablets for a very long time, if ever.