New Milton council funds cookery classes to tackle diabetes

Natasha Beatty, from Fresh Cookery School, has been running the cookery classes at Quaker House in New Milton

People with type 2 diabetes are tackling the condition with £15,000 funding from their local council.

New Milton Town Council has provided the money to pay for cooking lessons in a partnership with local GPs.

Patients referred by their doctor are taught what foods to cut out and those to include in their diets.

Type 2 diabetes is a condition that causes the level of sugar in the blood to become too high and is often linked to being overweight or inactive.

It can be managed by a carbohydrate-controlled diet and exercise.

Natasha Beatty, from Fresh Cookery School, has been running the cookery classes at Quaker House in New Milton.

She told the BBC: "To see them [patients] coming in week after week, a little bit brighter, a little bit thinner, feeling better about themselves, is just amazing."

'Create own solutions'

Health coach Olly Leicester works as a social prescriber for the Coastal Medical Partnership, helping patients to improve their health, wellbeing and social welfare by connecting them to community services.

He said the classes were for anyone who wanted to learn how to cook blood-sugar friendly meals.

"We've got a lot of people who are having trouble with their blood sugars - and these can be resolved," Mr Leicester explained.

"Hopefully the classes are giving people the skills to create their own health solutions and maybe relieving the demands on nurses and GPs."