University develops product line to manage and reverse diabetes

The University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus has developed a new line of wellness and nutrition products to help people not only manage but reverse diabetes, Principal and Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Clive Landis revealed on Tuesday.

However, he declined to say when the products, which are still in the “prototype phase”, will be commercially ready although he anticipates it will “take a while” before they hit the market.

While opting not to give details about them, Landis explained that they were developed as part of the CaveHill Campus’ five-year health strategy and Barbados’ Diabetes Reversal Study.

“You will be hearing much more about some of the wellness products we are making. We will look to make these commercially available following on from the Barbados Diabetes Reversal Study and also we will be establishing wellness clinics. All of this is going to be in the future,” he said.

When pressed, Professor Landis told Barbados TODAY the products were still in the prototype phase, and that more testing would be carried out before they are released to the market for sale.

“We already have prototype meal replacement substitutes. These would be the types of shakes like [what are currently on the market], but all made from local products and are a good deal tastier than what is on the market,” he said.

Professor Landis also gave the assurance that the products would meet high standards as well as nutritional needs.

“Critically, they have all been evaluated for nutritional content because if you are on a low-calorie diet then you have to make sure that you don’t actually go into any kind of under-nutrition for any particular nutrient. So, they are all completely validated in terms of their nutritional content and, of course, critically, they have been demonstrated clinically to reverse diabetes,” he disclosed.

The university principal said the development of the products is part of the university’s thrust to become more entrepreneurial and create value from its ideas while placing greater emphasis on helping Barbadians to better manage their health and wellness.

“We are embarking on this kind of entrepreneurial activity for the first time. We will be creating a company and entering the commercial marketplace, which we haven’t done before,” he said.

“This is one of our strategies of creating money from our ideas. We are already creating value from our research for our society, and I think this will be taking it to the market where it can have great impact and also redound to our income as well. So, we have basically talked the talk and now we are walking the talk.”

Professor Landis was speaking during a media conference at the UWI, Cave Hill Campus to mark the end of May Measurement Month, during which Barbados joined more than 80 countries in the international campaign that encouraged people to screen for blood pressure readings.

During the media conference, he also stressed the need for greater emphasis to be placed on wellness in Barbados, while pledging that the UWI will be sure to play its part in slowing the non-communicable disease pandemic facing the island.

A part of the plan, he said, will be to use the old St Joseph Hospital site to establish a health and wellness clinic geared toward prevention. He said internal discussions have started, with officials exploring income-generating opportunities for the 21.5-acre, Ashton Hall, St Peter site.

“We do feel that there is a need for more public health, community health within our mix. We can’t just keep relying on interventional measures in a hospital when patients are already very sick. We have to work on the prevention side . . . . So, by and large, it is going to be a health and wellness clinic and it may have a health tourism component as well,” said Landis.

Back in April, Parliament approved the vesting of the land in a Commercial Service Vehicle in which the Government will hold 25 per cent of the shares and the UWI Cave Hill Campus will hold the remaining 75 per cent.

Landis said the health tourism component of the plan for the facility will be done in conjunction with Government and key tourism stakeholders.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb