LIVINGLIVING
FOOD
NEWS
such as the Q-Risk score."
BHR works with Heart UK to help
people understand their cholesterol levels
better, and to work with government in
trying to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
The A1cNOW+ product is the world's
first hand-held test for measuring the
diabetes marker - HbA1c. A1cNOW+ was
launched in the UK by BHR in 2014, at that
stage only for use by professionals. It is
widely used by pharmacists and GPs, but
now BHR has a home-use licence for the
product. The pack contains four tests, so
it should last a year as the test is indicated
on a quarterly basis. It costs £68 (ex VAT),
so roughly £12 per test/per quarter. It
could be deemed good value for Type 2s
who may not get their HbA1c tests done
as often as they would wish, with 15%
of people with Type 2 diabetes not even
getting a single HbA1c test done annually,
as recommended by NICE. Knowing
their HbA1c results more frequently and
changing their diet and/or exercise after
consulting their healthcare professional
should lead to better management of their
diabetes. BHR is working with Diabetes
UK to help people understand their HbA1c
results. With that aim, BHR sponsors and
distributes the Diabetes UK's Diabetes Rx
leaflets to GPs.
Coming soon
BHR will shortly be introducing a new
product, Lysulin, which is proving to
be able to improve glycaemic control.
It comes in either tablet or liquid form.
Originally aimed at T2s, Patel is keen to
get some research done to determine
its efficacy in the UK healthcare setting.
"We are working with a professor at the
University of Warwick, and after just one
month's use of the food supplement
people with T2 diabetes have shown
an improvement averaging a drop in
HbA1c of 1.4%, i.e. if you started at 8
mmol/mol you are likely to end up at 6.6
mmols/mol. You need to take two tablets
three times a day, or three tablets twice
daily; or a tablespoon full twice a day
of the suspension form of Lysulin" The
supplement will cost £35 (ex VAT) per
month, so about £1.20 a day.
BHR also has an allergy and food
intolerance test for IgG4-related disease
(IgG4-RD). Only about 50% of doctors
believe IgG4-RD markers matter or
indicate intolerance but Patel says, "I
can't recall anyone come back and say
the results didn't match their symptoms."
It is for professional use and is meant
to be used at point-of-care i.e. GP
surgeries, pharmacies or hospital clinics.
A new web-based system now allows the
professional to populate the results into
this app, and a report is generated to help
explain the results to the patient.
Back to his own control, Patel
says that it took 10 years before his
control worsened. "Initially I was put on
Metformin, which helped improve my
insulin sensitivity, but now I'm also on
multiple injections. I did the DAFNE course
in March of this year, then he qualified for
Abbott's Freestyle Libre system to monitor
my glucose levels. Wearing the sensor
has improved my control, and I have also
experienced a huge improvement in how
I feel about living with my diabetes. The
sensor is easy-to-use, comfortable, and
Our aim is to bring in
products that do the
job, help the person
who uses it, and save
the NHS money.
"
not at all intrusive. I believe that the
Lysulin food supplement has further
improved my control and to prove it,
I've taken snapshots of my sensor
readings on day 1 when I started taking
Lysulin, and then over 90 days I have
seen the improvement in my average
daily glucose drop from 10.4 mmol to
8.6 mmol, with highs not being so steep
after meals."
BHR's aim is to bring in products
that do the job, help the person who
uses it, and save the NHS money.
They have sold more than 5m of the
cholesterol testing strips. Patel says,
"We think that the CardioChek system
has saved the NHS more than £14m
over the nine years that the health
checks have been going on. This is
calculated on the difference in price
between the CardioChek system and
the market leader back in 2009."
BHR is looking to bring in more new
products and to improve the products
that they already have whether they
be diagnostics or supplements and
continue to be interested in relevant
products that need distribution,
marketing and support the UK.
www.bhr.co.uk