Ray Winstone has revealed that he was prompted to quit drinking alcohol after being diagnosed by with Type 2 diabetes.
Ray Winstone stopped drinking after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
The 69-year-old actor has recalled how the health scare led him to make major changes – including removing sugar from his diet – to his lifestyle, which quickly paid off.
Speaking on the Dish from Waitrose podcast, Ray said: “I got diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. So that was one of the reasons I stopped drinking. I’d made up my mind that I was going to do that, but my other thing is sugar.
“I thought I ate a lot of sugar because it’s in the drinks, it’s in Coca-Cola, it’s in everything. So I stopped it, and within five months, I didn’t have Type 2 anymore.”
However, the Sexy Beast star can’t resist the temptation to tuck into sweet treats now and again.
Ray told hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett: “But I’ll have caramel ice cream and salted caramel ice cream in the freezer. Every now and then is alright, because I’ve been a good boy and I’ve done everything the right way.
“Even now, I’ll get a bowl, and I’ll put my caramel ice cream in, and loads of it. With a little dribble of honey or treacle over it, and nuts.”
This isn’t the only recent health scare that Ray has suffered of late, as a bout of shingles last year forced him to slow down for several months.
The Gentlemen star said: “I had shingles in November, and it took me until February to get over that. It really is horrible. I had to stop training for a little while because I go for walks and all that, and now I’m just getting back into it.”
Winstone said: “I’m probably feeling the best I’ve felt in many years.”
Ray spends a lot of time on the Italian island of Sicily and explained how the “earthiness” of the region reminds him of his upbringing in London’s East End.
The Quadrophenia star said: “I went there about 30 years ago and just fell in love with the place.
“I’ll tell you what’s different about it to the mainland of Italy, for me anyway. It’s so cultured, Italy. As you come through it, it looks beautiful, you know. You get the cypress trees and everything looks like it should be there.
“There’s some sort of reality and earthiness about the place, and I kind of felt at home. And going to the towns, you know, kids just running about, it was like London – or the East End – was 40 years ago, in a way.”
Dish from Waitrose is available on all podcast providers.
Ray Winstone stopped drinking alcohol after Type 2 diabetes diagnosis
