Diet and diabetes

For many of our patients with diabetes, including patients on clinical studies, the hardest thing about managing diabetes is not managing the medication but rather working out the complicated relationship between their diet, physical activity and blood glucose readings.  When discussing less than optimal blood glucose readings, we have heard about skipped breakfasts, soup diets and fruit only diets. We have also seen the constant perplexment of patients who are trying everything with their diet and yet not seeing any improvement. That’s why we believe in the value of ongoing diet education.

One of the best resources for this is Diabetes WA who runs a number of education sessions. Newly diagnosed diabetics can benefit from their ongoing education program that includes all the vital information on how to manage your diabetes effectively yourself. They also provide multiple different education sessions on diet including specialist sessions on managing carbohydrates and all the vital tricks to know when shopping including reading food labels.

See their calendar for more details.

For patients who still feel lost, a good quality dietitian can help with information more specified to your needs including meal plans if required. It may seem unnecessary but an improved diet and associated reduction in weight can improve blood glucose control immensely. It is also worthwhile simply for the improved feeling of control and reduction of stress about diet decisions.

Prediabetic patients may also benefit from a structured program to improve their diet. Patients in our T4DM study undertake a weight watchers program alongside testosterone/placebo treatment and are being tracked for improvement.