BE GENTLE with yourself
Type 2 is one of our biggest health issues, but dietitian Susie Burrell remains optimistic that change is possible
Over two million Aussies have pre-diabetes, placing them at risk of developing type 2. Dietitian Susie Burrell says previously, people with insulin resistance or pre-diabetes were seen as having health issues to be managed. Today, thinking is changing as more information comes to light.
“Now there is hope,” she says. “We have evidence that shows aggressive dietary control can change the course of the disease.” Intermittent fasting, low carbohydrate diets and increasing protein intake have been shown to bring about dramatic blood glucose changes.
Burrell has had a strong interest in the field since doing a student placement at the Wollongong Diabetes Centre 20 years ago and around 70 per cent of her current clients have insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.
It was Burrell’s dedication to increasing public awareness about this disease that prompted her to become a panel member of DL’s inaugural Change
4 Life event in 2015.
“I would say diabetes is the number one health issue as so many other chronic disease states – including some types of cancer, heart disease and inflammation – are all linked to poor blood glucose control,” she explains.
Dietitians can help, but, as she says, the most effective diets are the ones that are complied with. Individualised, sustainable eating plans that allow for a small piece of cake or a glass of wine work best for most people.
Giving birth to twin boys 15 months ago also taught Burrell the valuable lesson that there is a time and place for everything.
“If you’d have asked me when I was pregnant with the twins, I’d have said that I’d get straight back into my fitness regime, take the babies to the crèche and be back to my old weight in no time,” she says. “But you know what – I didn’t want to be in the gym – I still don’t!
“So be gentle with yourself, and try not to add any more stress over losing weight.”