Brett Renall

The Married at First Sight participant was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes – an autoimmune disease unrelated to lifestyle – at age seven. Renall has learnt to live with the condition’s ups and downs, including pretending to enjoy the sugar-free carob chocolates regularly provided by family and friends.

How did your diagnosis come about? My mum and dad were on holiday in Australia and my grandparents were looking after me. My nana noticed I was drinking and peeing a lot, and then I collapsed after a school cross-country run. She took me to a GP, who sent me to hospital, as my blood sugar was 23.7 [7.8 is normal two hours after eating]. How did the diagnosis make you feel? It was pretty scary for a seven-year-old, but my grandmother, Florence, was awesome. She stayed with me in hospital for the first couple of nights.

What effect did the disease have on family life? Mum fed us all a sugar-free diet and Easter was funny – there was a lot less chocolate than other families had.

What about the effect on your diet and lifestyle? I’ve made sure it hasn’t affected me. I’m more organised about exercise and other physical activity than the average person. I always have glucose close to me. I’ve lived with diabetes for so long I don’t know any different.

Do you follow a specific diet? Yes, but for my fitness regime as well as my diabetes. I generally stay away from sugary, fatty, packaged foods and try to avoid red meat. I’ve been a meat-andthree-veg guy since I was kid. The dietitians at the Diabetes Centre in Christchurch are great and I see them regularly.

Describe your lifestyle. It’s fast – I eat on the run, work on the run and, literally, run.

What’s your typical breakfast? Today I had an old classic: Marmite and cheese on toast. What about lunch? Sushi always sounds good.

And dinner? Chicken, fish or pork with broccoli and kumara.

How often do you snack?

I snack a lot because I’m always on the go. Almonds are always

close by.

November is Diabetes Action Month.