By Afraa Kori
Despite ongoing debate, type 2 diabetes can be reversed through lifestyle and dietary changes, leading sports medicine doctor Dr Peter Brukner OAM revealed at a seminar last Thursday (18 June).
Held at Railway Hotel, the seminar was organised by Dr John Stewart, founder of the Nutrition Science Group and Low-Carb Pakenham.
Dr Brukner, founder of Defeat Diabetes, shared his experience as a sports medicine doctor treating elite athletes, including Australian cricketers, Liverpool Football Club players and AFL footballers.
He also spoke about his personal transformation after reversing his pre-diabetic condition through a low-carb diet.
During the event, he demonstrated and advocated for the use of continuous blood glucose monitoring devices such as Dexcom.
This allowed attendees to observe real-time blood sugar readings and better understand how food choices affect metabolism.
Dr Brukner is concerned that nearly two million Australians are living with type 2 diabetes and many more are unknowingly heading towards the disease.
He warned the disease was a major contributor to some of Australia’s most serious health conditions, including blindness, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and dementia.
“When I was at medical school, we were told it was a progressive disease and that once you had it, you had it for life,” Dr Brukner said.
“But we now know that reducing carbohydrate intake can actually reverse diabetes.
“I’m hoping people will go away with the understanding that that can happen and fired up to have a crack at it.”
“The problem is that we wait until we have a heart attack or type 2 diabetes before we do anything.”
He also challenged many misconceptions around nutrition, including the notion that people need to constantly eat or rely heavily on carbohydrates.
Dr Brukner said the government had a role to play in addressing the growing health crisis through public education and policy reform.
“We need to change the tax system to encourage people to eat well and reduce advertising of processed foods to children,” he said.
“There are lots of things we can do to make us healthier, but we need a government with the determination to do that.”
Cardinia Shire councillor Collin Ross said access to and consumption of takeaway food was a key challenge in Pakenham and surrounding areas.
“It’s really sad that people can’t afford to buy fresh food,” he said.
However, he is pleased the seminar helped those with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes make informed decisions about their health through evidence-based nutrition and practical support.
“Often we don’t get the best speakers in the world on these sorts of things,” he told the crowd.
“It’s fabulous that he (Dr Brukner) came to Pakenham.”
