Diabetes Wellness Spring 2023

wellness DIABETES

SPRING 2023 $8.00 INC. GST

DIABETES NEW ZEALAND | DIABETES.ORG.NZ

ALL ABOUT ORA • COMMUNITY GARDENING • GET YOUR LIFE IN ORDER, LADY WE FAREWELL WINSOME • OUR PACIFIC ADVOCATE • STRENGTHENING YOUR CORE

TRACKED

EMILY AND REGAN PROVE THEMSELVES AGAIN

TE WIKI O TE MĀORI ALL ABOUT ‘ORA’

Celebrating our Partnership with Diabetes NZ ING T A R B E L CE

R A E Y 1

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Contents SPRING 2023

COVER: EMILY WILSON AND REGAN PEARCE, T1 STARS ON TRACKED. PHOTO © WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY NEW ZEALAND

VOLUME 35 | NO 3

26

4 EDITORIAL

6

24

5 UPFRONT: Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 6 CARE: Gardening for wellbeing 10 LIFE WITH T1: Type 1 stars on Tracked 14 RESEARCH: New tech with LEAPS

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16 NOURISH: Perfect porridge 19 YOUR DNZ: MPs outline their party policies 20 MOVE: Switching on your core

26 LIFE WITH T2: Mandy Sorasio turns her life around 29 REFLECT: Diabetes treatments of the past 30 ADVOCATE: Diabetes NZ’s Pacific Advocate Ruana Taito 32 YOUR DNZ: John McLaren Youth Award winners

34 OBITUARY: Winsome Johnston 36 YOUR DNZ: Liz Dutton in Lisbon 37 RESEARCH: Aspartame under scrutiny 38 LAST WORD: Congratulations Layla Sae

33 YOUR DNZ: Call for applications

23 YOUR DNZ: Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation

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24 MY IDENTITY: Mason Todd's need for speed

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Editorial

T

he Board of Diabetes NZ continues to debate how best to provide services to people with diabetes in Aotearoa New Zealand. Even though the number is growing, getting our voice heard in a crowded health system continues to be a challenge. This is in the context of ongoing deficits in our annual budget, which means, if this continues, Diabetes NZ will no longer be viable as a charity supporting people with diabetes.

Trustees will be seriously considering how we can generate more funding for the work we do to support people with diabetes. Diabetes NZ receives donations of approximately $100,000 per annum. Our other funding comes from a variety of sources, including grants, government funding, sponsorship, and interest and funds from our investments.

Conscious of the funding constraints we have, we know we are only reaching a small number of people in New Zealand with diabetes. That means we must prioritise what services we can realistically provide.

One of our priorities is ensuring our website provides useful, accurate, and relevant information for people with diabetes. This allows us to grow our reach in a cost-effective way. Our site’s videos provide useful information for people with diabetes and their wider whānau.

Our social media platforms, Facebook (reaching more than 350,000), Instagram, a monthly Connect e-newsletter, and a quarterly Kaha’s Connect for our younger readers and their family, provide information and articles on a wide variety of topics.

Another priority has been advocating for Pharmac to fund CGMs for all. Pharmac signalled in February 2023 that it was taking the first steps in the process to commence the funding of this technology. We are not sure what this will look like, but significant progress is being made after the considerable effort of a wide range of people.

We continue to actively support our diabetes youth given the significant value rangatahi with type 1 diabetes gain from activities and camps that bring together whānau for mutual support. With active local youth coordinators, supported by local committees, this area of what we do continues to grow and develop.

Our Diabetes Community Coordinator programme is now operating in eight regions, with nine coordinators in the field. What is exciting is that this is a partnership programme with various health organisations, including iwi, Primary Health Organisations, and Māori and Pacific Health Providers. Collaboratively, we work within communities to support those at risk of, or with, diabetes.

Thirty-three people have set up a regular giving programme, donating an amount they can afford on a regular basis. If every person in New Zealand with diabetes donated $10 per annum, we would be able to expand our reach and our programmes. Would you consider signing up to a regular giving programme to help us to help you?

In this issue of Diabetes Wellness, we catch up with Tracked stars, Emily and Regan, read what the main political party’s policies are on diabetes, and learn from three gardeners whose physical and mental health has been nurtured through gardening.

CATHERINE TAYLOR

Board Chair, Diabetes NZ

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

Diabetes New Zealand is a national charity that provides trusted leadership, information, advocacy, and support to people with diabetes, their families, and those at risk.

Our mission is to provide support for all New Zealanders with diabetes, or at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, to live full and active lives.

Across the country, Diabetes NZ has staff and volunteers who help people live well with diabetes.

Join us today at www.diabetes.org.nz

DIABETES NEW ZEALAND Patron Professor Sir Jim Mann Board Chair Catherine Taylor Chief Executive Heather Verry Diabetes New Zealand National Office Level 10, 15 Murphy Street, Thorndon, Wellington 6011 Postal address PO Box 12441, Wellington 6144 Telephone 04 499 7145 Freephone 0800 342 238 Email info@diabetes.org.nz Web diabetes.org.nz Facebook facebook.com/diabetesnz Instagram instagram.com/diabetes_nz

DIABETES WELLNESS MAGAZINE Editor Rowena Fry editor@diabetes.org.nz Publisher Diabetes New Zealand Design Rose Miller, Kraftwork Print Blue Star Magazine delivery address changes Freepost Diabetes NZ, PO Box 12 441, Wellington 6144 Telephone 0800 342 238 Email info@diabetes.org.nz Back issues issuu.com/diabetesnewzealand ISSN 2537-7094 (Print) ISSN 2538-0885 (Online)

ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Head of Business Development Jo Chapman Email jo@diabetes.org.nz Telephone 021 852 054 Download the Diabetes Wellness media kit: http://bit.ly/2uOYJ3p Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure accuracy, but Diabetes NZ accepts no liability for errors of fact or opinion.

Information in this publication is not intended to replace advice by your health professional. Editorial and advertising material do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or Diabetes NZ. Advertising in Diabetes Wellness does not constitute endorsement of any product. Diabetes NZ holds the copyright of all editorial. No article, in whole or in part, should be reprinted without permission of the Editor.

Upfront

TE WIKI O TE REO MĀORI Māori Langugage Week – Sept 12–18

In this issue of Diabetes Wellness, we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

TE REO MĀORI IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND

In 1986, te reo Māori was guaranteed as a taonga (treasure), under the Treaty of Waitangi and was made an official language of Aotearoa New Zealand in 1987.

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) was also established in the same year to promote te reo Māori as a living language.

TE WIKI O TE REO MĀORI

is government sponsored. It aims to inspire New Zealanders to speak the Māori language proudly.

CELEBRATING TE WIKI O TE REO MĀORI

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori has been celebrated every year since 1975, to commemorate the presentation of the 1972 Māori language petition to parliament on 14 September. Last year was the 50-year celebration of the petition being presented.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is part of a broad Māori language revival movement and raises public awareness for the promotion and celebration of Māori language learning and usage.

This year Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is being celebrated from 12 to 18 September. To find out more about what is planned and how you can celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in your own special way, check out www.reomaori.co.nz/resources.

TE REO MĀORI AND DIABETES

The appropriate and correct use of all languages is important for us when working with diverse communities. Diabetes NZ wants to elevate te reo Māori and its significance for Māori and all of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In this issue, leading up to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we will start offering a few kupu (words) and will build our vocabulary over time.

Some of these words you might have seen in Diabetes Wellness, such as Hauora Kaimahi, which is our Diabetes Community Coordinator.

In this issue, we will start looking at kupu related to diabetes.

Our first kupu is the te reo Māori translation for Diabetes – Mate Huka (Mar-teh Hu-kar).

Another kupu is Ora (Or-rah), meaning to be alive, well, safe, cured, recovered, healthy, fit, healed.

You probably know kia ora. Kia ora is more than just ‘hello’ because it references life and health. By using, ‘kia’, it changes ‘ora’ from a noun to a verb, so rather than ‘alive’ it is ‘living’.

So, when you say kia ora to someone, you are wishing them good health.

As well as being used as a greeting, kia ora is also a general expression of appreciation, such as ‘thank you’.

Other kupu that include ‘ora’: Hauora (Hoe-or-rah) be fit, well, healthy, vigorous, in good spirits.

Hauora tinana (Hoe-or-rah tee-nar-nar) physical health and wellbeing Hauora hinengaro (Hoe-or-rah hee-neh-ngar-raw) mental health and wellbeing Hauora wairua (Hoe-or-rah why-roo-ar) spiritual health and wellbeing Hauora kare ā-roto (Hoe-or-rah kar-reh ah raw-tor) emotional health and wellbeing TE REO MĀORI INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

Diabetes NZ has a number of resources available in te reo Māori for you to download from our website: www.diabetes.org.nz.

At www.reomaori.co.nz/resources you’ll find posters, images, and phrase booklets to use at home and in the office.

A great site to watch a video of the history and effort to revitalise te reo Māori is at www.storiesoftereo.nz.

There are also several mobile apps available for all levels of learning te reo Māori.

Ngā mihi nui (many thanks) to Tio Taiaki (Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Āti Hau Nui-ā-Pāpārangi) Diabetes NZ Board Trustee.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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Care

Gardening is exercise and wellbeing wrapped up in one.

It can result in a sense of accomplishment and a sense of wonder. We meet three gardeners from three islands who share the goodness that community gardening has given them.

GARDENING for everyone's WELLBEING C

Chris Jordan Clark's garden in Tasmania.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

oming across a community garden’s street stall is what drew 78-year-old Dunedin local Beverley Crawford into community gardening. She missed growing gooseberries since a visit from the gooseberry blight wiped all hers out a few years ago. So when she saw an unnamed plant that looked a bit like a gooseberry bush for sale, she snapped it up, keen to give it another go. ‘Actually, I don’t know if it’s a gooseberry or a Worcesterberry, so I’ll have to wait until it fruits. They’ve got quite fierce little prickles on them, but they’re profuse fruiting and growing. I guess the flavour is blackcurrant-y. They’re very moreish.’

Bev has been going to the Green Island Community Gardens, on and off, over the year. On their social media, the group refers to itself as a ‘communitybased initiative to grow veges, make friends, learn about gardening and help feed our GI’.

Beverley says the company is the best thing about community gardening. ‘Everyone is so lovely.

Everyone chats to everyone. I’m quite old, you see. As you get older, you’ve got to keep trying to find new friends because everyone’s died or gone into homes.’

Ten years ago, Beverley was diagnosed with type 2. She refers to her diabetes as a ‘pest’, but she doesn’t spend too long worrying about it. Her background working as a counsellor and ESL teacher has taught her the importance of patience and taking each day as it comes.

Working amongst nature is the perfect antidote to depression, she says. ‘When you get stuck in, and you come to again, you don’t know if you’ve been gardening for hours because you go into another world completely. It feels like it’s only five minutes.’ She likens it to meditation: ‘Just let nature flow into you. And that’s the healing of everything, I think.’

Bev’s advice to anyone struggling with mental or physical health is to get outdoors and clear your mind of everything. ‘You get such a collection of rubbish in your head that goes round and round and takes energy. I always tell people, don’t think – just smell, just listen, and just feel. And all the healthy real things will come into you.’

Paula McEwan (Ngāi Tahu) is a complete convert to community gardening. Although she started going to Awatea Community Gardens in Porirua a couple of years ago, she says she grappled with learning the new skill. Paula is a rongoā practitioner at Te Whare Marie, a specialist kaupapa Māori mental health service within Kenepuru Hospital. Although comfortable in the ngahere (bush), harvesting and brewing, she says she struggled with the art of cultivating in the māra (garden).

Since joining the gardens, she

‘Do something that takes your being over.

Let nature and the plants do it for you. All the healing is there, if you just get all the other rubbish in your mind out of it. Don’t think, just smell, look, and do.’

BEV CRAWFORD has been busy sharing knowledge and making friends with other gardeners and like-minded people.

Her advice to rookies is that it should never be a forced thing. If you don’t have a green thumb, a community garden gives you the support systems to gently ease your way into it. Awatea offers workshops, and Paula is excited to attend one shortly on foraging.

‘It looks like it’s just grass, but apparently there’s a lot of kai in there. And all the weeds I’ve been pulling probably aren’t weeds at all.

It’s all food.’

Paula was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in October last year and in that short time has managed substantial lifestyle improvements that have sent her diabetes into remission. A significant achievement, considering her doctor told her that only one

percent of those with type 2 in her neighbourhood ever managed their diabetes into remission.

When she was diagnosed, Paula says she realised that, when she went to the supermarket, everything she had previously put in her trolley had sugar in it.

The new diagnosis became an awakening – an understanding of the need to eat more greens.

This is what made Paula want to get amongst her local community gardens.

Paula quickly started to notice the difference in taste between supermarket and locally grown produce. ‘When drawing from the garden, everything is alive and fresh. My salads look like they are singing, especially when harvested from the gardens.’

Paula has also discovered the enjoyment of accidental exercise.

When she started at the gardens, she found bending over to weed really uncomfortable. But since her lifestyle turnaround, she has become fitter and stronger and says she can garden for longer.

‘Sometimes, I don’t feel like going. But every time I leave the gardens, I always feel lighter and brighter.’

PAULA McEWAN

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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‘Sometimes, I don’t feel like going.

But every time I leave the gardens, I always feel lighter and brighter.’

Chris Jordan Clark has been gardening since studying horticulture in the 1980s. The College of Horticulture’s gardens naturally turned into community gardens when the students needed to practice their modules on germination, cuttings, and grafting. She says that in the seasons following each module, the campus would transform with beautiful flowers and plants everywhere. And then at harvest time, the surrounding community would come in and help, and then get to take some plants and produce home.

Chris now lives in northern Tasmania and relishes the distinct changes in the seasons, something she missed out on when she lived in New South Wales. She and her two closest neighbours all enjoy gardening, so much so that they’ve hung an ice cream container from a shared fence where they can all deposit excess produce.

One neighbour grows excellent tomatoes, lemons, and broad beans to share. Chris and her husband find they have an excess of limes, coriander, and parsley. The other neighbour offers more tomatoes, lemons, and succulent cuttings.

She believes gardening is something you can obtain mastery over. It’s a skill, she says, but it’s not as hard as learning a language. It’s just practising and persevering. ‘It’s a matter of experimenting. And when you find the thing that you can do, it’s a joy.’

Chris says that gardening is a thing that is easy to be successful at. ‘That is very important if you

‘Even if it’s just growing radishes in a pot on the balcony or getting a sunflower to flower, it’s a thing you can achieve. It feels like you did it all yourself.’

CHRIS JORDAN CLARK think you’re failing at being a human, by being sick, or getting this diagnosis of a thing you can’t really get a handle on, and suddenly becoming very medicalised.’

Like Beverley and Paula, Chris believes that gardening is great for cheating exercise. ‘It gives you movement without you thinking about it. You don’t think, “I’ve taken 500 steps just organising putting those seeds in pots and moving them to a place, and then getting the hose”.’ She calls it ‘exercise, but in a non-exercise-y way’.

The physical benefits are obvious, but gardening is also beneficial for mental and emotional wellbeing.

Chris finds plants to be therapeutic because they’re undemanding and non-verbal. ‘All they want is a drink and a feed. They don’t ask things of you like people do. Even the people who love you can be demanding if they think you’re

unhappy or suffering. They want that reassurance you’re going to be all right. Plants aren’t like that.

They don’t ask stuff of you.’

Having lived through a tragedy, Chris says she knew she was coming out of it when she started to care for the plants again. ‘When I didn’t just look at the garden and think, “meh”. When I started to think, “I could put a pot of pansies there.” That was when I thought something has shifted.’

Her advice to new gardeners is to find something that marks the seasons because then you always have something to look forward to.

Bulbs are an obvious choice as they can be grown in a pot or in a garden or even in a lawn. They are fairly fast-growing and resilient.

Dahlias are another forgiving, wind-hardy, and long-flowering plant that is happy in a pot or in the ground. Many make good cut flowers for a vase, allowing you to bring some joy of nature indoors.

If you would like to join a community garden, a quick search will bring up an array of local contacts, many with social media pages.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

It’s here! FreeStyle Libre 2 now available in New Zealand.

Easily track, monitor and share your glucose levels using your phone^

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Easy to use1, painless2 to apply and comfortable2 to wear for up to 14 days. All the features of CGM without the fuss,† wrapped up in a small and discreet sensor.

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Optional glucose alarms let you - and even your loved ones§ - know the minute your glucose is too low or too high.

Excellent accuracy overall, especially in the low glucose range where it matters most.

The FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System and the FreeStyle Libre 2 Flash Glucose Monitoring system is indicated for measuring interstitial fluid glucose levels in people (aged 4 and older) with insulin-dependent diabetes. The indication for children (age 4 – 17) is limited to those who are supervised by a caregiver who is at least 18 years of age. Always read the instructions for use. The system must not be used with automated insulin dosing (AID) systems, including closed-loop and insulin suspend systems. The sensor must be removed prior to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). *Data based on the number of users worldwide for FreeStyle Libre family of personal CGMs compared to the number of users for other leading personal CGM brands and based on CGM sales dollars compared to other leading personal CGM brands. ^The FreeStyle LibreLink app is only compatible with certain mobile devices and operating systems. Please check the website for more information about device compatibility before using the app. Use of FreeStyle LibreLink requires registration with LibreView. †Finger pricks are required if glucose readings and alarms do not match symptoms or expectations. #Notifications will only be received when alarms are turned on and the sensor is within 6 meters of the reading device. §The LibreLinkUp app is only compatible with certain mobile device and operating systems. Please check www.librelinkup. com for more information about device compatibility before using the app. Use of LibreLinkUp and FreeStyle LibreLink requires registration with LibreView. The LibreLinkUp mobile app is not intended to be a primary glucose monitor: home users must consult their primary device(s) and consult a healthcare professional before making any medical interpretation and therapy adjustments from the information provided by the app.

1. Varughese, B. et al. Diabetes Stoffw Herz 2021; 30: 231-242 2. Haak T. et al. Diabetes Ther 2017; 8(1): 55-73. DOI: 10.1007/s13300-016-0223-6 3. Alva S. et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2022;16(1): 70–77. (ePub 2020). DOI: 10.1177/1932296820958754 FreeStyle, Libre, and related brand marks are marks of Abbott. Information contained herein is for distribution outside of the USA only. Mediray New Zealand, 53-55 Paul Matthews Road, Albany, Auckland 0632. www.mediray.co.nz. NZBN 9429041039915. ADC-68475 V1.0

Life with T1

The two type 1 stars of TV Three’s reality show, Regan Pearce and Emily Wilson, take us through what it was like being pursued by an elite team of highly trained trackers.

TRACKED Photos courtesy Warner Bros.

Discovery New Zealand

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

W

hen Emily Wilson isn’t racing with a pack on her back, trying to avoid being caught by four masked trackers, a dog, and a drone, she can be found coaching women, leading youth, or working for the Department of Conservation.

We catch up with her a day before she’s due to head to work in Dusky Sound, Fiordland, to ID bottle-nosed dolphins and set up cameras in the aim of pinpointing why some rats have suddenly been found in that area.

And when Regan Pearce (Ngāti Tuwharetoa) isn’t running, kayaking, and cycling from one coast to the other, he has been known to be an account manager in Queenstown. However, he quit his job to take part in Tracked, and now he says he’s living his boyhood dream of driving big trucks and diggers. He now works for B&A Digging, preparing the land for house pads to be then built on. In Queenstown that means he’s very busy.

Tracked was filmed in the winter of 2022, in some of the most beautiful parts of Aotearoa New Zealand, and for almost a whole year both Regan and Emily had to keep quiet and not tell anyone whether they won or not.

TEAM RED / TEAM GREY

Emily and Regan, both type 1 athletes, were in separate teams, competing with 12 other super fit contestants, half of them international. Three-time Coast to

‘The show wasn’t about diabetes. It was about winning $100,000 in a competition.

But at the same time, we’re two people with diabetes, out there, doing it.’

REGAN PEARCE

Coast winner in three different categories, Regan joined with his best mate, Regan Pomare to form Team Red. Referred to in the show as ‘the Regans’, the pair was nicknamed ‘Charisma and the Compass’ behind the scenes, as Regan Pomare had served in the NZ Defence Force and knew a thing or two about navigation.

Emily joined with her business and long-time racing partner, Simone Maier, to form Team Grey. The two were slipped in at the third episode to stir things up after the other teams had started to relax. Elite sportswomen, between them they have won the Coast to Coast, GODZown Adventure Race, and a host of other adventure sport titles. In the show, Regan Pomare refers to them as ‘the All Blacks of multisport’.

Emily says that Tracked was different to ‘comparatively normal’ adventure racing, in that it wasn’t simply a matter of getting from A to B. ‘You’re whittled down, and there’s fewer and fewer of you there each week.

And the rules kept changing, and the parameters changed too.’

As well as having an increasing number of trackers armed with a drone after them, the contestants needed to find control boxes which contained cards which would either be an advantage for their team or a hindrance to their opponents. Teams could choose to use a ‘snitch’ card, amongst others, which would show their opponents’ exact location to the trackers. When the Regans chose to use theirs on Emily and Simone, viewers at home got to hear many bleeps over the course of the show.

‘For a stress cadet who over analyses, you can see that we had a lot of fun along the way. It was definitely a barrel of laughs.’

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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1

1. Regan Pearce. 2 & 4. Team Grey: Emily Wilson and Simone Maier. 3. Team Red: 'The Regans’.

5. Team Red: Regan Pomare (left) and Regan Pearce (right).

so little causing so much pain.’

He nearly pulled out of the competition but instead ended up cutting a hole into the back of his boot. That gave him a second wind and it was filmed, but the show omitted it, so to viewers at home it just looked like Regan suddenly stopped feeling pain, stood up and continued on, full of beans.

‘BRINGING DIABETES ALONG FOR THE RIDE’

Emily says it was good to have Simone there, as she is analytic.

The pair already knew each other well, having worked and raced together for years. ‘She knows what to look out for when things are sliding, blood glucose-wise.

“Hey Emily, you’re getting even weirder than you usually are.” She gives me good little reminders to eat more often. Because when you’re really focused on things, it can be quite easy to let it slide a little bit, when usually I am quite vigilant.’

The experience was just as exciting and challenging for Regan as well. Each team had a camera operator with them, capturing almost every step they took, as well as their joys and frustrations. Scaling a waterfall on the narrowest of rope ladders and walking over the Tasman glacier roped to a teammate were hard enough, but it was a blister on his heel that nearly ended Regan. ‘It caused so much mental pain and that’s what threw me – something

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

DIABETES AMBASSADOR

‘For a stress cadet who over analyses, you can see that we had a lot of fun along the way.

It was definitely a barrel of laughs.’

EMILY WILSON

Regan says he was asked by the show’s production company if he wanted them to showcase his diabetes. He agreed, keen to be an ambassador for diabetes.

‘I wanted to show people, don’t let anything stand in the way of achieving your goals and dreams.

And if I can show people that I’m out there, doing this incredible competition, living with type 1, then yeah, go for gold.’

In the first two episodes, Regan explained that he was type 1 and had been since he was 10, as Vinnie Jones, the narrator, growls, ‘Regan’s blood sugar levels need constant checks. Failure

2

3

5

4

With a camera operator also being type 1, diabetes was well represented on Tracked. to manage it correctly in this extreme environment will lead to fatal consequences.’

In the second episode, we hear about how supportive Regan Pomare is of his teammate and namesake. ‘One thing for me, with Regs, is definitely keeping on top of his condition. It’s worrying, but at the same time I know he’s all over it.’ The cameras captured Regan testing his blood sugar. However, diabetes wasn’t mentioned when Emily joined the competition in episode three, which she says was an opportunity missed. ‘It was sad that it wasn’t deemed important enough. Maybe they wanted to portray us as “on the ball”. If I fell unconscious, I’m sure they would have had the camera right on us. But a shame not to see even an example of someone doing well with diabetes. It would’ve been nice to know you might have a positive influence on others.’

At the start of the show, Emily and Regan didn't know how often they would be able to test their blood sugar or even eat.

They both wore CGMs for the duration of the show, and Regan called it his ‘biggest asset’, saying without it he knew he wouldn’t have been able to achieve what he was able to.

‘The quickness and simplicity of having it in my arm, to test quickly, to know, to respond and act on it was brilliant.’

Regan was relatively new to a CGM, only beginning to use it in the time leading up to being on Tracked. Like many, it is the expense that keeps him from using it regularly. ‘The CGM tells you so much and offers so much. The fact that you have to pay an astronomical amount of money for it is just wrong.

Extremely frustrating, when it offers so much reassurance.’

TIPS

Regan had been training for the 2022 Coast to Coast when he found out it was being cancelled due to New Zealand moving into the red traffic light setting. Disappointment was quickly replaced with elation when he discovered he and his mate Regan had got through the application process and were going to be in the show.

Being regular competitors with and against each other, Regan was already friends with Emily, but he wanted to catch up with her before the show started to ask for tips on adventure racing with type 1.

The main tips he took away were: • Don’t wait to test your blood sugar. Testing regularly will avoid you getting to a state where you have to stop and act.

• Get things done when you need to do them. If you have an enforced stop, then use that time to refuel and recover. If you don’t, then you’ll have to stop later and you will lose time.

Watch Tracked on www.threenow.co.nz/shows/tracked/S4684-103 DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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Research

LEAPS In the first of a series, we meet Dr Grace Walker and Dr Jake Campbell, two of the team from Canterbury university, set on creating (amongst other things) new needlefree sensing and insulin delivery technology.

T

he Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge (SfTI) is one of the 11 National Science Challenges set up by the Government to tackle issues New Zealanders care most about. Its job is to grow the New Zealand economy by investing in hundreds of our country’s best high-tech researchers. These researchers are doing cuttingedge work in the fields of sensors, robotics, automation, data science, materials manufacturing, and design.

SfTI supports two types of projects. Ones that are led by individual researchers who have an idea to explore, and ones that are driven by teams they assemble, including scientists, industry, and Māori who collectively take on a big problem.

This is where Dr Grace Walker (Ngāti Kahungunu/Ngāruahine) and Dr Jake Campbell (Te Rawara) come in. The pair met when completing their PhDs at Canterbury University. Grace was studying psychology, and Jake was doing biomechanical engineering.

The pair met through Te Kupenga o Mai (Māori and Indigenous Scholar Network),

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

commonly referred to as MAI. This is a programme created for the enhancement of Māori and indigenous post-graduate students throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Being the only ones in MAI from their departments, Grace and Jake quickly connected, getting together for coffees to discuss their PhDs. Grace had worked as a research consultant, and Jake was keen to work within community.

They both came together in the dual understanding of Māori engagement and design.

NON-INVASIVE CGM

Before Grace joined the project, Jake and his team were looking at ways to reduce invasive measurements in hospitals, particularly in how to measure oxygen in the venous system.

Jake knew of others who had been trying to find a way to look at glucose in the blood with similar technology to a pulse oximeter, and he continued down that path of research. This resulted in designing a sensor which uses multiple wavelengths of light to isolate the spectral fingerprints of glucose in blood.

Christchurch endocrinologist Dr Martin de Bock then approached the team with the challenge to design an insulin pump that would be cheaper than what is currently available.

The team fulfilled Dr deBock’s brief and came up with a design that could be made for half the price.

They started working in lab trials, first with water, and then with blood. In 2021, the team was fortunate to be able to do trials in the neonatal ICU at Middlemore to look at neonates’ glucose levels.

This is when Grace came on board. Her experience was needed to help Jake and his team talk to community.

Committing to proper kaupapa, she ventured in first, meeting communities and instigating conversations about what they needed. Only after that, the engineering and social science team joined them to have a kōrero about people’s experiences of living with diabetes.

‘That’s why I think we’re successful. We’ve got backing from the community, people who have diabetes, and people who know people who are suffering with diabetes. Our tech works.

By listening to people, we are designing tech for their day-to-day use,’ says Dr Grace Walker.

In upcoming issues of Diabetes Wellness, we hope to bring you more information about the work the Leaps team is doing.

leaps.nz www.sftichallenge.govt.nz/ourresearch/projects/spearhead/homeand-community-based-care-type-2diabetes/ www.mai.ac.nz

BETTER THAN YOGHURT

AND NOW DIABETES NEW ZEALAND APPROVED

Isey Skyr is proud to be named a Diabetes New Zealand Choice product.

Tipped as the new “superfood”, Isey Skyr products are high in protein, low in sugar and low in fat. A traditional favourite of Icelanders, Isey Skyr is like yoghurt but better. It’s made in New Zealand using New Zealand dairy and the original Icelandic recipe. Available in six flavours in both 170g and 500g tubs.

For more information and a full list of flavours visit:

www.iseyskyr.co.nz

Nourish

Porridge was an important part of our ancestors’ diets. Still used in many countries as a nutritious and affordable base for meals it can be made from various grains. Dietitian Helen Gibbs shares some favourite porridge recipes.

PERFECT PORRIDGE

LEMON POLENTA PORRIDGE SERVES 4

This recipe sparked a debate about the difference between polenta and cornmeal. Quick-cook or instant polenta is preprocessed, while cornmeal or regular polenta takes longer to cook but has more nutrients.

1 cup of medium cornmeal (or polenta) 2–3 cups of water 2 tablespoons of raisins or sultanas 1–2 lemons (juice and zest) 2 teaspoons of honey (or a sweetener of your choice) 2 cups of unsweetened low-fat Greek-style yoghurt

In a saucepan, add water, sultanas, and lemon zest. Bring to a boil.

Slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the boiling water while stirring. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir for a minute.

Remove from heat and serve with yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.

PER 253g SERVE (APPROX ½ C PORRIDGE AND ½C YOGURT): ENERGY 1150kJ (275kCal), PROTEIN 11.5g, FAT 2.7g (SAT FAT 1.3g), CARBOHYDRATE: 50g (SUGAR 19.9g), FIBRE 2.1g, SODIUM 72mg

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

FLAKED BROWN RICE AND HEMP SEED PORRIDGE

ASIAN-STYLE SAVOURY PORRIDGE

SERVES 1

When travelling in Asia, you might have come across savory porridges or congee. Traditionally, these porridges are made with white rice, which can cause a spike in blood glucose levels. However, this recipe is a healthier twist, using a combination of brown rice and red lentils. You can cook it in a pressure cooker, on the stove top, or in a rice cooker while you prepare the other ingredients for this flavourful Asian meal.

Brown rice flakes are a great choice because they offer the benefits of a whole grain while being quick to cook.

1 cup of soy milk ¾ cup of brown rice flakes 15g of hemp seeds ½ cup of stewed apple (without sugar) ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon Heat soy milk in a small saucepan until near boiling.

Add rice flakes and hemp seeds. Reduce heat and simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer to a bowl and serve with stewed apple and cinnamon.

PER 433g SERVE (APPROX 1½C PORRIDGE AND ½C COOKED APPLE): ENERGY 1600kJ (383kCal), PROTEIN 14.8g, FAT 14.2g (SAT FAT 2.0g), CARBOHYDRATE 45.6g (SUGAR 24g), FIBRE 6.2g, SODIUM 161mg.

Remember, if you’re following a vegan diet, it’s important to consider protein sources in each meal. Including ingredients such as soy milk and hemp seeds can help ensure you’re getting enough protein and fibre to support a healthy and balanced diet.

SERVES 2

1/3 cup of brown rice 1/3 cup of red lentils 4 cups of water 1 chicken-style, reduced-sodium stock cube 2 poached eggs 1 teaspoon of oil ½ medium onion 4 medium mushrooms ½ small capsicum 1 teaspoon of reduced-sodium soy sauce 1 teaspoon of sesame oil Coriander leaves, chilli flakes, and toasted sesame seeds (optional) Rinse the rice and red lentils until the water runs clear.

In a saucepan, combine water, rice, lentils, and crumbled stock cube. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.

While the congee cooks, cut the vegetables into small pieces and stir-fry them in oil. Set aside.

Poach the eggs as desired.

Spoon the cooked congee into bowls, top with a poached egg, cooked vegetables, drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce. Sprinkle coriander, chilli flakes, and toasted sesame seeds for extra zing.

PER SERVE: ENERGY 2010kJ (480kCal), PROTEIN 17g, FAT 23.8g (SAT FAT 3.6g) CARB 44.2g (SUGAR 5.8g), FIBRE 8.8g, SODIUM 176mg

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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MILLET PORRIDGE SERVES 6

Millet is a grain that is often associated with birdseed, but it is also eaten by many cultures around the world. This Russian recipe was popular in Helen’s family. Let’s learn how to make millet porridge!

1 cup of hulled millet 3 cups of water 2 cups of trim milk ¼ cup of raisins ½ teaspoon of salt 250g of regular cottage cheese 2 tablespoons of golden syrup (or maple syrup)

Wash the millet thoroughly and remove any strange-looking seeds.

Place the raisins in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them.

In a small saucepan, bring the millet and water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.

Cook for about 15 minutes until the water is absorbed.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the milk. Put it back on the heat, and bring it to a boil again.

Then let it simmer on very low heat until the milk is absorbed, and the millet becomes fluffy.

Take the saucepan off the heat.

Drain the raisins and add them to the millet. Add salt and cottage cheese. Stir everything together.

Let it stand for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. Then spoon the millet porridge into bowls.

Warm up the golden syrup (or maple syrup) and drizzle it over all 6 servings.

Enjoy this delicious millet porridge!

This is great as leftovers for breakfast.

PER 253g SERVE (APPROX 1C PORRIDGE): ENERGY: 1166kJ (280kCal), PROTEIN: 13.7g, FAT: 3.7g (SAT FAT) 1.7g, CARBOHYDRATE 40.3g (SUGAR 17.9g), FIBRE 1.5g, SODIUM 358mg

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

Your DNZ

YES, MINISTER?

W

ith the general election happening in a couple of months, we ask each of the Members of Parliament that are responsible for health what their parties can do for diabetes. ‘What specific policies do you have that will help adults and children living with diabetes?’

THE OPPORTUNITIES PARTY (TOP)

Dr Nina Su is the candidate for The Opportunities Party (TOP), standing for the Epsom seat. She is an emergency and children’s doctor, working in Auckland.

‘As a small party, our health policy does not have a specific policy targeted to diabetes care.

‘As a paediatric doctor myself, however, I fully support expansion of funding to include blood glucose monitoring tools such as Freestyle Libre to improve care for both type 1 diabetes and moderate to severe type 2 diabetes.

‘I also support more education and training to enable families and individuals to become more independent with their diabetes control as well as community-based health programmes for adults to improve type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.

‘Our Project Teal policy for under30s encourages improved exercise with free public transport (which is known to increase people's baseline exercise), a bike allowance (e-bike or push bike), as well as free primary care, dental, and optometry. We believe that investment in prevention and early intervention will help reduce morbidity and mortality related to diabetes and its complications.’

NZ LABOUR PARTY

MP Dr Ayesha Verrall is the Minister for Health as well as for Research, Science and Innovation. Before entering Parliament, she was an infectious diseases doctor in Wellington.

‘The government recognises that diabetes is a growing issue in our communities and that it is not

felt evenly across our society.

The burden of diabetes falls disproportionately on our Māori and Pacific communities. We are committed to addressing these inequities by providing quality care for those with diabetes and supporting robust preventative measures.

‘Similarly, we have consistently increased Pharmac’s medicines budget while we've been in government. Budget 2022 contained the biggest-ever increase to Pharmac's medicines budget, and Pharmac has said that these significant budget uplifts from Government may mean funding devices, like continuous glucose monitors, could be possible.

‘As part of Budget 2022, we allocated $20 million to implement a targeted diabetes prevention and treatment programme for Pacific communities in South Auckland.

It will include a mix of community and tertiary care initiatives and integrate a Pacific model of care.

This initiative will also include 100 training places to grow and develop the Pacific health workforce's response to diabetes. The learnings from this programme will be used to evaluate and inform a broader Pacific diabetes programme in the future.’

THE ACT PARTY

List MP Brooke van Veldon is Deputy Leader of ACT. ‘Currently, the biggest barrier to accessing primary healthcare is getting an appointment in the first place. This is why the ACT Party has committed to increasing General Practice Capitation by $163 million, or approximately 13%, to ensure that Kiwis can access healthcare when they need and where they need it.

‘This increase in GP funding of

approximately 13% will subsidise the equivalent of approximately 2.5 million extra GP visits. These extra GP visits will benefit all New Zealanders, including those seeking to treat, detect, or prevent diabetes.

‘ACT is continuing to work on additional health policies, and these will be released closer to the election.’

THE NATIONAL PARTY

List MP Dr Shane Reti is the Party Spokesperson for Health as well as Māori-Crown Relations, Pacific People, and the Covid-19 Response. He has continued to be a practising doctor during his time in Parliament.

‘National is working on policy in this area, and we will have more to say in the coming months.’

GREEN PARTY OF AOTEROA NEW ZEALAND

‘The Green Party will ensure everyone has healthy food and warm dry homes and can access the healthcare they need. Ensure public healthcare services are timely, accessible, and meet the needs of everyone in Aotearoa – including progressively expanding the health services offered through the public system. Empower and resource the Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority) to work in an equal partnership together with the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) to improve outcomes for whānau, hapū, iwi, and hapori.

‘Increase funding for PHARMAC so that it can invest in new medicines and health care devices to enhance treatment outcomes and quality of life.

‘Our Income Guarantee will ensure everyone can afford life’s essentials, and our Rental Warrant of Fitness will help people stay healthy at home. When people need access to healthcare, we will make sure it is affordable and available where they need it.’

At the time of going to print, we have not had a response from Te Pāti Māori.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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Move

FLICK THAT SWITCH R

Sore back? Switching on our core can remedy this. Craig Wise shows us how we can strengthen our core by wood chopping, travelling around the world, and becoming a dead bug. Exercises are demonstrated by Xanthia Wise.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

ecently, as I collected my girls from school, I watched another parent removing their squirming toddler from the car. As she stood up, she made the universal sign for a sore back: palms on the lower back, elbows sticking out like chicken wings. Following a brief chat, she told me that since the birth of her two children she had almost constantly lived with a ‘bad back’.

However, she was mistaken. Her back wasn’t bad, her core was.

A strong core is an integral part of being able to do physical activities and maintain our balance, which becomes an increasingly important ability as we age.

PAIN AND BAD BALANCE

There are four main signs of a weakened core area: lower back pain, poor posture, balance issues, and difficulty standing for extended periods of time.

There are many times in our daily life when core engagement is a key factor in keeping our bodies safe. These include everyday activities such as picking up the kids, reaching into the back of the car to grab the bag of groceries, and bending over to pick something up, even something as seemingly gentle as walking up and down stairs.

Strengthening the core involves targeting the muscles that connect the spine to the pelvic girdle and shoulders. This group of muscles gives us our correct posture and works with our glutes and legs to control movement.

HOW TO SWITCH ON THE CORE Engaging the core means tightening and bracing all the muscles in the core to keep the spine stable and safe as you perform a task. There are many ways to switch on your core, but the simplest way might be to imagine that you are about to be punched in the stomach and brace yourself for the impact. Another

way of looking at it is to imagine you are zipping up your abdominal muscles, drawing your navel up towards your spine.

Here we have a set of five exercises that, if done a few times a week, will strengthen your core.

Mercifully, there are no crunches or sit-ups involved. These exercises

MARCHING WITH A PAUSE Stand with your hands on your hips. Slowly bring one leg up until your thigh is parallel to the ground. Hold for a count of three and lower back to the ground. Do a set on one leg and then on the other leg. When you find yourself getting good at it, try holding a cushion above your head to make it a little trickier.

STANDING SIDE CRUNCH Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Place one hand on your hip and raise the other high into the air. Bring your elbow down as you raise your knee to meet it. Do a set on one side and then repeat on the other.

might be fabulous for ‘feeling the burn’, but they are useless for strengthening the core. Instead, try the following exercises as a combination. Start with two sets of 10 and eventually increase to three sets of 15. Consistent training should lead to a noticeably stronger core in four to eight weeks.

AROUND THE WORLD With your feet in the same position, hold the cushion just below chest height. Pass the cushion around your back in a clockwise direction, pass it to your other hand and bring it back to the starting point. After you have completed a set in a clockwise direction, repeat with another set in an anticlockwise direction. You can exchange the cushion for a hardback book, bottle of water, or kettlebell if you have one.

WOOD CHOP Grab a cushion and stand with your feet wider than shoulder width.

Holding the cushion out in front of you with both hands, come down into a low squat by your left knee and then sweep the cushion up high toward the ceiling on the opposite side, straightening your legs and lifting your left heel. Swap sides. You can exchange the cushion for a heavy book, an old milk bottle filled with water, or a weight if you have one.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

21

DEAD BUG Lie on your back with your arms and legs in the air. Put a bend in your legs, as if you’re sitting on a chair. Pull your navel into the floor to prevent your lower back arching. Slowly lower your right arm above your head. and keep your left leg bent at 90 degrees. Lower that too. When you feel the heel of your foot touch the ground, bring it back up to the start position. Repeat with the right arm and left leg.

When you are comfortable doing this exercise with the leg bent, advance to doing it with your leg extended.

THE PRONE HOLD When you have mastered those other exercises and feel ready for a challenge, use this as a test of how well you can control those abdominal muscles.

Begin by lying on your front on the floor and then prop yourself up on your elbows with your body nice and straight, core fully engaged. Be careful not to poke your bottom up into the air.

Begin holding for 15–30 seconds, and slowly work your way up to a minute or more.

Never underestimate how much switching on your core can protect and strengthen your back. Our core muscle tissue naturally begins to deteriorate as early as our mid-30s, So the older we get the more important it is to work on this area.

Sneaker Friday – Save the Date!

Support people living with diabetes by wearing your sneakers on Sneaker Friday!

Sneaker Friday is your chance to help make a real difference to the lives of the 300,000 New Zealanders living with diabetes.

Taking place during Diabetes Action Month, Sneaker Friday is a fun and simple way to show your support and help raise funds at the same time.

Take part either individually or as a team by wearing your sneakers to work, to school or at play on Friday 17 November. You can also sign up to take part in one of the many Twilight Walks and events happening around the country, because being active is key to the prevention of diabetes and to help those living with diabetes to manage the condition.

Find out more at diabetes-new-zealand.grassrootz.com/sneaker-friday

Your DNZ

PULLING TOGETHER, BECOMING ONE STRONG VOICE We meet up with Sir Ralph Norris, the Chair of the Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation and look into what the Foundation does.

T

he Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation (DNZRF) is a new organisation that brings together the research funds held

by Diabetes NZ and the former New Zealand Diabetes Foundation.

The Foundation has just launched its website. Its mission is to end the significant harm caused by diabetes in New Zealand.

The main outcomes of the Foundation are: • To see advances from the research it funds.

• To see more people with and at risk of diabetes with the tools and proper care they need to control their condition.

• And to see more New Zealanders in remission from type 2, as well as fewer people getting type 2, and gestational diabetes, due to better prevention measures.

SIR RALPH NORRIS: CHAIR

Twenty-five years ago, Sir Ralph was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.

He says it came out of the blue and that he didn’t know much about diabetes. He was also surprised to learn how common it was and that type 2 was increasing significantly, almost at epidemic proportions.

‘Given that I have been fortunate to have excellent support and management of my diabetes, I felt the urge to give back and help others, through funding research to improve treatment and hopefully find a cure in the future. When asked last year to Chair the Diabetes New Zealand Research Foundation, I readily agreed.’

Given the increasing prevalence of diabetes, Sir Ralph says it was decided that uniting and combining resources would be better value for money and increase the Foundation’s profile. The objective is to achieve similar prominence as the Heart Foundation.

The number of people living with diabetes is significantly higher than those with heart disease.

The Foundation’s Trustees, in addition to Sir Ralph, are Catherine Taylor, Dr Helen Lunt, Dr Rick Cutfield, and Professor Jeremy Krebs.

In 2021, a report was funded on the Economic and Social Cost of Type 2 Diabetes. This report found that the disease was becoming of epidemic proportions and would make increasing demands on the Health budget without significant improvement in awareness, lifestyle, and dietary habits. The Foundation sees its role in not only supporting advocacy to Government, but also making the public aware of the issues

and funding research to provide better support and health outcomes.

The Foundation will work in partnership with others to ensure the best possible research outcomes from a limited pool of funding. It will work closely with the New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes (NZSSD), Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research Centre, and Healthier Lives – He Oranga Hauora National Science Challenge.

The Foundation is currently working with a small team of volunteers, with secretarial services provided

by Diabetes NZ. The aim is to both grow the capital base of the fund and to start providing some funding for targeted research relevant to New Zealanders living with diabetes. During their summer vacation, five medical students were co-funded to complete a piece of work, and they will continue that activity. The Foundation is also investigating a larger annual grant and that will be advertised next year in partnership with NZSSD. Sir Ralph Norris is currently Chairman of Craigs Investment Partners, and a Senior Advisor to BGH Capital Melbourne. His previous roles were as CEO and Managing Director of ASB Bank, Air New Zealand, and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

He has also chaired the NZ Business Roundtable, NZ Bankers Association, Australian Bankers Association, Pacific Basin Economic Council (NZ), Fletcher Building, and Contact Energy.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

23

My Identity

NEED FOR SPEED We meet Matamata local Mason Todd, who wants to be a racing car driver when he grows up.

W

hen we speak to Mason and his mum, Marie, his stomach is directing him to cook up something as an after-school snack. A busy 10-year-old, Mason’s favourite pastime is ‘blatting’ around a spare paddock on his Yamaha 110 bike with his brother, friends, and cousins. He’s been riding bikes since he was five years old and is in his element when grinding tracks into the paddock.

Mason lives just outside Matamata on a dairy farm with his big brother Korbin and mum and dad. And a good mate called Bax. Bax is a springerdor – a mix of Springer spaniel and Labrador.

She joined the family last year as a puppy and has taken it upon herself to be Mason’s guard and BFF. She was welcomed into the whānau in the hope that she could be trained to be a diabetes dog, and she’s fulfilled that order by being there beside Mason in the night if Marie has come in to treat a low.

It was last April when Mason was diagnosed with type 1. Marie says that, when she came home from milking, she would find the kitchen bench strewn with coffee cups, all half full of water. She thought nothing of it, assuming it was due to both of her sons and their friends choosing to pick out a new cup every time they wanted a drink. Mason appeared otherwise well, so she only started to notice what was happening when they went to friends’ houses where Mason would finish his drink and keep asking for more.

With Mason now in the background, pondering making pancakes, Marie explains the battle to get a funded pump for Mason.

Although having regular highs and lows, his HbA1c was at an ‘ideal’ level of 48, thereby making him ineligible for a funded pump.

‘According to his blood tests, he had excellent control, but this didn’t take into account the spikes and drops that come with multiple daily doses of insulin and, as a result, the sleepless nights Glen (Dad) and I were experiencing, and the hours and hours of high or low levels, and the fact we just weren’t coping with the worry, anxiety, and helplessness. Something more had to be done.’

The Todd family reached out to Dr Martin de Bock, a private Paediatric Endocrinologist based in Christchurch who has clinical interest in adolescent type 1

Mum Marie, Mason, brother Korbin, and dad Blair.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

My Identity

is proud to create

‘Mason still does everything like a normal child.

We don’t stop him doing anything.’ diabetes. He applied under the hypo criteria, and Mason went from receiving 60–70 short and long-acting injections each week to far superior control with a lot less effort.

MOVING ON

Marie says her advice to other parents of kids with type 1 is to not limit your child’s life because of their diagnosis. She says at the start she feared Mason’s diabetes was going to slow him and the family down. ‘It hasn’t. If anything, it has made us more determined to do all the things we’ve wanted to do.’

A great example of this is when the family was recently on holiday in Rotorua. They all did all the ‘normal’ activities: the Redwoods mountain bike tracks, the Zorb.

Then Mason and Korbin hatched a plan to ask their parents if they could do a bungy jump. He loved it and has asked if he can do another jump soon.

ALL THE BIKING

Mason spends hours every week on his bike. Marie says she is happy to send him out to rip up the paddock as he always has his CGM on, his

pump around his waist, his phone in a belt, and a ready supply of glucose on hand. ‘I don’t need to stop him while he’s on his bike.

I can see him while he’s riding around the paddocks, and I can monitor him from afar.’

When he’s not on two wheels, Mason is honing his driving skills on four, via PlayStation.

He knows all the tracks on Gran Turismo, which are taken from real life circuits around the world. His current favourites are the Monza track in Italy and the Bathhurst track from Australia.

Watching cars whizz past is in the Todd family blood as the whānau is keen on V8s and stock cars. A special treat for Mason was when he got to see the final event ever held at Pukekohe raceway. This is where Mason got to see his favourite motorsport race driver, Shane Van Gisbergen.

Lately, most photos of Mason show him either wearing a Shane Van Gisbergen cap or a crash helmet.

By the end of the interview, Mason has settled down to eat his freshly made scrambled eggs, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper. A firm favourite.

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Life with T2

A few years ago, Mandy Sorasio was seriously considering moving out of her house on the hill because of her ‘bad’ knees and sore back. Now, she adores the new windy, hilly walkway behind her home, knocking off 7–10 kms a day.

WHAT A

TURNAROUND

‘You have to think of it as a life style. Taking control of life again. You’re in control.’

Mandy Sorasio and her granddaughter.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

N

orthern Wellington local Mandy started her diabetes journey with a visit from prediabetes. With tiredness a symptom, she had put it down to her pernicious anaemia and sleep apnoea.

The diagnosis had her making some positive changes, and the numbers duly dropped, but she went back to normal and didn’t think about it for a few years.

Then in 2021 she had a followup HbA1c blood test, and soon after her doctor called to book an appointment and told her, ‘You’re at 58. Not prediabetes. Officially, diabetes.’ Mandy says it was a shock.

THE LEAD UP

Some years before this, Mandy had endured a string of diagnoses.

Before the pernicious anaemia, she was having headaches and noticed her vision becoming blurry. A pituitary tumour was discovered, and surgery and radiotherapy remedied that. But that same radiation that saved her from the tumour also messed with her thyroid, and so she began medication for that.

Mandy says this is when she put on extra weight, and before long both her weight and HbA1c had ballooned.

With all the weight gain, she developed gallstones and experienced a couple of bouts of pancreatitis, which is an inflammation of the pancreas, commonly caused by gallstones.

Seven years later, her gallbladder had to be removed.

SO NOW, TYPE 2

Mandy says she was stunned but not totally surprised with the type 2 diagnosis. Having heard enough warnings from her body,

she ignored them, Mandy finally listened to the increasingly loud voice, ‘Get your life in order, lady.

Otherwise you’re going to have so many additional problems, on top of the ones you’ve already got.’

Mandy says she jumped straight into changing her diet but took it more slowly when it came to exercise.

‘I had really bad knees because I was literally carrying around another person. I couldn’t do stairs very easily. Going down was extremely painful. And my back – if I had to wash a few dishes in the sink, it would be killing me.’ She couldn’t walk far either. Walking past 10 neighbours’ houses and then back was all she could muster in a day.

But it was a good start, and, as it became easier, Mandy did a bit more. She gradually increased her short walk by repeating it several times a day so that it wasn’t too much in one go. Then she headed down to the local park and did laps.

Mandy’s daughter bought her a Fitbit for her 60th birthday, and she credits that for keeping her motivated. She was able to monitor how much she was doing and set herself goals. As well as recording her steps, she entered everything she ate into the app’s food diary and through this has gained an understanding of energy-in versus energy-out.

‘My weight over the years had ballooned to 141kg, which I was happily blaming on the brain tumour affecting my hormones causing hypothyroidism. But if I’m honest, I was chiefly to blame. I was totally inactive, choosing to watch TV or play games online. And I did have a liking for chocolate.’

RESEARCH

The diabetes nurse gave Mandy the two free Diabetes NZ booklets, which she says were a good starting point, but she wanted more. Now hungry for knowledge, she started trawling the world wide web.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

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Mandy says, with the extreme weight combined with type 2, that she thought she’d qualify for a free consultation with a dietitian. ‘Apparently, they don’t with type 2. And it would’ve taken a fair bit of money to do that. So I just did lots of research myself.’ Mandy researched what the glycaemic index was and how it affected her food choices.

She says she was very much made aware of what she was putting into her body – what was good and what was not. ‘I still ate plenty, but it was good things from now on. Lucky for me, I’ve never been able to eat potato, but I do eat kumara, in limited amounts. Bread is a treat for me and, if I do eat it, it’s a wholegrain bread. Mostly it’s non-processed foods. I hardly eat anything in the way of processed foods. It’s all natural, fresh. My husband makes the most amazing salads which have everything in it. It’s so colourful and vibrant, it invites you to eat it.’

THREE MONTHS LATER

Mandy was pleased to see her HbA1c drop to 41. Another three months on, and she was down to 37 and was able to reduce her meds. Three months later, and she was 34 and allowed to come off her meds. Currently, her number is a healthy 28.

Since October 2021, Mandy’s weight has halved. She is free from diabetes medication,

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

‘It was clear that I not only needed to watch what I ate but also make sure that I did enough exercise to make it all come together.’

doesn’t have sleep apnoea anymore, and doesn’t get the skin and nail infections she used to develop. She has more friends, a proud and supportive whānau, and a strong body which continues to carry her on daily walks.

From doing a 10-house slog, Mandy now walks daily, between seven and 10 kilometres.

Inclement weather doesn’t stop her heading out either. ‘I’ve done that from the get go. Even if it’s raining – get out and do something. Doesn’t have to be a huge amount if it’s rainy or windy. But do something.’

Another benefit of getting out to exercise is meeting new people. On top of the daily walks, Mandy still attends her Zumba Gold classes twice a week, which serve as a social get-together, as well as being a fun and dancey workout. She says a lot of the people she does Zumba with also have diabetes, so she gets to meet up with people who understand what it is like to live well with diabetes.

A year and a half later, Mandy’s health is transformed.

‘I’m a totally different person. As much as diabetes is not a great thing ever to have, and if I’d been better about it, I probably could’ve avoided it. But I didn’t, and there’s no point in crying over spilt milk. So, in a way, for me, it was a really good kick up the bum.’

Reflect

19TH CENTURY DIABETES TREATMENTS Don't try this at home!

D

ifferent doctors had their own theories of the best treatment for their diabetes patients.

In the late 1850s, French physician Priorry advised diabetes patients to eat extra large quantities of sugar as a treatment. And British doctor Arthur Scott Donkin promoted the therapeutic qualities of a ‘purely milk diet’ for diabetes in his Lancet article of 1869.

In the second half of the 19th century, before insulin was discovered, diabetes treatments mostly consisted of starvation diets. The diets were often harsh and death from starvation was not unknown in patients with type 1 diabetes. In contrast these lowcalorie diets were often found to be quite good in patients with type 2 diabetes.

In the 1870s, a French doctor Bouchardat noticed the

disappearance of glycosuria in his diabetes patients during the rationing of food in Paris while under siege by German during the Franco-Prussian War. He formulated the idea of individualised diets for his diabetes patients.

But not every patient was keen on the low-calorie diet. In the late 19th century Italian diabetes specialist Catoni isolated his patients under lock and key – so they would follow their strict diets.

Canadian doctor William Osler advised his diabetic patients in The Principles and Practice of Medicine, 1892, to ‘eat food of easy digestion, such as veal and mutton, and abstain from all sorts of fruit and garden stuff’. Osler, a leading physician of his day, also recommended taking opium, commenting that ‘diabetic patients seem to have a special tolerance for this drug’, a daily lukewarm bath, avoidance of worry, and emigration

Diabetes patients in the 19th century were advised to move to a warm European climate.

to an equable climate.

Also writing in the late 19th century, Emil Schnee recommended living in a warm climate – the Riviera in winter, Zurich in summer – and muscular activity starting with billiards, then rowing and wood splitting. His diet recommendations included easily digested foods, no starch or sugar, plus light Moselle wines, old Claret, and good cigars ‘in moderation’.

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Advocate

POET, PASTOR, PASIFIKA, PROVIDER We speak to Ruana Taito­– Diabetes NZ’s ​ Pacific Advocate who knows from real life experience that educating aiga (family) can be the hardest job.

R

uana Taito is a busy woman.

She has been flat out, networking within the Porirua community to get herself known, as well as setting up and delivering the Diabetes: Your Life, Your Journey programme.

This six-week course, designed for people with type 2 diabetes, is a self-management education programme where attendees get to learn everything there is to know about diabetes, ask all their questions, and connect with diabetes nurses, dietitians, and pharmacists.

Ruana says she understands that the health system is hard to navigate at the best of times and getting a diagnosis can sometimes be overwhelming. Clinical language can be too complicated to fully understand, so she says she is committed to making all information accessible.

Before moving to Porirua, Ruana worked for Counties Manukau District Health for seven years as a Community Social Support Worker.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

There she worked in the longterm conditions area, dealing with people with diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, gout, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. These patients were ‘frequent fliers’ to the Emergency Department. Her team would work out how best to help patients manage their conditions within the community so they could live better lives. Ruana says it often involved a lot of social issues, so the team included a social worker.

She says that, before she started working with the longterm conditions team, she didn’t understand much about type 2 diabetes.

When she and her aiga moved south, she was looking for a similar role but found nothing suitable. However, the Wellington City Mission was advertising for someone with an understanding of transitional housing, so she found herself continuing to help people within the Mission’s

housing section.

Mum to five tamaiti (children), Ruana says she is deeply passionate to work within the diverse multicultural community of Porirua, to make a difference in the lives of individuals and families.

POET

It was during her time working for the Wellington City Mission when Ruana was approached to contribute a poem from her point of view. ‘More than a Roof’ was published by Landing Press, a small not-for-profit publisher, in 2021. The collection of poems brought together voices from across the spectrum – from those with no homes, in emergency accommodation, in caravans, in cars, on boats, in rentals, or in their own houses.

Landing Press is a small Wellington publisher that publishes poetry with a social edge. They came up with the idea of poems about housing, working

OUR FALEO‘O Ruana Taito It looked like the other houses in the village – all the families had their small beginnings.

There were boxes of clothes for all our big whanau.

My grandparents lay on their stomachs reading their bibles.

There was the beautiful smell of our neighbours cooking fish, and taro with coconut cream.

My spot in the house was where my aunty and I shared our sheet, fighting over it as we pulled to win.

I always thought of my mum living in New Zealand, how lucky she was, to be sleeping on a bed.

MY DIABETES JOURNEY… A FRIEND IN YOUR POCKET!

Now, as I dreamed, I’m living in Aotearoa and I want to go back with my whole aiga, to do the things we used to do together but our small humble faleo’o is no longer there.

Pub: Landing Press https://www.landingpressnz.com/product-page/more-than-a-roof

with the social housing sector, and running workshops for men in transitional housing with the Wellington City Mission.

LIVING WITH SUCCESS

When asked if she can share any successes of her work within diabetes, Ruana immediately cites the example of the person closest to her. Both born and bred in Samoa, Ruana is married to fellow pastor, Tomasi.

When living in Auckland, Ruana found her husband on the floor at home, after church. ‘He went home before everyone, and we found him on the floor. He’d had a low. Straight away, the ambulance came and picked him up.’

There followed a battle of wills.

‘It wasn’t easy trying to help at the beginning. He was the hardest person to work with because he’s my husband. Stubborn as a man and reluctant to take medication because Pasifika people think medication is not normal for us.

It is a Pālagi (Pākehā) thing. Not a

Pasifika thing.’

He didn’t listen until she told him that she didn’t want to be a young widow. ‘I didn’t want the kids to live without a father. I told him that they would grow up being angry, if they lost their father at such a young age.’ That was the motivation he needed.

With lifestyle changes, Ruana saw Tomasi’s HbA1c come down from over a hundred.

She believes if she hadn’t worked in the long-term conditions area, her husband would be dead by now. ‘He’s very active. He exercises, and now he fully understands and is doing well. I don’t have to remind him. He does it all.’ Proud of her husband, Ruana says it is due to him having constant support.

‘The entire aiga is on board, and all the children are aware of what it looks like when dad has a hypo or goes high. I thank God I was called to work in this field, and that is why I want to continue in this area.’

We know that managing diabetes is a journey and we all need a little extra support sometimes. With helpful tips, information, and inspiration, the new My Diabetes Journey app truly is like a friend in your pocket! It’s totally free, so download it today.

• Food diary • Space to record and track movement goals and emotional wellbeing • Diabetes resources • Recipes • Nutrition tips DOWNLOAD IT TODAY

Your DNZ

AWARD WINNERS REPORT BACK Last year, Diabetes NZ gave awards to three young people with big goals. Meet Cooper Gough, Bridget Dalley, and Hannah Clark.

T

he John McLaren Youth Award recognises and encourages young people who are overcoming the obstacles presented by their diabetes while achieving highly in particular areas.

This award offers a scholarship to three young people living with diabetes who are aiming high in their chosen fields.

COOPER GOUGH: SPORT

The John McLaren Youth Award for Sports was awarded to 14-year-old Cooper. The Invercargill college student has been dedicating himself to Taekwondo since he was eight and has since gone on to excel in the martial art.

Cooper has a number of gold medals under his black belt. In the last couple of years, he has won gold at the Black Belt Cadet division of the Top of the South Taekwondo Championships, another at the Budo South Open Taekwondo Championships, and yet another at the South Island Taekwondo Championships.

Last year, when he was in Tahiti, he brought home three medals, in three days, from three international tournaments.

Cooper’s next big adventure is travelling to Australia for the Oceania Taekwondo Presidents Cup and then the Australian Taekwondo Open in July. Cooper used the Award funds to help him get to international competitions, including one in Tahiti last year and Queensland this year.

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Cooper Gough

Bridget Dalley

The support crew (Gough family) is tacking a short holiday on after the competition. In true Cooper style, this doesn’t involve much down-time but will include competing in the children’s run during the Gold Coast Marathon.

awards, including the school’s Celebrate Design Award, another in Technical Excellence, and the Bernina HETTANZ (Home Economics and Technology Teachers Association of New Zealand) in the sustainable sewing category.

BRIDGET DALLEY: CULTURAL

HANNAH CLARK: ACADEMIC

Bridget is in her final year of studying for a Bachelor of Design (Fashion) at Otago Polytechnic – Kai Tahu Māori. She has been selected to attend a semester at the prestigious University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria, this year.

Bridget says this will fulfil a dream she has had to study overseas at this respected university.

Not an easy school to be accepted into, an internet search brings up notable alumni, including Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka.

Bridget says the John McLaren Youth Award funds will be used towards travel and accommodation costs in Vienna.

Bridget says the University of Applied Arts is known for its impressive teaching of knitting and weaving skills, which she hopes to learn more about, thereby bringing those skills back to share with students in New Zealand.

Bridget has excelled in her study at Otago. She’s won a number of

Fellow South Islander Hannah has started her first year of the Bachelor of Nursing degree through the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) – Te Whare Wānanga o Murihiku in Invercargill. She says it’s a dream she has had for a long time.

Her award funds were used for course-related fees, including the latest text books, medical equipment, stationery costs, and transport between SIT and placements.

During the course there is a focus on health advocacy, cultural understanding, and Te Whare Tapa Whā (Māori health models). With her nursing degree, Hannah says, she will ensure the health care space she works in will be respectful and kind.

Hannah says, that ‘as a type 1 wanting to go into a health care career, I would love to be able to advocate for people like me, fighting stereotypes about diabetes judgement and discrimination.’

DIABETES NZ AWARDS

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS Diabetes NZ is celebrating inspiring members of our community.

Applications are now open for these important awards.

Please apply if you’re interested or encourage others to do so.

THE JOHN MCLAREN YOUTH AWARDS

Our youth awards celebrate the pursuit of excellence by youth with diabetes. They recognise the determination and resilience of young people as they strive to achieve their goals in their chosen field, despite the challenges their condition brings.

In 2022, one award of $1,500 will be made in each of three fields: sporting, academic, and cultural.

Anyone who is 25 or under and lives with diabetes is eligible to apply.

THE DIABETES NZ AWARD

Diabetes NZ Awards may be granted to individuals who have, directly or indirectly, made a significant difference to the diabetes cause in New Zealand. The award recognises exceptional achievement and is made in the knowledge that personal sacrifices are always part of such a contribution to diabetes.

THE LIFE MEMBERSHIP AWARD

The Diabetes NZ Life Membership is the organisation’s most prestigious honour. It is conferred on someone in recognition and appreciation of outstanding service for the benefit of people with diabetes.

To ensure this award remains a distinguished and exceptional honour, there are a maximum of 40 Life Members at any one time.

If someone you know deserves this, please nominate them.

THE SIR CHARLES BURNS MEMORIAL AWARD

Have you been on insulin for 50 years or more? Diabetes NZ presents this award to anyone who can demonstrate that they’ve managed their diabetes for a continuous period of at least 50 years through insulin therapy.

THE SILVER MEDAL AWARD

This award, initiated in 2021, is for anyone who can demonstrate that they’ve managed their diabetes for a continuous period of at least 25 years through insulin therapy.

HOW TO APPLY OR NOMINATE Application forms for all awards are available on Diabetes NZ’s website.

Go to www.diabetes.org.nz/awards. Entries for all awards close 5pm, Wednesday 6 September.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

33

Obituary

‘A remarkable woman’ WINSOME YVONNE JOHNSTON: 29 NOVEMBER 1928 – 15 MAY 2023

U

ntil her recent death, at 94 years old, Winsome Johnston was the oldest person with type 1 diabetes in the world.

Internationally, Winsome was held up by healthcare professionals as an example of what’s possible with good diabetes management. In 2017, she was New Zealand’s first recipient of the HG Wells Medal from Diabetes UK. This award recognises those who have lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 80 years. When Win received hers, only two other type 1 diabetes

patients worldwide had received the award.

Informed at the age of six that she wouldn’t live very long and never have children, Winsome went on to have four children, 15 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. She lived independently at Crestwood Retirement Village, in Titirangi.

In 2000, Winsome started the first diabetes support group in Paraparaumu. Her generosity, determination, and experience attracted a following. She was

an excellent role model, able to lead by example by showing the results of eating and exercising well. Winsome’s mother had set this discipline as soon as Winsome was diagnosed, having already lost an elder daughter to diabetes 10 years earlier, before insulin was discovered.

Winsome often volunteered with the Auckland branch of Diabetes NZ. She was able to talk with people, especially the young, believing that youth need to know that life goes on, and with good

Top left: Winsome’s children, going from left to right – Sherryn Davison, John Johnston, Joanne Dunningham, Janene Grove Top right: Winsome with some of her great-grandchildren. Bottom: Winsome’s entire family attended her 90th birthday.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

We need your help to help them A diabetes diagnosis can be scary, overwhelming, and confusing. It’s a steep learning curve whatever kind of diabetes you have.

The Johnston family tried to get Winsome recognised in the Guinness Book of World Records but said the officials needed to see the signature of the doctor who diagnosed her. That was 88 years ago, and the likelihood of finding that doctor was long gone. management and a positive attitude, you can live a long and healthy life with diabetes.

Her generosity with helping others had her constantly accumulating many fans. Her daughter Jan says she loved everybody and everyone loved her back. Admirers included those who saw her regularly at her medical appointments, including Rab Burtun, her diabetes nurse specialist of 21 years. Jan says that Rab often commented on what an amazing lady she was. He would tell many of his patients about her, using her as the epitome of awesome diabetes self-management. He said he never met someone as strict and determined as Winsome.

Win told Diabetes Wellness in 2015 that the key to living well with diabetes was having a good support network of friends and family who understand a bit about diabetes and can help when needed. Her daughter Jan says she will be dearly missed.

We want Kiwis to know they are not alone.

We are here to help them live well with diabetes and support their journey every step of the way.

Your generous gift will improve the day-to-day lives of people living with diabetes and help us spread the prevention message far and wide.

As a charity, every dollar we raise is crucial – please support our work today: Give securely at www.diabetes.org.nz or call 0800 342 238.

Donate via Westpac 03 0584 0197985 09 – use your full name as reference.

Your DNZ

LIZ IN LISBON Our Head of Clinical Services, Liz Dutton, uncovers some exciting new research on artificial sweeteners, reporting back from her time at last year’s International Diabetes Federation, in Lisbon.

L

iz Dutton has worked in the field of diabetes for about 22 years, and last December was given the opportunity to attend the International Diabetes Federation Congress (IDF) in Lisbon, Portugal.

One component of Liz’s role at Diabetes NZ is that of clinical advisor.

Liz works closely with the clinical nurse specialists at Te Whatu Ora, Capital Coast and Hutt Valley, which Diabetes NZ has a MOU with, to roll out their Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) programme around the country through our Diabetes Community Coordinators.

This programme content is currently being revised by Capital Coast and Hutt Valley and with Liz’s new-found knowledge from the IDF she can contribute to that updating of the DSME. Over the last 22 years, Liz has attended both the annual New Zealand diabetes conferences and a Western Pacific Diabetes Congress, and learned much from each of these. However, she says that attending the IDF in Portugal last year was mind-blowing.

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

NEW OFF THE PRESS

Research in diabetes was presented from all over the world – new information that Liz knew would make a significant difference to the care of people with diabetes in New Zealand.

There were many presentations that were worthy of mention. However, there were two significant ones which will be utilised in the current DSME updates that are being facilitated around Aotearoa New Zealand.

One was about the impact of lowcalorie sweeteners on blood glucose levels. This research demonstrated how if someone who has diabetes or obesity drinks a litre of a zero-calorie drink a day, over a two-week period, their blood sugar levels will rise as a result. This will happen even though they have not consumed any sugar.

This is due to the impact of the sweet taste on the taste buds. The ‘sweetness’ stimulates gut bacteria, and that has a knock-on effect with gut hormones, which in turn stimulate a release of glucose (sugar) from the liver and other organs that store it.

With this new-found knowledge, the DSME will be updated with a caution against drinking too many non-sugary drinks with low calorie sweetener in it regularly. This will help people in New Zealand with diabetes live healthier lives.

DENTAL HYGIENE

The other significant finding was around oral health in diabetes. In the DSME, there is a small section on oral care but no advice for people with type 2 diabetes on how they can self-manage this.

Listening to the presentation, Liz became aware that this is good advice to offer people with diabetes.

Although visiting a dentist or hygienist is often expensive in New Zealand, dental hygiene needs to be maintained by the individual in order to prevent high blood glucose levels caused by gum disease.

This, in turn, will help reduce poor outcomes with the long-term complications of diabetes.

Liz has drafted a guide on simple dental hygiene, and this will go into the DSME participant manual to ensure people with diabetes in New Zealand have the tools to self-manage their dental and gum health.

Liz has also ensured the DSME programme contains the evidence from international research learned at the conference. The inclusion of this knowledge gained from the conference will improve the health of people with diabetes in New Zealand.

Research

WHAT THE FIZZ Aspartame, one of the world’s most popular artificial sweeteners, has been labelled a possible carcinogen by the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO).

A

spartame is an artificial (chemical) sweetener widely used in various food and beverage products since the 1980s, including diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatine, ice cream, dairy products such as yoghurt, breakfast cereal, toothpaste, and medications such as cough drops and chewable vitamins. It is available as a tabletop sweetener under the brand names Equal and Nutrasweet.

The cancer agency of WHO, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) on the basis of limited evidence for cancer in humans (specifically, for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is a type of liver cancer).

The classification of ‘possibly carcinogenic’ places aspartame below alcoholic beverages and eating red meat, alongside aloe vera extract, and above drinking coffee.

It is the lowest of three categories, with ‘probable carcinogen’ (such as the herbicide glyphosate) and ‘carcinogenic to humans’ (such as tobacco smoking and asbestos) the next possible steps.

The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additive (JECFA) has concluded that the data evaluated indicated no sufficient reason to change the previously established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0–40mg/kg body weight for aspartame. The committee therefore reaffirmed that it is safe for a person to consume within this limit per day. For example, with a can of diet soft drink containing 200 to 300mg of aspartame, an adult weighing 70kg would need to consume more than 9–14 cans per day to exceed the acceptable daily intake, assuming no other intake from other food sources.

SOURCES www.who.int/news/item/14-072023-aspartame-hazard-and-riskassessment-results-released https://monographs.iarc.who.int/listof-classifications

Put a spring in your step!

EAT WELL LIVE WELL

Eat Well Live Well is chock-full of diabetes-friendly recipes from well-known Kiwi chefs. Each dish is quick and easy to prepare and great for your whole family.

Head to www.diabetes.org.nz for your copy – $33.00 including delivery – or purchase it directly from Whitcoulls, PaperPlus, or The Warehouse.

All profits go towards supporting Diabetes NZ’s work.

DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

37

Last Word

LAYLA SAE NAMED AS HURRICANES POUA PLAYER OF THE YEAR!

I

n the Winter 2022 issue of Diabetes Wellness, we featured type 1 rugby player, the brilliant Layla Sae. This June, Layla was awarded the Hurricanes Poua Player of the Year. The Hurricanes Poua is a New Zealand women’s professional rugby union team based in Wellington, New Zealand, that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition.

Layla’s mother Tracy Black tells us, ‘My T1D warrior daughter continues to do what she wants to do with her life and is again reaping the rewards from her dedication, focus, passion (and well controlled diabetes). As you can imagine, I am overwhelmingly PROUD and in absolute awe of this very talented human being so just wanted to share our joy, excitement, pride, and hope with you all!’

And as if that wasn’t enough, recently Layla has signed a 12-month contract with the Black Ferns!

Congratulations Layla!

EDITOR’S NOTES: In the last issue of Diabetes Wellness, in the article ‘Cyclone Gabrielle Heroes and Heroines’, we quoted someone saying: ‘We had a hairy moment at Napier airport. Bret went missing on flight radar. We couldn’t find him. They told

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DIABETES WELLNESS | Spring 2023

us, “We found him. He’s still a little bit away”. My heart!’

Bret Lucas wants to reassure readers that the plane was under control at all times.

We appreciate the work of pilots and others who worked in difficult conditions that day.

In the Autumn 2022 issue, in the article ‘CGMs and WINZ’, we reported that the Disability Allowance can be used to pay for a Freestyle Libre subscription.

We would like to clarify that the Disability Allowance can be used towards any CGM and is not limited to a Freestyle Libre.

HELPING TO MANAGE YOUR DIABETES

FreeStyle Libre 2 Glucose Monitoring System NOW WITH OPTIONAL ALARMS! The FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System is a glucose monitoring device indicated for detecting trends and tracking pattern in persons aged 4 and older with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, without the use of lancets.

Diabetes Care

FreeStyle Optium Blood Glucose and Blood Ketones Testing

Not Just A Patch™

• FreeStyle Optium Neo Meter Kit • FreeStyle Optium Blood Glucose Test Strips 100’s • FreeStyle Optium Blood Ketones Test Strips 10’s

• Waterproof adhesive patches for your FreeStyle Libre sensor • Designed to suit activity, sport or fashion choice • Assorted colours available • Pack of 20

ESENTA™ Sting-Free Adhesive Remover Sprays and Wipes

Skin Glu™ Barrier Wipes • Barrier wipe used pre-CGM application • Gives the skin extra protection and helps your CGM stick better • Pack of 40

The new ESENTA Sting-Free Adhesive Remover is a fast, painless way to remove adhesive residue that is frequently left behind while changing an ostomy pouch.

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Diabetes Care

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Hypo-Fit Glucose Gel • Two flavours – Orange and Tropical • 18gram sachets, 13.4grams Carbohydrates HYPO-FIT • Gluten-Free D I R E C T- E N E R G Y

MedActive Carry Cases Diabete-Ezy Accessories • Ezy-Fit Carry Case (Blue, Pink & Green) • Multi-Fit Carry Cases (Black & Red) • Test Wipes Starter Pack • Test Wipes Refills • Comfy Pump Belts

A selection of convenient carry cases for medical supplies.

• Easy Bag Single • Easy Bag Classic • iCool Weekender • iCool Prestige transforming lives • iCool MediCube

medactiv

Dextro Energy Glucose Tablets • 24 sticks per carton (12 tablets per stick) • Available in four flavours Orange, Blackcurrent, Lemon, Tropical • All with added Vitamin C

Order Online: www.mediray.co.nz Freephone: 0800 106 100 Address for Correspondence: PO Box 303205, North Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand

Powerful, simple, 1 accurate . Introducing Dexcom G7.

The real-time continuous glucose monitoring system is now more powerful and easier to use with a small, all-in-one wearable and redesigned mobile app.

Building on the trusted performance of Dexcom CGM, Dexcom G7 enables greater diabetes control and improved health outcomes so you can move with confidence, knowing diabetes doesn’t have to hold you back.

For more information on Dexcom G7, please contact NZMS Diabetes on 0800 500 226 or at dexcom@nzms.co.nz nzmsdiabetes.co.nz Always read the label and use only as directed. Read the warnings available on nzmsdiabetes.co.nz/resources before purchasing. Consult your healthcare professional to see which products are right for you. † If your glucose alerts and readings from Dexcom G7 do not match symptoms or expectations, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. ‡ Smart device and Receiver not included with Dexcom G7 CGM system. For a list of compatible devices, please visit dexcom.com/compatibility. § Results obtained with a prior generation Dexcom CGM System. || Separate Dexcom Follow app and internet connection required. Internet connectivity required for data sharing. Users should always confirm readings on the Dexcom G7 app or receiver before making treatment decisions. Compared to a prior generation Dexcom CGM System. # Healthcare providers can register for Dexcom Clarity at clarity.dexcom.com/professional/registration. ** An internet connection is required to send glucose data to Dexcom Clarity via a compatible smart device: dexcom.com/compatibility. Healthcare providers will only be able to view user’s glucose data if the user elects to share it with them through Dexcom Clarity. 1 Welsh JB, et al. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2019;21(3):128-132. 2 See Dexcom G7 user guide for more information. 3 Beck RW, et al. JAMA. 2017;317(4):371-378. Distrubuted in New Zealand by NZMS, Auckland. NZMS is subsidiary of Dexcom. LBL-1001151 REV001 October 2022