Australia’s Health Revolution

By Claire McDonnell Liu, Nutritionist at Leafie.org

Low Carb in the Mainstream

Did you tune into SBS Australia to watch Australia’s Food Revolution? The three part series, available to watch back, highlights the life-changing opportunity of putting type 2 diabetes into remission using low carb nutrition.

Medical journalist Dr. Michael Mosley teamed up with exercise physiologist Ray Kelly to examine the heartbreaking effects of DT2 and the opportunities to reverse the nation’s fastest growing chronic disease.

The show is a must-watch for all Aussies, not only those at risk of diabetes. British Dr. Michael Mosley placed his own health at risk to highlight the impact foods can make on our health. His self-experiment of eating fairly ‘typical’ Aussie meals and snacks resulted in him piling on weight, becoming borderline diabetic, and his blood pressure soar, in under 3 weeks. Australian’s everyday foods are now predominantly ultra-processed convenience foods – most of our foods come from a factory.

Inspiring Life Changes

Episodes scrutinize the scale of the damage inflicted by type 2 diabetes. Toe amputations, loss of eyesight, impaired mobility, pain, fatigue, loss of confidence, impact on relationships, and ability to work are all laid bare. 

We follow eight Australians suffering severe effects of diabetes type 2 as they adjust to low-carb-high-fat nutrition and increase their physical activity over several weeks. Each brave person shares their emotional struggles and successes as they imbed new foods and habits that set them on a course for better health.

Witnessing their different achievements is emotional and inspiring, as many come off medication, drop clothes sizes, reduce or eliminate medications and reverse diseases in a matter of a few life-altering weeks. Reversing health conditions we are frequently advised cannot be reversed only managed by medications and outdated nutrition advice.

Following Marion, an indigenous woman trying to lose weight, achieving her goal of reaching the summit of a steep hill was particularly poignant. The impact of a western diet on first nation people is brutal, statistics show they are almost four times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to have diabetes or pre-diabetes.  

Lackluster Leadership

The series starkly exposes the lack of appetite for action to change lives by our trusted health institutions and political leaders. In a number of telling interviews MPs and health organisation representatives acknowledge the scale of the health crisis and the opportunity to transform Australian’s health outcomes with reformed nutrition advice, but offer no meaningful action.

In the final episode a team led by powerhouse health campaigner Dr. James Mueke, supported by Low Carb nutrition experts Dr. Liz Fraser and diabetes educator Tara Whelan, descend on Parliament House inviting politicians to have their own health markers assessed. This concerted effort to drive the message home to those in a position to shape real change appeared to shake things up, as some politicians confronted their own health results revealing early markers of preventable disease. 

There have been many voices in the struggle to achieve sensible nutrition advice with the potential to reverse the tide of chronic diet related disease. Critical mass can make a difference. Diabetes Australia finally released an updated position statement recognising diabetes remission and the role of low carb nutrition in managing and reversing this deadly condition – this statement came after a senior representative was grilled during this show on their organisation’s lack of action in this area.

In summary

Australia’s Health Revolution spotlights what all Aussies need to know – that there is hope and we do have the power to take control of our own health. It sadly also demonstrates that we are not able to rely on our health organisations and leaders to lead the reform. We must be the change.