Eating a balanced diet and making healthy food choices are key parts of managing type 2 diabetes. Healthy eating is important for everyone, not just people with diabetes, as making healthy food choices will improve your overall health and help you to feel better. If you have type 1 diabetes, carbohydrate counting is an important skill needed to best manage your diabetes.

An Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) is the best person to teach you carbohydrate counting skills and give you advice on choosing the best foods to manage your diabetes and help you feel better. An APD has a university degree and has trained in hospitals, community health centres and a range of other settings. They also keep up-to-date with new training and education to help improve their knowledge around nutrition and health and give dietary advice based on the latest scientific evidence.

An APD is trained to be able to help you with a range of health conditions from diabetes, coeliac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, food allergies and other food intolerances, kidney disease, weight loss or weight gain and many more.

APD’s work in a range of settings including: public and private hospitals, community health centres, some GP clinics and in private practices.

Appointments with dietitians are:

• free in public hospitals
• available at a small fee in community health centres
• $50 to more than $150 for an initial appointment with a privately practicing dietitian. Follow-up appointments are usually shorter and less expensive
• rebated through some private health funds
• can be partially or fully covered under Medicare with a doctor’s referral
• discounted through member benefit partner Lifestyle Breakthrough

To find a dietitian:

• Search the Diabetes Australia App directory.
• Call the Diabetes Australia Helpline on 1800 637 700. We have dietitians and diabetes nurse educators on the phone from 9am – 4pm, Monday’s Friday to answer and diabetes or nutrition-related questions that you may have.