Food freedom for diabetics
Waitemata District Health Board is the first health board in the country to introduce the Dafne course.
Dafne %26ndash; dose adjusting for normal eating %26ndash; is an intensive five-day group course for people with type 1 diabetes.
It teaches them how to adjust their insulin dosage based on factors including what they%26rsquo;ve eaten and whether they%26rsquo;ve exercised.
Topics covered include how to deal with eating out, travel, exercise and illness.
The course will make life easier for people with type 1 diabetes, says British Dafne dietician Gemma Stott.
She says it can help people living hectic lifestyles, especially those in the 20 to 35 age bracket.
%26quot;This way they feel like they%26rsquo;re in control of the diabetes, rather than feeling like the diabetes is in control of them,%26quot; she says.
%26quot;It%26rsquo;s about giving them the freedom to live the way they want to live.%26quot;
Dafne was invented in Germany, but has been widely adopted in the United Kingdom.
In Germany, insurance companies don%26rsquo;t insure diabetes sufferers unless they have taken the programme, says Ms Stott.
Diabetes consultation physician Catherine McNamara agrees Dafne will make type 1 diabetes care more comprehensive.
Currently, patients with the condition get one hour hospital appointments with different health professionals, where it can be difficult to teach them how to manage their illness.
The group setting in Dafne allows patients to learn from one another as well as from educators running the course, she says.
