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Travelling can be lots of fun and having diabetes shouldn’t stop you. With sensible planning, people with diabetes can start their journey with confidence and be equipped with the knowledge and skills to keep their diabetes in check.
Glucose is the main source of energy in our diet. It comes from foods containing carbohydrate such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, fruit, some vegetables, milk and yoghurt. When we eat carbohydrate foods, they are broken down into glucose. The pancreas is an organ in the body that produces a hormone called insulin, which helps to take the glucose from the blood into our body cells.
For people with type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t produce any insulin. They require life-long insulin injections. For people with type 2 diabetes the pancreas produces some insulin, but not sufficient amounts.
Whether you control your diabetes using diet alone, or you take additional medication, eating foods throughout the day, which are low in fat and have a low ‘glycaemic index’ (GI) will help to control blood sugars. Foods with a low GI are absorbed slowly into the body, helping to maintain your blood sugar at a steady level.
It’s possible to manage your diabetes while travelling and still have a great time exploring the world. As long as you’re prepared, you can travel confidently with the knowledge of how to keep you condition in check.
Dr Jane Read is a Sydney-based GP Registrar who also holds a Masters Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from Deakin University in Melbourne. In addition to working in general practice, Jane works as a freelance nutrition and medical writer, and has been a nutrition consultant to various corporate clients.
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