In a Bairnsdale meeting room one June afternoon, people living with diabetes gathered not in crisis but in curiosity — to learn, from a practising dietitian, how the food on their plates moves through their bodies. Jess de Voogd of Gippsland Lakes Complete Health offered something quieter than a cure: a framework for understanding carbohydrates, glycaemic response, and the steady, unglamorous work of keeping blood sugar stable. It is the kind of knowledge that rarely makes news, yet reshapes daily life one meal at a time.
Dietitian Guides Bairnsdale Diabetes Group Through Glycaemic Index Strategies
Dietitians are partners in this work, not gatekeepers.
Mark
Why does the Glycaemic Index matter so much for people with diabetes? Isn't it just about eating less sugar?
Mimi
It's about what happens inside the body. High-GI foods create a sharp spike in blood glucose—your pancreas has to work hard to manage it. Low-GI foods release energy slowly, so your blood sugar stays more stable. Over time, that stability matters for how you feel and for your long-term health.
Mark
But carbohydrates are carbohydrates, aren't they? Why does it matter whether it's a potato or white bread?
Mimi
The structure of the food changes how fast your body can break it down. A whole grain takes longer to digest than refined flour. Legumes have fiber that slows absorption. It's not about the carbohydrate itself—it's about what's wrapped around it.
Mark
De Voogd mentioned that carbohydrates carry fiber and vitamins. So you can't just avoid them?
Mimi
Exactly. If you cut out carbohydrates entirely, you're also cutting out fiber, which your gut needs, and micronutrients your body depends on. The work is choosing the right carbohydrates and eating the right amount, not eliminating them.
Mark
What makes a presentation like this valuable for a support group?
Mimi
People come with real questions about their own lives. They're not reading a textbook—they're asking, "What do I eat for dinner?" A dietitian who can answer that, who can give them actual tools to take home, that's what changes behavior.
Mark
Does everyone with diabetes need to track carbohydrates this carefully?
Mimi
It depends on the person and their condition. But understanding how your body responds to different foods—that's useful for anyone. It's not about obsession. It's about awareness.
El Pulso
- For people managing diabetes, every meal carries a quiet urgency — the wrong choice can send blood glucose spiking in ways that compound long-term harm.
- The Glycaemic Index sits at the centre of the tension: high-GI foods offer quick energy but destabilise blood sugar, while low-GI alternatives sustain it — and many attendees had never been shown how to tell the difference.
- De Voogd pushed back against the fear that carbohydrates are the enemy, reframing the question as one of type and quantity rather than elimination.
- Practical tools — printed guides to carbohydrate portions and GI ratings — were placed directly in attendees' hands, bridging the gap between clinical knowledge and the dinner table.
- The session closed with applause and a gift of thanks, signalling not just information received but a community finding its footing in managing a chronic condition together.
In a Bairnsdale meeting room one June afternoon, people living with diabetes gathered not in crisis but in curiosity — to learn, from a practising dietitian, how the food on their plates moves through their bodies. Jess de Voogd of Gippsland Lakes Complete Health offered something quieter than a cure: a framework for understanding carbohydrates, glycaemic response, and the steady, unglamorous work of keeping blood sugar stable. It is the kind of knowledge that rarely makes news, yet reshapes daily life one meal at a time.
On a June afternoon in Bairnsdale, a room full of people managing diabetes sat down with dietitian Jess de Voogd from Gippsland Lakes Complete Health to talk plainly about food. De Voogd works across a broad clinical range — weight management, children's nutrition, gut health in older adults, and chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Her opening point set the tone: dietitians are partners, not gatekeepers, there to help people understand their own bodies and navigate the real obstacles that stand between them and better health.
The core of her presentation was the Glycaemic Index — a measure of how quickly the body converts different carbohydrates into blood glucose. High-GI foods cause sharp spikes; low-GI foods release energy gradually, keeping blood sugar stable. De Voogd was careful to stress that carbohydrates are not the enemy. They are the body's primary fuel, carrying fibre, vitamins, and minerals alongside their energy. The real question, she told the group, is not whether to eat them but which ones and how much.
She gave the group a practical map: wholegrain breads, high-fibre cereals, barley, quinoa, pasta, lentils, chickpeas, milk, and unsweetened yogurt on the low-GI side; lean proteins, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables — broccoli, zucchini, bok choy, carrots — rounding out meals with almost no impact on blood glucose at all. Questions followed, grounded in the real scenarios people face at their own dinner tables. Attendees left with printed guides to carbohydrate portions and GI ratings. Barry Sutton presented De Voogd with a gift on behalf of the group, and the room applauded — a small, unhurried moment that will quietly shape how people eat for months to come.
On a June afternoon in Bairnsdale, a room full of people managing diabetes sat down to talk about what they eat. Jess de Voogd, a dietitian from Gippsland Lakes Complete Health, had come to walk them through the practical business of keeping blood sugar steady—not through restriction or fear, but through understanding how different foods actually move through the body.
De Voogd began by sketching her own work. She moves across several clinical territories: helping people manage their weight and appetite, supporting children with feeding and growth, tending to gut health in older adults, and working with those navigating chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. She'd done specialized training in pediatric nutrition and in the low-FODMAP approach for irritable bowel syndrome. Her practice is open to referrals from GPs, to people on the NDIS, to those receiving home care support, and to anyone in the community who walks through the door. The point she made was simple but important: dietitians are partners in this work, not gatekeepers. They help people understand their own bodies, navigate the obstacles that get in the way of change, and build toward better health over time.
The heart of her presentation was the Glycaemic Index—a measure of how fast or slow the body breaks down carbohydrates and converts them into blood glucose. High-GI foods spike blood sugar sharply and quickly; they should be eaten less often. Low-GI foods move through the system gradually, releasing energy in a steady stream and keeping blood glucose stable. For someone managing diabetes, that stability matters. De Voogd was clear that carbohydrates aren't the enemy. They're the body's primary fuel, and they carry with them fiber, vitamins, and minerals the body needs. The question isn't whether to eat them, but which ones and how much.
She offered the group a practical map. For low-GI carbohydrates, she pointed to wholegrain breads and high-fiber cereals, to barley and quinoa, to pasta and lentils and chickpeas. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, milk, and unsweetened yogurt all fit the picture. Then she outlined the structural partners: lean proteins like meat, chicken, fish, eggs, and tofu; healthy fats from oils, avocados, nuts, and cheese; and the non-starchy vegetables—lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, eggplant, bok choy, carrots—that have almost no impact on blood glucose at all. The meal, in other words, doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be thoughtful.
What followed was a conversation. People asked questions about their own situations, the scenarios they actually face at the dinner table. De Voogd answered them. The group left with printed resources—guides to carbohydrate portions and GI ratings, tools they could take home and use. Barry Sutton, representing the group, thanked her with a gift. The room applauded. It was the kind of meeting that doesn't make headlines but changes how people eat, one meal at a time.
Citas Notables
Dietitians act as vital partners in helping individuals self-manage their condition, overcome lifestyle barriers, and optimise their long-term health.— Jess de Voogd
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