Keto-style bush food diet could be key to helping Indigenous Australians to manage type 2 diabetes

Rates of diabetes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are almost three times as high as non-Indigenous Australians. (ABC Tropical North: Sophie Meixner)

A new study will test whether diets that closely resemble those consumed by First Nations people in pre-colonisation times can help drive type 2 diabetes remission in Indigenous people. 

The research, led by Ngarrindjeri elders in South Australia's Coorong, along with Flinders University and the Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (RMCLHN) will use the ketogenic diet to boost health outcomes.

Ketogenic diets restrict carbohydrate intake and promote the consumption of fats to induce the body to use fat as its principal energy source. 

The diets have become popular in recent years as a way to lose weight, although the first ketogenic diets were developed in the 1920s. 

Boandik, Ngarrindjeri, Narungga and Kaurna woman and RMCLHN director of Aboriginal health Sharon Wingard said the study provided an opportunity for Aboriginal people to learn from their ancestors for better health outcomes.

Ngarrindjeri people were consulted on the best way to mix modern ketogenic eating principles with the diets of their ancestors. (Supplied: Sharon Wingard)

She said the typical diet of Ngarrindjeri people, which included hunted meat and fish and bush tucker such as saltbush, was typically low in carbohydrates and high in fats. 

"It's definitely worked in the past. I mean, look at how many thousands of years that we survived in the country. We didn't need a research person to tell us it works," she said. 

"With our new lifestyle and eating, and everything we're doing now, it's not doing us any favours.

"It's something that we need to go back and find what we're missing."

Ms Wingard said local Aboriginal people were ready to see change.

The Coorong, near the Murray Mouth in South Australia, was an abundant source of fish and other meat for Ngarrindjeri people. (ABC Landline: Prue Adams)

"They're ready to see it's not a lifelong illness, which is something they've never been told before," she said. 

"A lot of our families think I'm going to get it [diabetes], so why even bother?" 

"We took it upon ourselves to get something going ,which is specifically for our communities." 

Merger of old and new knowledge

According to the Federal Health Department, 13 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults reported having diabetes or high blood sugar levels in 2019, compared to about 5 per cent of non-Indigenous people. 

Indigenous health researcher at Flinders University Courtney Ryder said studies have shown ketogenic diets can be effective in bringing about type 2 diabetes remission. 

She said co-designing the study with Aboriginal communities made it unique. 

Associate Professor Courtney Ryder says the study is about finding a diet that works for Aboriginal communities. (Supplied: Flinders University)

"We're coming together and going, 'OK, this is the Western approach to ketogenic eating, but what would Ngarrindjeri ketogenic eating look like?'," Dr Ryder said. 

"It's not just about going, 'Right, follow this eating pattern'. It's about thinking about the health and wellbeing, strength and resilience and really changing the thought patterns around that. 

"Being able to connect that to strength and capacity around Indigenous knowledge is going to be really important in this area." 

The study is expected to begin this year.