Over one in ten Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live with Type 2 diabetes, more than double the percentage of non-Indigenous Australians.
An Aboriginal-led pilot nutrition initiative, informed by cultural knowledge alongside research, will provide insights into how this could change.
Nra:gi Ya:yun - meaning 'very good foods/very good eating', is a 28-week low-carbohydrate remission project co-designed with Ngarrindjeri Elders, community members, clinicians and researchers, who recently ran a pilot.
The blend of cultural knowledge with clinical science will continue through next phases, principal investigator Indigenous academic with ties to Nunga Countries Associate Professor Courtney Ryder told National Indigenous Times, within efforts to improve type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome in Aboriginal communities.
The model was shaped by 10 co-designed workshops.
Delivered in South Australia's Lower River Murray, Lakes and Coorong region on Ngarrindjeri Ruwe (Country), Nra:gi Ya:yun will now, post-pilot, refine its processes building on its outcomes for sustained impact, assessing outcomes and determining feasibility for a larger clinical trial.
There are currently 48 participants.
"Low‑carb nutrition can support metabolic improvements but community‑led delivery is the essential ingredient," Associate Professor Ryder said.
Community-driven conversations are important behind the project, she said.
"Nra:gi Ya:yun responds to that call by honouring lived experience and cultural foundations that guide wellbeing".
In its associated study led by Flinders University and Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network explains the pilot program took Aboriginal adults through three phases - control (four weeks), remission phase (12 weeks) and maintenance phase. Measures were taken five times throughout.
'While centring on the adoption of a low-carbohydrate diet, participants will be equipped with continuous glucose and ketone monitors and meal boxes and offered ongoing support through weekly to fortnightly check-ins,' the study reads.
'The primary outcome is to assess the feasibility of Nra:gi Ya:yun in preparation for a large-scale clinical trial of similar design.'
Recruitment, retention and adherence rates inform its feasibility assessment.
Clinical measures, like recording blood pressure, weight, waist circumference, capillary ketones and capillary glucose, is another assessable outcome.
There were also supports, like fresh meal boxes, yarning sessions and other resources offered.
"Nra:gi Ya:yun works to honour the lived experience of its participants and support them along their remission journey," project coordinator Shanti Omodei‑James said.
Findings were outlined as to be presented back to community, the particpants and policymakers with digital posters, manuals, infographics and academic publications.
The study identified ongoing impacts of colonisation on health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Associate Professor Ryder told National Indigenous Times the next phase for Nra:gi Ya:yun program will "focus on refining our processes and equipment engagement through sustained, strengths-based community leadership, which includes elevating community voice, cultural knowledge and lived experience as central drivers of program design and delivery".
"The establishment of a sustainable, community Aboriginal Health Worker position dedicated to supporting community-centred delivery, strengthening relationships with families, and ensuring the program remains culturally grounded, responsive and locally led," she said.
