Healthy Eating Forum aims to help navigate different approaches to food

Diabetes NZ Lakes and BOP district manager Karen Reed. Photo / File

From keto, to plant-based, to Mediterranean and more.

There are so many options when it comes to trying to make healthier lifestyle choices that it can be hard to get your head around it all.

Diabetes NZ Rotorua is hosting a Healthy Eating Forum on April 10 at Novotel Rotorua Lakeside to help with all these questions.

The forum is going to address various approaches to eating, including Mediterranean, keto, low-carb, plant-based, and cultural Māori and Pacific perspectives.

Diabetes NZ Lakes and BOP district manager Karen Reed said there is a lot of confusion in the community about all these various approaches to eating.

There will be a range of speakers talking about topics such as national guidelines and addressing cultural perspectives of Māori and Pacific.

At the end of the day there will also be a q&a session with questions collected from people throughout the day.

"The idea is really to look at the facts, dispel any myths and look at exactly what those different ways of eating are."

She says this is in the context of people having diabetes, wanting to avoid developing diabetes type 2 or wanting to avoid becoming pre-diabetic.

"We are facing an epidemic or pandemic of diabetes in the future. This is one way we can try to draw attention to various options for people to make choices around their lifestyles and help prevent them from developing diabetes."

She says what she enjoys about holding events such as this is increasing awareness in the community, not just about diabetes, but general health and wellbeing.

"From Diabetes NZ perspective, this is one of our primary objectives - to engage with our communities."

For more information on the speakers and to register go to www.diabetes.org.nz/eathealthy.

The details
- What: Exploring the Options: Healthy Eating Forum
- When: Saturday, April 10, 9.30am to 4.30pm
- Where: Novotel Rotorua Lakeside
- Tickets: Limited tickets available $25 (including morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea), www.diabetes.org.nz/eathealthy