Dr Penny Figtree, MBBS (hons1), FRACGP
Dr Penny Figtree is a GP and Conjoint Lecturer at UNSW Rural Medical School in Port Macquarie, specialising in metabolic health and Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction (TCR). With over 20 years of clinical experience, she has spent the past eight years using very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets to treat conditions including Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease.
As Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Australasian Metabolic Health Society, Dr Figtree leads the advancement of evidence-based metabolic therapies. Her research focuses on the safety and efficacy of TCR in chronic kidney disease, medication deprescribing, and novel applications in diabetic eye disease.
Dr Figtree has published peer-reviewed research and presented nationally on insulin deprescribing, SGLT2 inhibitors combined with low-carbohydrate approaches, and metabolic interventions. She currently leads a multi-site pilot study investigating TCR for diabetic macular oedema.
Social media:
Presentations
September 2025
- Port Macquarie Drug and Alcohol Team in service
- Low Carb diets and Metabolic Syndrome
August 2025
- Regional Research Collaboration Forum UNSW Medical School Port Macquarie
- Planning a pilot study into diabetic macula oedema
July 2025
- Australian Metabolic Health Society Health Professional Workshop
- Cholesterol on a Low carbohydrate Diet :workshop convenor
- Medication Management with Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction
March 2025
- Defeat Diabetes RACGP CPD Education Day
- Evidence Based Strategies for Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction in Managing Type 2 Diabetes
August 2024
- Port GP Practice
- Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction in General Practice
April 2024
- Australian Metabolic Health Society
- Sodium Glucose Co-Transport-2 Inhibitors and Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction
March 2024
- Low Carb foundations Course Melbourne for Health Professionals
- Deprescribing Medications
November 2023
- Port Macquarie Rotary Club
- Is Your Low Fat Diet Killing You?
October 2023
- Low Carb Down Under, Sydney
- Continuous Glucose Meters in Healthy People
June 2023
- Low Carb Road Show, Cairns
- Metabolic Psychiatry
May 2023
- Low Carb Road Show, Sydney
- What is insulin Resistance?
October 2022
- Low Carb Down Under, Gold Coast
- Insulin Deprescribing
- Chronic Kidney Disease and Low Carb diets
August 2022
- Grand rounds Port Macquarie Base Hospital
- Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Fatty Liver Disease
April 2021
- Low Carb Down Under, Melbourne Case Studies from General Practice
July 2021
- Phase 1 Medicine, University of New South Wales, Rural Clinical School, Port Macquarie
- Term 3, Health and Maintenance: Weight loss and the Very Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet
Publications
- Diabetes Obesity Metabolism – Therapeutic carbohydrate restriction and sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors in chronic kidney disease: A potentially powerful combination https://www.drpennyfigtree.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Diabetes-Obesity-Metabolism-2023-Dwyer-The… Is the very low carbohydrate diet safe for individuals with chronic kidney disease? https://www.drpennyfigtree.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CKD-Journal-Metabolic-Health.pdf
- Cole-Clark D., Figtree P., Awad N., (2021)Methods for Weight Loss Prior to Major Urological Surgery: A Pilot Analysis. Royal Australian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney
- Dr P Figtree (September 2021),Deprescribing Diabetes Medications with a Low Carbohydrate Approach. Australian Doctor Magazine.
- Fraser L., Figtree P., Schweitzer R.,(May 2022) Deprescribing Medication for Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Management Journal.
- Colledge B, Schofield E., Clarke B., Popovic G., Vattekad M.,Figtree P.,(August ,2022) Is the Very low carbohydrate Diet Safe in chronic kidney disease? : A retrospective case series. (2022). Poster. Australian Diabetes Congress Meeting, Brisbane.
- Dwyer K., Figtree P., Gupta A.,( June 23) Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction and sodium- glucose 2 transporter inhibitors in chronic kidney disease: A potentially powerful combination. Diabetes Obesity Metabolism.
- Miller C, Awad N, Figtree P, Fletcher P (October 23) Effectiveness of a 5-Minute Low Carbohydrate Diet Recommendation for Rapid Weight Loss Prior to Major Elective Abdominal and Pelvic Surgery . Poster presentation State Urology Meeting 2023, Hunter Valley.
- Figtree P, Frazer L, Dwyer K, Gupta A ( March 025) Solving a Weightlifter’s renal riddle in a case of misdiagnosed CKD.Australian Doctor Magazine
- Colledge BS, Schoefield EC, Clarke B, Popovic G, Vattekad M, Figtree PE Is the very low carbohydrate diet safe for individuals with chronic kidney disease? J. metab.health. 2025;8(1),a115. https://doi.org/10.4102/jmh.v8i1.115