I spent close to three weeks traveling through Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. The sites were stunning — the Great Barrier Reef tops my list, followed very closely by the Sydney Harbor and the Waitomo glowworm caves.

But there were numerous small things that struck me deeply, too. We saw very few homeless people, and those we saw didn’t appear to have mental health issues. Waitstaff were paid living wages. That’s laudable on its own, but there was also no tipping as a result, and that led to significantly more enjoyable restaurant experiences. Pretty much everyone we interacted with — sailors, hotel staff, people we met while out and about, everyone — had some idea of world events and a sense of general curiosity about things. It was refreshing.

Something else interesting: My blood sugars were remarkably steady. Well . . . except when I became stressed dealing with an American air carrier on the trip home. Surprise, surprise. But that was the exception to the rule of flat blood sugars.

What’s more, I did ease up off my typically iron grip over my nutrition. I didn’t go off the rails, but look — I view food as one of life’s great pleasures. And I wasn’t about to deprive myself.

Case in point: We began our first day in Sydney by getting up at 6 a.m. and doing a multi-mile walk along the cliffs lining the beach.

We ultimately ended our walk at Bronte Beach and decided to have breakfast at Bronte Belo, a little Brazilian cafe ever so slightly farther from the beach than the other, packed cafes. Throwing caution to the wind, I had a breakfast that would normally skyrocket my blood sugars because of the fats: eggs, thick grilled bread, avocado, pesto, ricotta, grilled halloumi, roasted tomato, and mushrooms. It was SO good — simple, and yet one of the most memorable meals of my life to date.

Blood sugar effect? Nothing. Absolutely steady. There were no hidden or low-quality fats used in the cooking, and I was able to dose insulin properly without trouble.

I thought maybe it was because of the insane amount of walking we did. A low-activity day was 24,000 steps. But that was only in Australia — I did far less activity in New Zealand, and we decided to really test the waters there. We went for pizza, one of the branches of the food triumvirate of evil.

There were three dining options within walking distance for us in Waitomo. We opted to save the best-rated one for dinner and chose Morepak Pizzeria for lunch. It’s just a typical, very casual pizzeria, and we split a medium with ham and pineapple. Gordon Ramsay may have a heart attack about that, but too bad — it’s a delicious combo.

Again, I expected my blood sugars to skyrocket, as they usually do in the States with pizza. Again, nope — completely steady, with not even a blip.

The food quality differences are pretty obvious and widely observed. Even McDonald’s, that paragon of American dining and food culture, is seeing significantly better profits (really, any profits) in Australia as it trials menus with better ingredients, innovative recipes, and more customer choice.

What gives, America?

We have so many dining options here, and to be fair, there are general restaurant categories that work for my blood sugars. Interestingly, they’re the same ones that are booming: fast casual. I have no problem at Roti, Chopt, Panera, Qdoba, and those types of places. Similarly, at most high-end places, my blood sugars are fine. It’s all the in-between places, the ones that are struggling, that cause major problems. Some are so problematic (thanks, low-quality ingredients) I’ve had to swear them off entirely.

What Australia and New Zealand have that we don’t is consistency. All classes of dining establishments were fine for blood sugars.

Coffee shop? Fine!

Uber-casual pizza place? Fine!

Inexpensive breakfast cafe? Fine!

Expensive, trendy wine bar? Fine!

It didn’t matter.

We don’t have that luxury yet here in the States, and until we do, it’s a buyer- (or blood sugar-) beware situation.