ADA: reducing carbs has most evidence for improving blood sugar

A newly published American Diabetes Association (ADA) consensus report on Diabetes and pre-diabetes that was just published online ahead of print yesterday (April 18, 2019) indicates that;

“Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated the most evidence for improving glycemia* and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences.”

* glycemia is blood glucose, also called “blood sugar”

NOTE: This is the first article in a series I will be writing on this new Consensus Report.

The report emphasizes that there is no “one-size-fits-all” eating pattern for the prevention or management of diabetes, and that it is an unrealistic expectation that there should be a singular eating pattern given the broad spectrum of people affected by diabetes and pre-diabetes, their cultural backgrounds, personal preferences, co-occurring conditions (i.e. co-morbidities), and the variety of socio-economic backgrounds from which they come.

The new report underlines several eating patterns that are effective to varying degrees for achieving different goals, with potential benefits including HbA1C reduction, weight loss, lowered blood pressure, improved lipids (higher HDL-c, lower LDL-c), lower triglycerides (TG).

“The most robust research available related to eating patterns for pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes prevention are Mediterranean-style, low-fat, or low-carbohydrate eating plans.”

According to this new report, low-carbohydrate eating patterns (26-45% of total calories from carbs ) and very low carbohydrate eating patterns, also called “ketogenic” or “keto” diets (20-50 g of non-fiber carbohydrate per day) show the most evidence for blood glucose control.

The various eating patterns with their different potential benefits are summarized in Table 3, below;

Table 3 – Eating Patterns reviewed for this report [1]

The report indicates that for adults not meeting their blood sugar targets, or where there is a need to lower anti-glycemic medications that lower blood sugar, that “reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low- or very low- carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.”

“For select adults with type 2 diabetes not meeting glycemic targets or where reducing anti- glycemic medications is a priority, reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low or very low- carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.”

American Diabetes Association Consensus Recommendations Summary

- A variety of eating patterns (combinations of different foods or food groups) are acceptable for the management of diabetes.
- Until the evidence surrounding comparative benefits of different eating patterns in specific individuals strengthens, health care providers should focus on the key factors that are common among the patterns:

—‹ Emphasize non-starchy vegetables.
—‹ Minimize added sugars and refined grains.
—‹ Choose whole foods over highly processed foods to the extent possible.

- Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated the most evidence for improving glycemia and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences.
- For select adults with type 2 diabetes not meeting glycemic targets or where reducing anti-glycemic medications is a priority, reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low- or very low carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.

If you have been recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic or as having Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and would like to work on reversing the symptoms through a low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate eating pattern, then I can help. I don’t believe there is a “one-sized-fits-all” approach to either of these and will work within you needs to design an individual plan just for you.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop.

If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

Here are the links to other articles that I wrote about the new ADA Consensus Report:

April 25, 2019 – ADA: Brain’s need for glucose can be fulfilled by the body

April 24, 2019 – ADA Eating Patterns Differ from The Dietary Guidelines for Americans

April 23, 2019 – ADA includes use of a Very Low Carb (Keto) Eating Pattern in New Report

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Reference

Evert, AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With
Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, Diabetes Care, Ahead of Print, published online April 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci19-0014