Make Nutrition Therapy Part of Your Diabetes Treatment Plan
Like millions of Americans nationwide, actor Tom Hanks may be taking a hard look at his diet this month. The 57-year-old actor, renowned for his role in movies such as Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan, has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
The actor has long struggled with having high blood sugar levels, according to a recent interview he gave on Late Show with David Letterman. Thankfully, his condition can be managed through diet, he said.
It’s a challenge that more than 25 million children and adults are facing, according to the American Diabetes Association. In fact, diabetes affects more than 8 percent of the people living in the United States. Many more – roughly 79 million people – are living with the condition ‘prediabetes,’ which leads to type 2 diabetes.
Left untreated, type 2 diabetes can be deadly. High blood sugars damage tissues and organs, leading to serious complications such as kidney failure and blindness.
To help people living with diabetes achieve better health, the American Diabetes Association recently recommended that all people living with diabetes make nutrition therapy a part of their diabetes treatment plan. And the organization emphasized that there is no single eating pattern that is best for everyone, according to a position statement published online Oct. 9 in Diabetes Care.
This position statement replaces the nutrition therapy recommendations for the management of adults with diabetes published in 2008, according to a news release from the ADA. The 2013 statement provides a set of recommendations based on review of recent scientific evidence. It calls for all adults diagnosed with diabetes to eat a variety of nutrient-dense foods in appropriate portion sizes as part of an eating plan that takes into account individual preferences, culture, religious beliefs, traditions and metabolic goals.
However, since people eat food and not single nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein and fat, the report includes a new section on eating patterns.
“Just because you have been diagnosed with diabetes does not mean you can no longer enjoy the foods you love or your cultural traditions,” said Alison Evert, a Registered Dietitian and Coordinator of Diabetes Education Programs – University of Washington Medical Center, Diabetes Care Center in the news release. “Ideally the person with diabetes should be referred to a registered dietitian or participate in a diabetes self-management education program, soon after diagnosis. An important goal of nutrition therapy for adults with diabetes includes the collaborative development of an individualized eating plan with ongoing support to promote health behavior change.”
Jackie Boucher, vice president for education at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, noted that the scientific evidence is still limited related to various eating patterns and their impact on health outcomes in individuals with diabetes. Current evidence does not strongly support one eating pattern over another, the news release states.
“Whether you prefer a Mediterranean, vegetarian or lower-carbohydrate eating plan is less important than finding an eating pattern that fits your food preferences and lifestyle, can be consistently followed and that provides you with the nutrition you need for good health,” Boucher said in the news release.
In choosing an appropriate eating plan, people with diabetes should be sure to consider individual metabolic goals, such as their glucose and lipid levels and blood pressure, according to the American Diabetes Association statement.
The new guidelines also note that there is no conclusive evidence of an ideal amount of carbohydrate intake for people with diabetes. However, the authors suggest that whatever carbohydrates are eaten should come from vegetables, whole grains, fruits, legumes and dairy products, over other sources that contain added fats, sugar or sodium. Likewise the evidence remains inconclusive for an ideal amount of total fat intake. Fat quality (eating monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and avoiding trans fats and saturated fats) appears to be more important than quantity, the authors note. Although individuals working to manage their weight should still eat even good fats in moderation.
The new recommendations also include the following information:
• People with diabetes should limit or avoid intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (from any caloric sweetener including high fructose corn syrup and sucrose) to reduce risk for weight gain and worsening of cardiovascular risk profile.
• The recommendation for the general population to reduce sodium to less than 2300 mg per day is also appropriate for people with diabetes, with additional reductions individualized for those who have high blood pressure. Studies show most Americans eat far more sodium than they should.
• People with diabetes do not benefit from use of omega-3 (EPA/DHA) supplements for the prevention or treatment of cardiovascular disease. The recommendation for the general public, to eat fatty fish at least two times (two servings) per week is also appropriate for people with diabetes.
• There is no clear evidence of benefit from vitamin or mineral supplements for people with diabetes who do not have underlying vitamin or mineral deficiencies. Nor is there evidence to support the use of cinnamon or other herbs or supplements for the treatment of diabetes.
Source: American Diabetes Association news release
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