Most diabetics falling short on healthy eating

Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by persistent hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels), resulting either from inadequate secretion of the hormone insulin, an inadequate response of target cells to insulin, or a combination of these factors. Diabetes is a metabolic disease requiring medical diagnosis, treatment and lifestyle changes.

There are many causes and forms of diabetes known. The three most common patterns of diabetes have been recognized over the last thirty years as type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes (or type 3)[1], although these three “types” of diabetes are more accurately considered patterns of pancreatic failure rather than single diseases. Each type can be produced by a variety of identifiable or yet-to-be-identified causes. There are some patients whose diabetes cannot be easily fit into one of these types, and some who display characteristics of more than one type at the same time.

Most Americans with diabetes are eating too much fat and sodium, and not enough fruits, vegetables, grains and low-fat dairy, a new study suggests.

The results, say researchers, indicate that many people with diabetes may need more education about the importance of nutrition in managing their condition.

Excess weight is one of the major risk factors for type 2 diabetes, a disorder in which the body can no longer properly use the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Diet, exercise and weight loss are key to managing the disorder, and in some cases, weight loss can reverse the condition.

Yet in the new study, researchers found that of nearly 2,800 middle- aged and older U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes, nearly all were exceeding the daily recommended fat intake. When it came to artery-clogging saturated fat, 85 percent were consuming too much.

Similarly, 92 percent of study participants were consuming too much sodium, which can raise blood pressure and contribute to diabetics’ already elevated risks of heart disease and kidney disease. (See related Reuters Health story today.)

The researchers used a number of nutritional yardsticks, including the Food Guide Pyramid and recommendations by the Institute of Medicine. For example, experts recommend that adults get no more than 20 percent to 35 percent of their daily calories from fat, with less than 10 percent coming from saturated fat.

And if most study participants were getting too much of those nutrients, many were also not getting enough of certain healthy foods, the researchers report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Less than half were getting the minimum recommended servings of fruits, vegetables, dairy and grains each day.

“I thought we were going to find people who, because they have a chronic disease, were more educated about and more motivated than the average American to eat healthy, but that’s not the case,” lead researcher Dr. Mara C. Vitolins, of Wake-Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in a written statement.

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