Nutrition and Recommendations for Diabetes and Related Complications
This is the position statement by the ADA for the nutritional intervention in patients with diabetes. If this wasn’t the ADA I would dismiss it as inconsequential. Unfortunately, this paper will be viewed as the bible by many physicians and diabetic patients. Interested in my take? Once again, the ADA has shown that governmental or high profile groups are over conservative to the point of being damaging. I could point out all the issues that I disagree with, but the entire position is here for you to read. I will point out a few of the issues I feel most strongly about. First, registered dieticians should be the primary source of nutritional education for diabetic patients. I’m going to go out on a limb and probably upset some people, but most RDs do not have the background in physiology, biochemistry and diagnosis to do much more than match a meal to the RDAs given by the government. There are some I have come across that have a tremendous background in these aspects, but far more often I see diabetic patients who were never educated about refined carbs and beneficial vs harmful fats. Second, this paper basically states that all carbs are created equal. What rock have these people been studying under? The lack of understanding in this statement alone makes it hard to stomach the rest of the paper….
Dia Care — 25 (1): 202