Abstract
Diet is the mainstay of the treatment of diabetes. It has been proven to influence all key glucose metabolism disorders present in type 2 diabetes and its implementation in the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes appears to be cost-effective.
Opinions on ideal diet therapy have varied essentially throughout history and even currently there is no unambiguous consensus on the optimal macronutrient composition of the diabetes diet. The professional guidelines currently recommend the following fat/carb/protein ratio: 35% or less/45-60%/10-20% of the total energy intake.
Given the limitations to these recommendations, there is constant search for diet modifications that would provide greater long-term benefit and improve patient compliance. Diabetes diet shows two trends - one towards the diet higher in fat represented by monoenic fatty acids in particular and the other towards a high carbohydrate diet with a low glycemic index and rich in fibre.
Nevertheless, unambiguous assessment of these diet interventions is very problematic because of the limitations due to study controllability, small numbers of participants and short study duration