India’s largest ongoing diabetes study has opened up a formula to reverse or slow down the onset of diabetes. The focus in diabetes care has shifted from mere medication to its reversal.
Doctors working on the study have suggested that in order to achieve this goal, a person’s diet needs proteins to make up to 20 percent of their daily calorie needs. Carbohydrates should be around 50-56 percent, and fat, well below 30 percent.
Researchers of the Indian Council of Medical Research-India Diabetes (ICMR-INDAB) analysed the dietary practices of more than 18,000 adults. The study revealed that patients who have newly been diagnosed with diabetes should make sure that their carbohydrate intake is between 49-54 percent of their daily calorie intake.
Dr. Shashank Joshi, senior endocrinologist from Mumbai, India, and one of the authors of the study, said that type-2 diabetes in early stages can be reversed by reducing carbohydrate and increasing protein, apart from lifestyle adherence. Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which there is too much sugar circulating in the bloodstream.
CAPTION: “Eat on time and eat slowly”, advises Dr Shashank Joshi
It was also seen that Indians consume around 2, 500 kilocalories daily, with carbohydrates making up to 65-80 percent of their intake.
One of the main authors of the study, Dr. Anjana Mohan, said: “We Indians are deficient in proteins and if we ensure that proteins make up to 20 percent of our daily diet, it will prove to be beneficial and will help immensely.
“Furthermore, if carbohydrate intake is reduced, the proportion of fat will automatically reduce. Also, the formula for those with pre-diabetes suggests a slightly higher intake of carbohydrates, that is, 56 percent.”
The diet formula has been worked out for various groups of people, based on their ages and diabetes diagnosis and has been published in ‘Diabetes Care’ which is an indexed journal of the American Diabetes Association.
Advocacy Action: Does your health system have a plan to help people at risk of, or newly diagnosed with, type 2 diabetes to try to put it into remission?
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