Tailor-made diets can help manage diabetes: experts

DUBAI — Tailor-made diets and home follow-ups by nutritionists can help manage diabetes and effectively control the disease in the country, said senior health experts.

Asma Ali Zain

Published: Sun 4 Apr 2010, 12:04 AM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 10:46 AM

A diabetes specific nutrition programme of Dubai Health Authority has been going on since 2003 but experts say that eating rightly is the least accepted way of managing the disease.

“Diabetic patients need specific ratios and types of nutrients to be eaten at the right time for optimal glycemic control,” explained Wafaa Ayesh, Director, Clinical Nutrition Department, Clinical Support Sector at the authority.

While introducing a new diabetes educational programme — Total Nutrition Therapy — to physicians at a summit on Thursday, Wafaa said that weight loss through proper nutrition could also build insulin resistance.

“A low carbohydrate and fat diet can improve a diabetic’s condition as well as reduce risk of developing the disease later,” she added.

“Unlike other diseases, the treatment of diabetes is not just about compliance to prescribed treatment medication.”

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide affecting over 200 million people. According to statistics, one-fifth of the adult population in the UAE have diabetes, where many have developed diabetes-related complications due to lack of control over the disease.

In type II diabetes, the most common form of the disease, sugar build-up (hyperglycemia) can, over time, lead to complications. Over the long term, poorly controlled hyperglycemia can impair functioning of the heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves, and lead to cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, blindness, lower limb amputation, and death.

Prof Patrizio Tatti, keynote speaker at the summit and Chairman of Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology, National Health Service Reviewer, Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews in Rome, Italy, urged people with diabetes to learn more about the benefits of diabetes-specific nutrition, and to incorporate it into the daily management of their disease.

“Food choices can be difficult for individuals with diabetes but by incorporating diabetes-specific nutrition into their daily diets, blood sugar control is more easily achieved. Diet alone can reduce the need for drugs and insulin,” he added. — asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com