People with type 2 diabetes should 'save carbs for last'

Conclusion This crossover trial investigated the optimal time to eat carbohydrates during a meal to lower blood glucose levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes. It generally found that consuming carbohydrates last was better at lowering glucose levels and reducing insulin secretion when compared to having carbohydrates first or all nutrients together. The researchers say that suggesting people with type 2 diabetes follow this advice may be an effective behavioural strategy to improve glucose levels after meals. Although the findings are interesting, there are a few points to note: Most importantly, this study was very small. A study using a much larger sample could give completely different results. Ideally the findings would need to be verified in a well-designed trial that randomised a much larger number of people with type 2 diabetes to consume their nutrients in a specific order, and then followed their response to this pattern over a longer period of time. There may be other factors affecting individual responses to the order of carbohydrate consumption – for example, the level of physical activity was not standardised across all participants. Again this is another factor that would need to be controlled in a larger trial. We are all different – and saving carbohydrates until the end of a meal may only be effective for some people with type 2 diabetes, and not others. The findings cannot be applied to people with type 1 diabetes. These findings may pave the way fo...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Diabetes Source Type: news