Carbs and diabetes
Carbohydrates are an important macronutrient for people with diabetes as carbs have the most direct effect on blood glucose levels. However, this doesn’t mean that cutting out carbs is the answer to managing blood glucose levels. While there is some evidence to support the benefits of lower-carbohydrate diets, particularly for type 2 diabetes, there is currently no good evidence to support an optimal amount of carbohydrate for people with diabetes.
Diabetes Australia, the
American Diabetes Association and Diabetes UK all have a similar position and recommendations around low-carb diets and diabetes. They say that low-carb diets may have benefits for improving weight and blood glucose levels in the short-term (up to 6-12 months) for people with type 2 diabetes, but the long-term sustainability of these diets is an issue. They also say more research is needed to determine whether low-carb diets are safe and effective for those with type 1 diabetes. Finally, they suggest that pregnant or breastfeeding women, children, those with kidney disease or eating disorders, and people taking sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (one class of diabetes medications) should avoid low-carb diets.
However, monitoring the carbohydrate in your diet is an important part of managing diabetes. Depending on how you manage your diabetes, learning to match your carb intake with your diabetes medications, and/or spreading your carb intake over the day can help with managing blood glucose levels. And regardless of the amount of carbohydrate you eat, it is important to focus on nutrientdense, high-fibre, minimally processed carbohydrate foods such as vegetables, whole fruits, legumes, minimally processed whole grains and unsweetened dairy foods such as milk and yoghurt.