Relevance of Nutrition Intervention in Diabetes Management: A Perspective from Indian Clinical Experts

Poor glycemic control in diabetes patients is a major hurdle in the management of disease and its associatedcomorbidities. Pharmacotherapy alone is not sufficient to curb the risk of associated complications. The roleof nutrition along with physical exercise in achieving optimal glycemic con-trol is overlooked for many yearsin India. Nowadays, medical nutrition therapy (MNT) has evolved as an integral therapy in achieving better glycemiccontrol. However, there is a lack of uniformity in health care practitioner’s perception and lack of recommendationsin a structured manner regard-ing its use. Through a series of regional advisory board meeting,insights were gained into current practices in diabetes management to uncover the gaps in nutrition for betterpatient outcomes, and understand patient knowledge, attitude and perceptions towards nutrition in general anddiabetes-specific formulas (DSF) in particular. The key viewpoints were as follows: i) Good self-care practiceand creating awareness inpatients about glycemic variations is important. ii) Experts highlighted the importanceof referring patients to a clinical nutritionist or dietician. Patients should be introduced to diabetic educatorsand education through charts regarding different foods with low glycemic index is advised. iii) Portioncontrol, healthy eating patterns and avoiding a high carbohydrate diet is beneficial. iv) MNT should be includedin patients diet plan as a partial if not full meal replacement. Diabetes-specific formulas should be palatable andaffordable to ensure patients compliance. These formulas can be taken in combination with meals in proportionateamounts. v) Diabetes-specific nutrition improves multiple health outcomes and the mindset of Indianpatients towards nutritious food needs to be changed.