[Guideline Summary] Summary of the American Diabetes Association (ADA)

3 min read / 12.11.2019

Endocrinology Diabetology General Nutrition Nutrition & Disease Management

[Guideline Summary] Summary of the American Diabetes Association (ADA)

Position Paper on the Nutrition Therapy for Management of Adults with Diabetes

Background:
The ADA recently published a position paper on how to manage individuals living with diabetes in terms of nutrition interventions, stating that there is no standard meal plan that works universally for all people with diabetes. In general, diabetic patients are recommended to collaborate with their health care provider to develop an individualized eating plan.

ADA’s general position on nutrition interventions for individuals with diabetes:

• Eating pattern with potential benefit:

Type of eating pattern	Brief description	Benefit
Mediterranean style	Includes abundant plant foods Minimize processed foods Olive oil as the principal source of dietary lipids Dairy products and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts Red meat consumed in low frequency and amount	Improved cardiovascular risk factors (lipids, blood pressure, triglycerides) in individuals with diabetes.

• Recommended foods or nutrients intakes

Foods / Nutrients	Recommendations
Dietary fiber	- 25 g/day for adult women - 38 g/day for adult men
Whole grains	Consume at least half of all grains as whole grains
Fish	Consume at least 2 servings per week
Omega-3 fatty acids	Increase consumption of foods containing long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) and omega-3 linolenic acid
Saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and trans fat	- Reducing saturated fatty acids to < 10% of calories - < 300 mg of cholesterol/day - Limiting trans fat as much as possible
Sodium	- Less than 2,300 mg/day

Link to PubMed

Reference

Evert AB, Boucher JL, Cypress M, Dunbar SA, Franz MJ, Mayer-Davis EJ, Neumiller JJ, Nwankwo R, Verdi CL, Urbanski P, Yancy WS Jr. Nutrition therapy recommendations for the management of adults with diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2013 Nov;36(11):3821-42. doi: 10.2337/dc13-2042. Epub 2013 Oct 9.

Additional reading:

WNA Bulletin 2013 Issue 4 – All About Diabetes

WYE-EM-223-NOV-13