Authors:
A recent review by Antonio Maria Labate and Provvidenza Villari highlights the role of nutrition in type 2 diabetes (T2D), looking beyond blood glucose management alone. The authors emphasize that T2D is closely linked to several cardiometabolic factors, including excess body weight, insulin resistance, abnormal lipid levels, high blood pressure, and liver-related metabolic dysfunction.
Nutrition can influence several aspects of cardiometabolic health at the same time. A dietary approach may provide meaningful benefits even when changes in HbA1c are modest, particularly if it improves body weight, lipid levels, blood pressure, or liver-related metabolic health.
The review does not identify one diet as the best choice for everyone. Instead, it highlights the importance of choosing an approach according to each person’s health profile and ability to maintain it over time. Mediterranean-style eating is presented as a practical option with benefits across several cardiometabolic factors.
Weight-focused strategies are particularly relevant for people with overweight or obesity, while lower-carbohydrate approaches may be useful for selected individuals. More restrictive ketogenic diets, however, require greater caution, especially regarding long-term sustainability and safety in certain treatment settings.
A key message of the review is that an effective nutrition plan needs to work in everyday life. Dietary recommendations should consider factors such as a person’s health status, treatment, food habits, socioeconomic circumstances, and ability to maintain dietary changes in the long term.
Overall, clinical nutrition should be considered an important part of comprehensive T2D management rather than simply a tool for lowering blood glucose. The goal is a personalized, high-quality, and sustainable approach that supports broader cardiometabolic health alongside physical activity, behavioral support, and pharmacological treatment when needed.
Putting nutrition recommendations into practice can be challenging, especially when it comes to keeping track of meals and nutritional intake.
forDiabetes v2.3.0 includes an AI-assisted meal logging feature designed to make this process simpler and faster. By describing a meal, users can receive estimated values for calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat, review them, and complete the entry in just a few steps.
The video below shows you how to use this new feature.
You can also watch the tutorial directly on YouTube
forDiabetes 2.4.0 is available on App Store and Google Play.
The development of forDiabetes v2 is implemented within the framework of the “Research – Innovate” Action and is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund – ERDF) through the NSRF 2021-2027.
