Renning Head: The Role of Nutrition in Diabetes 1

The Role of Nutrition in Diabetes

Wang Fei

Salt Lake Community College

Diabetes is one of the most serious metabolic disease characterized by a patient's

blood sugar that is higher than the standard value for a long time. Hyperglycemia can cause

eating more, drinking more, urinating, and losing weight. If not treated, it may cause many

complications. For example, vascular disease, neuropathy and podiatry. Many people are

dying of chronic complications. There are two common type of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is

characterized by the inability of the body to produce enough insulin or can not produce

insulin at all. It is a congenital disease, most of which occurs during infancy to adolescence.

Type 2 diabetes begins when the cell responds to insulin abnormally or the cell does not

respond to insulin, and the pancreas itself does not have any pathological problems. As the

disease progresses, the secretion of insulin may gradually become insufficient. 90% of people

with diabetes are type 2 diabetes. (Wardlaw, Smith, Collene. 2017) Strengthen diet

management and exercise plays an important role in the treatment of diabetes, especially type

2 diabetes.

Diabetic person should choose foods with a low glycemic index. For example, take

whole grain instead of refined grain. Laura et al. (2013) studied the relationship between

changes in diet & physical activity and type 2 diabetes. This study was to examine
The Role of Nutrition in Diabetes 2

differences in the prevalence of lifestyle risk factors for type 2 diabetes between two

province-wide samples of Alberta adolescents in grades 7 to 10, one surveyed in 2005 and the

other in 2008. In the results, The most commonly reported dietary risk factors were high GI

and GL diets, low fiber intakes and low magnesium intakes–all of which indicate that the

diets of youth are low in vegetables, fruit, and whole grains. Improvements were observed

between 2005 and 2008 in terms of the proportion of adolescents having specific risk factors

for type 2 diabetes. (Laura et al. 2013.) When using a low-GI diet, blood sugar does not rise

sharply after meals, and the body does not need to accelerate the release of insulin but will

accelerate the release of glucagon. Glucagon can reduce triglycerides and LDL, raise HDL,

and lower blood pressure. (Wardlaw, Smith, Collene. 2017.)This is a hormonal control

method that is achieved through diet. This healthy diet can maintain stable blood sugar and

significantly lose weight. Strengthen physical exercise and maintain a good lifestyle is also

important. Physical exercise can improve the patient's sensitivity to insulin. Exercise can

consume energy and reduce the risk factor of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. To

change bad lifestyles, the diabetic person should be living regularly without drink alcohol,

smoking, or staying up late.

Enough Vitamin D intake is also helpful for a diabetic person. Vitamin D can

reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes, as well as improve glycemic control, insulin sensitivity or

insulin resistance in patients with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. In the study of Yu.A.

Titova et al. (2013), Sixty patients with type 2 diabetes associated with NAFLD aged 48 to 80

years were divided into two groups: group 1 (32 persons) consisted of patients with diabetes

type 2 combined with NAFLD and osteoporosis; group 2 (28 people)—individuals with type
The Role of Nutrition in Diabetes 3

2 diabetes associated with NAFLD without osteoporosis. In the results, vitamin D deficiency

or insufficiency was detected, that is, none of the patients didn’t have an adequate supply of

vitamin D. Patients from the above groups had dyslipidemia on a background of a low

25(OH)D content. The levels of total cholesterol, β-lipoproteins, triglycerides, low-density

lipoprotein cholesterol, and very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, as well as the

atherogenic index, were statistically significantly increased with decreasing levels of

vitamin D. It can be seen that vitamin D could play a positive role in the treatment of diabetes.

There are three main ways to supplement vitamin D. First, Sun exposure. If exposed to the

sun, exposed face, arms, and hands for 20 to 30 minutes, the human skin can be synthesized

for one day of vitamin D. Second, food sources. You can eat wild fish such as squid, squid,

squid, vitamin D fortified milk, Swiss cheese, nutritious grain breakfast, whole eggs and so

on. Last, supplement. Vitamin D can be synthesized by illuminating the skin with sunlight.

Older people have less exposure to sunlight, and their skin's ability to synthesize vitamin D is

only one-third that of young people. It can be supplemented by taking or injecting vitamin D

preparations. (Wardlaw, Smith, Collene. 2017.)

Not only Vitamin D, but also Vitamin E are also very important for people with

diabetes. Pavithra, D.et al. (2018) studied the role of Vitamin E supplementation in type 2

diabetes mellitus. As the paper points out “The chronic hyperglycemia of diabetes is

associated with long-term damage, dysfunction, and failure of different organs, including

eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels. Vitamin E has antioxidant activity. It may also

have antiatherogenic, antithrombotic, anticoagulant, neuroprotective, antiviral,

immunomodulatory, cell membrane stabilizing, and antiproliferative actions. Vitamin E is a

The Role of Nutrition in Diabetes 4

fat-soluble vitamin and is an important antioxidant. It acts to protect cells against the effects

of free radicals, which are potentially damaging by-products of the body's metabolism.

Antioxidants such as Vitamin E help protect against the damaging effects of free radicals,

which may contribute to the development of chronic diseases such as cancer, complications

in DM. Low levels of Vitamin E have been linked to increased incidence of long-time

complications in DM.”(Pavithra, D.et al. 2018.) Vitamin E has a lot of beneficial effects on

the body, but the supplement of Vitamin E cannot be abused or overdosed for a long time.

Megadosing does not provide significant health benefits or prevent against oxidative damage.

Excess intake of Vitamin E can interfere with vitamin K and anticoagulant medications

causing hemorrhage. (Wardlaw, Smith, Collene. 2017.) People with diabetes can eat more

foods rich in vitamin E, such as malt, soybeans, vegetable oil, nuts, Brussels sprouts, green

leafy vegetables, spinach, flour with added nutrients, whole wheat, unrefined cereal products,

and eggs.

Reasonably replenish the lack of nutrients in the body, supplement the raw

materials that the body lacks, and let the body exert its powerful repairing ability to correct

the metabolic disorder and cure diabetes. When modulating diabetes, we should focus on

"insulin resistance" itself, not just the various diseases caused by insulin resistance. By

switching to low-GI recipes, strengthening physical exercise, and rationally supplementing

the lack of nutrients, the thorny issue of “insulin resistance” will be fundamentally improved.
The Role of Nutrition in Diabetes 5

Reference

Wardlaw, Smith, Collene. (2017). Contemporary Nutrition, A Functional Approach.

McGraw-Hill Education. 5th edition.

Laura E. Forbes, Shawn N. Fraser, Shauna M. Downs, Kate E. Storey, Ronald C. Plotnikoff,

Kim D. Raine, . . . Linda J. McCargar. (2013). Changes in Dietary and Physical Activity Risk

Factors for Type 2 Diabetes in Alberta Youth Between 2005 and 2008. Canadian Journal of

Public Health / Revue Canadienne De Santé Publique, 104(7), E490-E495. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/canajpublheal.104.7.e490.

Yu.A. Titova, K.V. Misura, N.O. Kravchun. (2018). The relationship of vitamin D with

compensation of carbohydrate metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus combined

with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Mìžnarodnij Endokrinologìčnij Žurnal, Vol 14, Iss 4,

Pp 323-327 (2018).

Pavithra, D.1, Praveen, D.2, Chowdary, P. Ranadheer2, Aanandhi, M. Vijey3

hodpchemistry@velsuniv.ac.in. (2018). A review on role of Vitamin E supplementation in

type 2 diabetes mellitus. Drug Invention Today. Feb2018, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p236-240. 5p.