High-carbohydrate, high-fibre diets for diabetics.

The concept of a more liberal attitude towards carbohydrate consumption in diabetics is almost as old as the discovery of insulin. Indeed, some of the most elegant studies in this respect were performed by Himsworth (1933). Since then, Kempner has fed rice diets to insulin-requiring diabetics with a large measure of success (Kempner et al. 1958), and these contained over 90% of all energy in carbohydrate form. Despite the considerable efforts of these and other workers, carbohydrate restriction has remained standard diabetic dietary practice, perhaps because it seemed logical to limit carbohydrate intake if a patient was deficient in insulin. Even the resurgence of interest in diabetic dietary management over the last 10 years has concentrated rather M y on the indisputable benefits of fibre as opposed to digestible carbohydrate. Some studies do, however, suggest that the proportion of energy from carbohydrate can have an effect on glucose tolerance separate from that of fibre.